The Kite Runner - Critical Essasy

"The Kite Runner", an English novel by Afghan-American writer Khaled Hosseini, was published in 2003. It has the privilege of being the first novel published by an author of Afghani origin. The plot employed in the novel is set in Afghanistan from the late 1970s to 1981, which is the time period characterized by the Soviet invasion, then in the Afghan community in Fremont, California from the 1980s to the early 2000s, and finally in contemporary Afghanistan suffering at the hands of the Taliban regime. The Kite runner is certainly a great literary work which deserves much applaud because of its effectiveness and completeness as an entertainer as well as potential food for thought.

The themes of the story are widespread: familial relationships, ambivalent and complex friendship of a servant and master against the ethnic and religious differences, the childhood betrayal, the lingering guilt from past, the never ending effort of emancipation from the guilt and redemption, the unkindness of a rigid class system; and a 40-year chronicle of Afghan history explaining the shocking realities of war.

The adult narrator, Amir, lives in San Francisco and is contemplating his past, thinking about a boyhood friend whom he betrayed in the days of adolescence. The story then moves backward in time to the narrator's early life in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he is the only child of a privileged merchant. Amir's closest friend is his playmate and servant Hassan, a poor illiterate boy who is a member of the Hazara ethnic minority (The Kite Runner). As the protagonist Amir grows to adulthood, he comes to terms with his past wrongs, trapped in the guilt of betraying his best friend and at the same time aiming to adjust to the culture of the United States, which is an exact opposite to the one in which he has been nurtured in the past.

An aspect worth mentioning is that the "The Kite Runner" grips us firmly from the beginning primarily due to the graveness of its plot. The author sets the tone for the entire novel by beginning with the lines "I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975".  Before we know anything about the protagonist, including his name, we learn that one moment in his past defined his entire life.

Another strength of this text is the successful employment of flashbacks. Hosseini tells us about the life of Amir and Baba, first in Afghanistan and then in US, which cater for the development of a strong climax that defines the entirety of the plot. These flashbacks also succeed in creating a sentimentally engaging tale of childhood and its problems. Hence, this tool of narration not only allows the author to keep his readers captivated through the presence of climax delivered by the usage of flashbacks, but also enables them to emotionally involve themselves with the characters, sensing their pain, guilt, and desires.

An important aspect of the novel is that it appears in the first person point of view. This implies that everything is seen from the perspective of the narrator. It gives the notion of a memoir or, more appropriately, a confession. This point of view works well for the novel, as Amir's main pursuit is that of remission from the guilt he feels because of his inaction during Hassan's attack by Assef. Through this text, the readers can hence comprehend Amir’s attempts at a spiritual catharsis, in an attempt to relieve himself of the guilt he has been entangled in since his childhood.

The author’s choice of words in this particular story is absolutely pivotal to setting the tone for it. Hosseini writes straight ahead in utilitarian prose and creates characters that have the simplicity and primary-colored emotions of people in a fairy tale or fable. The employment of a comprehensive descriptive analysis not only aids the text with a tremendous amount of authenticity but also enables the readers to identify with the characters, engaging them in the context of the happenings, and allowing them to comprehend and visualize the graveness of the events the characters are subject to.

The Kite Runner also brings in limelight the differences between Western and the Middle Eastern culture. It gives an insight to as how socioeconomic conditions in Afghanistan reveal the difference between the majority (Sunni) and the minority (Shiite) and how people categorize themselves based on physical features and religious ideals. For instance, Hassan, a Hazara boy, is unable to go to school, and is nurtured to forgo any educational pursuits. Hence the novel gives an authentic narration of how society has stigmatized their race concurrently, not allowing them to even imagine or hope for better pursuits in life.

What is significantly distinctive about the novel  is the utter  hatred , detest and disregard shown by Hosseini for the brutal invasion and occupation of Afghanistan by Russia, and his outrage at the subsequent, perhaps even more brutal control by the Taliban. The usage of wordings such as  " The Mullahs want to rule our souls... and the Communists tell us we don't have any" and at other point "I piss on the beards of all those self-righteous monkeys" succeed in portraying a powerful impact and visualization of the political scenario, as well as the desperation and the distress the author experiences in response to it.

However, it cannot be entirely ignored that the novel does possess some shortcomings. It would be not entirely inappropriate to claim that Hosseni has concentrated too much on a rich exile and his parental problems while very little on the motivation of going back to Afghanistan and working for his people. This creates a contradictory element in the minds of the readers, because throughout the progression of the novel, they are delivered with the notions that the population of Afghanistan is in a state of complete distress and distortion, and then bewildered to discover that the author conveys a slightly indifferent attitude by shedding more light on his personal issues than on attempting to relieve the Afghanis from the state of helplessness they are subject to.

The book has also portrayed Taliban as mysterious sociopaths and presented them as evil beings. The novel renders it undeniable that the Taliban are deserving of the blame that is showered upon them, in terms of uprooting the social and political structures of Afghanistan. However, at the same time, developing an attitude of entire hatred towards them is slightly offsetting because it projects the author as displaying a tendency of being biased in his pursuits.

 It would not be inappropriate to claim that "The Kite Runner" is a classic piece of writing. Although it does possess certain shortcomings, the plot of guilt, love, betrayal and patriotism that it epitomizes place it in a different league altogether. Through the implementation of effectively elaborate yet precise vocabulary, detailed yet engrossing descriptions, and an extremely pragmatic analysis of the political and social landscape of Afghanistan, the author has assembled a text that is in all its entirety worthy of the international acclaim it has received. 

Written By: Hamza Orakzai ( Bsc Student LUMS )

Conflict Diamonds - Informative Essay

                                                 Salim Tabansi is a peaceful farmer who is content with this life. He sends his young 12 year old son to school every day so he can learn English and grow up to make a life of his own. One day, terror hits his village when rebels come and kidnap his son to work in one of many diamond mines in Africa. This is a typical story of how rebel militia's recruit people to work as slaves and scavenge diamonds to fund their wars against the government. These diamonds in popular terminology are called conflict diamonds or sometimes a blood diamond. Conflict diamonds are therefore those diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council. (“United”) The procurement of these diamonds to further the prospects of war in these under developed countries has resulted in a massive socio-political instability in these regions.

           

                              The causes of this soaring blood diamond trade can be traced to the ongoing conflicts in the Sub-Saharan African region. In countries like Sierra Leone, Angola, the Republic of Congo and Liberia, the sale of these diamonds is used to fund the insurgency against the government. Therefore, these conflicts have served as the major supply incentive for the trade of these conflict diamonds. For instance, in the Angolan civil war, the United Nations estimates that one of the warring faction known as the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) earned between three to four billion dollars in blood diamond trade to further their cause. (“Roberts”) Moreover, Terrorist organizations including al-Qaeda and Hezbollah also use conflict diamonds to finance global violence and terrorism. Furthermore, Hezbollah uses Lebanese networks in Sierra Leone to raise funds through blood diamonds.

           

                Conflict diamonds continue to exist as a major black market commodity. Despite a ban by the United Nations and other attempts by the international community to block the sale of blood diamonds, porous central and West African borders have allowed the diamonds to reach major markets. U.S.A and London are among the largest markets in the global context for the sale of these blood diamonds. Similarly, it was reported that Belgian judicial authorities had confiscated 14 million Euros (21 million dollars) worth of illegal diamonds of Ivorian origin. (“Cronin”)

            

                                                           In July 2000, after millions of deaths fueled by diamonds, immense pressure was applied on the global diamond industry and they were forced to create a policy towards "Conflict diamonds" in collaboration with NGOs, governments, and the UN. Thus the diamond industry agreed on a simple and effective system called the Kimberley process. “The Kimberley Process (KP) is an international initiative to stop criminals who profit from the illicit trading of rough diamonds. Under the KP's global diamond certification scheme, participating countries must provide a written certificate that identifies the origin and target countries for all diamond imports and exports. Otherwise the diamond shipment must be impounded and reported to the KP. Secondly, KP-member countries must ban diamond trade with all non-member nations. Moreover, participating countries must provide diamond production and international trade statistics that help the KP Secretariat to monitor the trade flow of rough diamond”. (Workman)

          

                                                    So far, the Kimberley Process has proven to be a crucial and effective tool in combating the scourge of conflict diamonds to some extent. Blood diamonds have been reduced from approximately 4 percent to a more tolerable figure of less than 1 percent since the implementation of Kimberley process in 2003. (“Diamond facts”) As a result, the ability of rebels and terrorists to finance their activities has decreased substantially.

          Unfortunately, the Kimberley process does not supervise the human rights violation including poverty, child labor, and worker exploitation. Currently, it only takes into account the narrowly UN defined blood diamonds as diamonds that are used to finance the conflicts against recognized government. Since Kimberley process only oversees diamond mines and has no supervision over the child labor and other human rights violations in these mines remains unregulated. Some recognized governments like Angola and the republic of Congo have shown a very trivial regard for the human rights abuses of their citizenry.

           

                                   To date, Kimberley process also neglects different kind of polishing and cutting centers that act as an entry point for the blood diamonds to enter global circulation. While the diamond industry has convinced the consumers that the Kimberley process certification system is keeping conflict diamonds off the market supply chain, recent events exemplify how this system has failed to relate itself to different violent conditions under which a major portion of world's diamonds are produced.

           

                            While diamonds have been used to finance conflicts and terrorist activities, the problem is not the diamonds themselves but the governments, rebels and individuals who exploit diamonds, and violate human rights to further their illegitimate goals. However, eradicating the possibility of trading these blood diamonds lies at the crux of ensuring lasting peace in the troubled African region. Therefore, the global community requires individual nations to set aside personal agendas and work towards a solution that is for the greater good. A process that encompasses not only the regulation of the diamond market but also gives solutions for the human rights violations being committed. We need to remind ourselves that diamonds may be forever but bloodshed in their pursuit can never be recovered.

          Written By: Hamza Orakzai ( Bsc Student LUMS )

The Beliefs About Life After Death And Reincarnation As Discussed In Two Religions/Culture

Every man shall have a taste of death. The beliefs regarding the notion of death and what happens thereafter have existed universally across all cultures and religions. Being an inescapable reality and an inevitable fate of our corporeal existence, death has been a subject of debate for as long as humans have been capable of cognizant thought. As such, the ideas about the afterlife have been refined and codified as various belief systems have sprung up across human history mainly in the form of organised religions. Afterlife being a common theme across these religions can generally be defined as the idea that the human consciousness or the 'soul' continues to persist even after the death of the body through supernatural means with a 'God' or gods determining the fate of all individuals. Moreover, beliefs about reincarnation of the human body in one form or the other after its initial demise are an important part of many religions across the world. Among the plethora of religions out there, Islam and Hinduism discuss this issue in great detail. While there is great divergence in their respective views regarding the afterlife in specific regards to judgement, reward or punishment and reincarnation of the soul, conformity of ideas between the two also exists.

The journey of the soul after death is discussed at length in the canons of both religions. Both view death not as an end but rather merely representing one stage in the existence of the soul of the individual. In Islam, the soul proceeds in the afterlife in a linear fashion whereas the journey process in Hindu faith is based on cycles. The Islamic view states that after death, the soul is transferred across the boundaries of the mortal realm into a cold sleep known as 'Barzakh' where it rests until the day of judgement after which it is either rewarded by an eternal life in heaven or punished by being thrown into hell. In Hinduism however, the concept of rebirths or reincarnation takes the central role. The soul, called "Atman" leaves the body and reincarnates itself according to the deeds performed by the person in last birth. This process continues until a person performs only good deeds in his last birth after which the 'Atma' is merged with 'Partmatma' or the greatest soul hence attaining 'Moksha' commonly known as Nirvana. As such while both religions view death as being an intermediate stage, they differ markedly in the details of what happens to the soul afterwards (World religions).

The decision about the eventual fate of the person on the basis of actions performed by the individual during its life time forms a key element in both religions. Both view the soul as an indestructible entity that continues to exist even after the bodily death of the person and it is the soul that eventually reaps the benefits or suffers the consequences of the person's actions in the hereafter. In Islam, judgement will carried out on the final day known as “Qiyamah” where the account of all people will be read out from their individual book of deeds and their fate decided by Allah himself. Those whose good and righteous deeds outweigh their sins shall be rewarded while those who have transgressed against the commands of Allah shall be punished severely. On the other hand, in Hinduism there is no formalized process of judgement of the soul but rather its fate is based upon the accumulated sum of good or bad deeds which is known as 'karma'. As such, the basic concept of karma is 'As you sow, you shall reap' and hence a good life will be rewarded in the next birth while the sum of bad deeds will be negatively mirrored in one's next life (Life).

Death being the only certainty in an extremely uncertain and tumultuous life raises a lot of concerns in the human mind. What happens after we die? Where do we go after death? Is there any proof of life after death? All these questions make man turn to the realm of religion, which is considered to be the only credible source of knowledge about matters that confound human logic. Islam and Hinduism are two such religions that believe in the same tenets of afterlife, albeit in very different ways. The notions underlying the beliefs might have global resonance; however the beliefs and their associated practices differ in these two great religions. Both religions believe in continuity of life after death, with Islam looking at an eternal life either in Heaven or Hell and Hinduism propagating a cyclical reincarnation of the human spirit. Reward or punishment for our actions in the afterlife is also mirrored in both faiths, with Islam prophesising an end of the world accompanied by a final judgement while Hinduism rests its balance of good and evil in the form of “Karma”. Man always fears the unknown and thus tries very hard to replace the unknown with certain knowledge. Hence the continued need to find answers and control the uncontrollable. The importance of the concept of life after death and man’s religious endeavours becomes clear with the realization that death is the final frontier left for man to master.

Written By: Hamza Orakzai ( Bsc Student LUMS )