Connection: The Kite Runner

Upon first glance, the book The Kite Runner and the movie Mean Girls have little in common. But once you take a chance to analyze character motive and social dynamics, you will see that the two works share some striking similarities.

Both the movie and the book share a character that is the story's bully. In The Kite Runner that bully is the blond-haired, blue-eyed Assef and in Mean Girls the bully is the blond-haired, blue-eyed Regina George. Both represent perfection in the eyes of others, and have double personalities. When faced with adults they act perfectly demure; they are respectful and mature, while radiating confidence. Many adults ignore the eeriness of their ostensible perfection. This mask they put on allows both Regina and Assef to dominate their peers with the support of the adults in control. Adults hope some of their confidence and maturity will rub off on the other kids, while the kids themselves pray they don't cross paths with these monsters. Regina and Assef rule by fear; they harp on insecurities and crush the smallest forms of rebellion. In Regina's case, she uses the threat of social ruin to quiet her subjects, while Assef on the other hand uses his brass knuckles. Although one threat is emotional and the other physical, the result is the same. No one dares to cross paths with either of these children, allowing them to rule supreme and do as they please.

The character Cady from Mean Girls is embodied by the character Amir in The Kite Runner. Cady is initially friends with Regina in an effort to ruin her total control over their high school, but in the end she becomes obsessed with acceptance and popularity. She alienates her true friends in place of fake, conniving, girls whose only interest is in popularity. Cady also begins to force herself into a specific mold to win over the school's heart throb Aaron Samuels. In doing so she fails calculus, throw a house party, and begins drinking just to try and spend more time with Aaron. When she discovers the "burn book", a place where her new friends record gossip, lies, and insults about other girls in the school, she gets caught up and even adds some rumors to it herself. Similarly, Amir leaves his only true friend, Hassan, in search of acceptance from his father. He allows Hassan to be raped, take the blame of theft, and be ridiculed constantly all in order to appease his father. Amir's obsession with trying to fit into his father's narrow mold, ruins everything good and pure in his life. Both Cady and Amir are so focused on acceptance, that they turn a blind eye to atrocities such as rape and the "burn book" and push away their true friends.

Although the stories are set in different countries, cultures, and time periods the social dynamics remain the same; class tension and bullies still plague everyday existence. This connection illustrates the continuities in human nature. We will always compete, and there will always be some sort of division amongst us. Be it as petty as high school cliques, or as profound as racial divisions, the human brain's tendency to "chunk" information will cause us to categorize people till the end of eternity.

Best of Week: Kite Runner

The most important idea brought up this week, while discussing Kite Runner, was the idea of an author versus character struggle. Khaled Hosseini uses this tension to help us better understand Amir. On page 129 there is an amazing example of this. Amir writes, "For me, America was a place to bury my memories". Hosseini gave Amir plenty of chances to atone for his sins while in Kabul, but he rejected them and fled to America. In fleeing to America, Amir is running from his past, his memories, and his destiny. All the while, Hosseini is able to act as Amir's conscience by choosing which memories are evoked by what experiences. We expirience this tension every time Amir thinks of kites, Kabul, or Rahim Khan. With each of these memories, Hosseini allows them to "claw their way out" and rip Amir apart. Each memory cuts into him, like the glass string of kites he used to idolize. Amir continues to fight his past, its almost as though he doesn't believe in his own memories. Amir tries to resist even when he finally summons the courage to return to his homeland. On page 222 he states, "I began to see where he was going. But I didn't want to hear the rest of it. I had a good life in California, pretty Victorian home with a peaked roof, a good marriage, a promising writing career, in-laws who loved me. I didn't need any of this s**t". Amir is begging Hosseini to allow him to go on with his life; he is trying to tell Hosseini that he moved on and has so much peace that he is okay with the one loose end in his life. Hosseini rejects Amir's pleas and shoves his tainted past in his face; he gives Amir the ultimatum, either he can fix this once and for all, or be haunted by loyal, hare-lipped ghosts for the rest of his life. This tension between author and character is the key to powerful writing. Their battle of wills creates a sense of underlying tension throughout the book.

I can see myself trying to carry this idea over into my own writing. The author character tension is such a captivating idea. It draws the reader in until they too are apart of the tension and they begin to take sides with the author or character. The tension drives you into the inner most thoughts and flaws of the character, allowing you to get to know him or her as well, or in some cases better, than you know yourself. As you read, you can feel the electricity in the air. You know that one bold move from the author or character could erupt into the climax of the entire novel.

Carry It Forward: The Kite Runner

Amir's plight in The Kite Runner, shows us that living your life for anyone other than yourself is dangerous. His desperation to please his father is the fuel for this whole story; its the haunting guilt, the passion, and the regret. By spending his life trying and failing to fit his father's mold, Amir crushes his own self-esteem. On page 77 Amir states, "Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I has to slay, to win Baba". This perfectly illustrates the danger behind living your life for somebody else.

I see profound value in this idea. Living your life without trying to please others is liberating. With this idea in mind, I can truly follow my own dreams. I don't have to worry about what my parents want me to be, who my friends want me to be, or where they want me to end up. I can be myself and be completely happy with wherever life takes me.