“man’s inhumanity to man”. amir is the main character of the novel his mother died giving...
TRANSCRIPT
Amir is the main character of the novel
His mother died giving birth to him and for this his father blames him
He is an upper class Pashtun with a highly respected father
Amir
As a child he occupied himself with his love for story writing
His father thinks he is not manly enough
At age eighteen, he and his father flee to America due to Soviet invasion in Afghanistan
Amir
Assef is the son of an Afghan father and a German mother
He believes that Pashtuns, “the pure Afghans”, are a higher class than the “flat-nose” Hazara
As a teenager, he is the neighbourhood bully
Assef
“[Hitler] was a leader. A great leader. A man with vision” - Assef
“…if they had let Hitler finish what he had started, the world would be a better place now.” - Assef
Amir describes Assef as a "sociopath" because of his views of Hitler
Assef
He is Amir’s Hazara servant
Hassan is Amir's closest childhood friend, but Amir has a bad habit of playing mind games with him
“Your hazara made a big mistake today, Amir.”- Assef
Hassan
Baba is Amir’s father
Amir looks up to him as an idol and is forever trying to gain his approval
He is a wealthy man, who is highly respected by fellow Afghanis
Baba
He built an orphanage with his own money
He is disappointed in his son, Amir, because he does not think he is man enough
Baba is a very kind and generous person except when it comes to his son
Baba
Sohrab is the only son of Hassan
He has been physically abused by Assef
He saves Amir from being killed by Assef
He tries to kill himself when Amir breaks his promise
Sohrab
Amir and Hassan win a kite fighting tournament and Hassan runs the last kite - the blue kite
Amir becomes concerned at the time it is taking for Hassan to return with the kite
Amir searches for Hassan, finally finding him trapped by Assef and his entourage at the end of an alleyway
The Blue Kite
Amir watches his closest friend, Hassan, being raped in an alleyway by Assef
When Hassan finally catches up with Amir again, all Amir can think about is the blue kite
“And I can’t lie now and say my eyes didn’t scan it [the blue kite] for any rips.” - Amir
The Blue Kite
What do you think you would do in this situation?
Imagine seeing your best friend being raped. Would you try to help or would you run?
The Blue Kite
While Baba and Amir are fleeing Afghanistan the truck they are travelling in arrives at a Russian checkpoint
The Russian soldier who mans the checkpoint demands half an hour with a woman to let them pass
“It’s his price for letting us pass.”
Ride to Freedom
Her husband objects
“But we’ve paid a fair price already. He’s getting paid good money.”
But the soldier insists
“He says … he says every price has a tax.”
Ride to Freedom
Baba attempts to stop the rape, putting his own life on the line
Could you do this? Put your life on the line for someone you don’t even know?
Ride to Freedom
The orphanage Baba built was destroyed by the Taliban during the war
This worsens the already bad orphan situation due to Taliban rule
The Taliban kill anyone who steps out of line
Orphans
Hassan and Farzana were executed by the Taliban for house sitting Baba’s house
This meant that Sohrab was yet another orphan looking for somewhere to stay
Orphans
Public executions were very popular with the Taliban
They were supposed to show citizens the consequences of breaking the law
Public Execution
“How shall we punish those who dishonour the sanctity of marriage?”
A man and women were stoned to death at a soccer game in front of thousands of people because they were having an affair
“God says that every sinner must be punished in a manner best fitting his sin.”
Public Execution
“Taliban don’t let you be human.” – Rahim Khan
Singing is forbidden
Dancing is forbidden
Playing cards, playing chess, gambling, and kite flying are forbidden
Taliban
Writing books, watching films, painting pictures are forbidden
If you keep parakeets, you will be beaten. Your birds will be killed
If you are found guilty of adultery, you will be stoned to death
Taliban
You will stay inside your homes at all times. It is not proper for women to wander aimlessly about the streets
If you are caught alone on the street, you will be beaten and sent home
Cosmetics and jewellery are forbidden
Attention Women
You will not wear charming clothes
You will not speak unless spoken to
You will not make eye contact with men
You will not laugh in public. If you do, you will be beaten
Attention WomenHi, I’m Pall
“This isn’t the end for you either, Amir, someday, I’ll make you face me one on one.” - Assef
In Amir’s quest to find Sohrab he meets his childhood enemy, Assef, once again
“When it’s all done, only one of us will walk out of this room alive.” - Assef
Fight for Freedom
“If you make a move, they’ll have to change your nickname from Assef ‘the Ear Eater’ to ‘One-Eyed Assef,’ because I have this rock pointed at your left eye.” - Hassan
“…Sohrab released the cup. Then Assef was screaming. He put his hand where his left eye had been just a moment ago.”
Fight for Freedom