Mercedes Correa: Qualities to Succeed

Every culture has different protocols about success. Before continuing, I want to clarify that when I refer to success, I mean a person with a successful and well-paid job. Also, a successful job for me is one that keeps people using their full potential. In the Argentinean culture, people achieve success following several paths; however, there is a general belief about how to be a successful person in Argentina. People should have three major qualities to achieve success in Argentina.

First, physical appeal plays an important role in achieving success in Argentina. It is a fact that beauty does not guarantee success, but it could give people many opportunities when a society is obsessed by it. That is the case in the Argentinean society which loves beauty. When people are looking for a job, the first impression gives them the opportunity to be heard about their personal skills, and the inherent beauty does the trick in the first job interview. Obviously, to make it to the second interview, people need skills and experience; however, people that are beautiful experience an easier job search than the ones that are not beautiful. In fact, people include their pictures in the resumes if they are good looking. When somebody is unlucky during the ADN replication process, being in a good shape replaces the inherent beauty. In addition, the way people dress in the circle of business plays a significant role because employers might not remember people’s names but their trendy outfits or faces; that is crucial when somebody gives them some recommendation about the applicant. What is more, people put a lot of effort to avoid using the same outfit frequently; consequently, Argentinean society spends a considerable part of the salary in new trendy outfits to go to work.

Secondly, education is a crucial quality to achieve success in Argentina. Nowadays, the competition in any field is glutton; one of the big goals in our lives is to finish The University to obtain a degree. The degree plus the previous described qualities assure an individual a high possibility to win when competing for a successful job. Also, going farther in education and obtaining degrees in specialized areas makes the achievement of success almost a reality. Besides a degree, educated people are highly trained in reasoning which allows them to evaluate different decisions before making the best choice. One more advantage of education is to be able to recognize when is the right moment to adjust the course of action because the result is unsatisfactory.

Thirdly, personality is the most important quality to achieve success in Argentina. Personality can be divided into EQ and IQ because to achieve success people need both. Nowadays, people need to be qualified to deal with many situations at the same time, and for that they need more than intelligence. It is crucial for people to develop self- assertiveness in order to express their ideas clearly, and also having self-assertiveness allows them to deal with people effectively. Besides, successful people with self-control can leave their emotions aside and take right decisions; also, they recover more quickly from set-backs to be ready for new challenges. Success cannot exist without a society; successful people need a huge web of connections to achieve success, so people skills are very important. Moreover, without intelligence, success would not exist. It is impossible to build clear goals or prioritize projects without intelligence; also, people need to learn fast about new technologies to actualize their business.

I hope people do not deceive themselves thinking that after they have achieved a successful job, they have also achieved happiness. I know the feeling of recognition is strong enough to make us feel powerful, but the human being needs more than that to feel thorough enjoyment. For me, having a dear family, close friends, good acquaintances and a satisfactory job is needed to achieve a successful life.

Mishel Ajison : The Kite Runner

Kite Runner by Khalled Hosseini (2004: published in Canada by Anchor Canada) is about war, lies, treason, cowardice, conscience, friendship, love, religion, traditions and hope. The story began in Afghanistan where main characters were born and raised. The kite is a symbol of freedom, trust and brightness. Self forgiveness holds a notable place in the story. Also, a lot of hard psychological effects are present. The Kite Runner introduces the ordinary reader to the recent history and cultural aspects of Afghanistan through the complex relationships among the engaging characters of the story.

The story began in Afghanistan when piece was part of the everyday life. The main character of the story is Amir who was motherless, and his only family was his father and two Hazara servants – Ali and his son Hassan. Hassan was as old as Amir, and they ended up becoming like brothers, but Amir always felt supremacy because of his ethnic Pashtune origin. On the one hand, Amir grew up in abundance, but on the other hand, he never gained the love from his father. He tried to find a way for closing the gap between him and his father, but he almost always failed. One day, he won in the kite – fighting tournament that gave him a chance to find the way to his father’s heart. That evening, Hassan decided to run that kite for him, but everything ended in tragedy; Hassan was raped. Everything happened in front of Amir’s eyes; he could help him, but he did not because of his egocentric character. After that incident, Amir recognized that he had made a mistake and he sought self – forgiveness. There were a lot of historical changes owing to political facts in Afghanistan that forced Amir to immigrate with his father to the U.S. They experienced new realities of life, such as equality, human rights and freedom. In the U.S., Amir’s dreams were finally realized, and he became a writer. There he found his first love and got married, but he lost his only relative, his father to cancer. Guilt and blame of himself did not allow him to enjoy life properly. One day, Amir received a letter from his best friend Rahim Khan in which Rahim revealed all of the hidden truth. Amir became aware that Hassan was his half brother and that he had been killed with his wife by Talibans. In the letter, he found that his only nephew. Sohrab was living in an orphanage in Afghanistan, so he decided to journey to his homeland and bring Sohrab back to the U.S. In Afghanistan, he learned that Sohrab was in the hands of a Taliban’s leader - Assef who was a pedophile that sexually exploited Sohrab. Amir decided to confront the Taliban leader to rescue Sohrab and he succeeded in doing so. After some immigration problems, they eventually managed to return to the U.S. Due to past experiences, the child became reluctant to communicate. On a spring day, the family decided to go outdoors; during the outing trip, they came across a group of kites. Amir recalled the time when he won the kite running contest, and Hassan ran the kite for him; therefore, Amir took a kite and ran it again. Amir won again. When he ran the kite, he felt that Sohrab had finally smiled to him for the first time since he was in the U.S. This smile gave Amir a sensation of freedom and a feeling of self-forgiveness.


The recent history, of Afghanistan involved almost everybody in the world one way or another. The beginning of the war changed everything in Afghanistan such as people’s life style, the economic situation and international relations. The year 1976 was the last year of happiness and peace. The Russian soldiers brought nothing, but helplessness with them, and ruin, and savagery followed. In addition lack of trust among people became a part of life. Many Afghans left their homeland in 1981. People felt powerless because of the unstable situation. Also, Uncertainty among the people became a reality of life. Between 1992 and 1996, Northern Alliance took over Kabul and this situation brought more confusion among the population than before. People revealed the fact that they needed to get a visa to move from one neighborhood to the other. Unbelievable bloodshed was done by snipers and rockets. In 1996, the Taliban came to Kabul. People were celebrating on the streets in the hope that they would bring well being, but their arrival only brought temporary hope and happiness. The virtual happiness disappeared after a short time.

The culture of the Afghan people dominates throughout the story. Mutual respect is the most important part of Afghan culture. Usually, children asked permission from their parents to get married. Out of respect for the adults, children followed the old traditions such as engagement and wedding. According to the story, the relationship among the Afghan families is complicated. The reader can find some interesting facts in the Kite Runner such as the relationship of a couple before a wedding. For example: Soraya and Amir never went out alone together. Another interesting fact in the story is that the man is in charge of the family and the woman does not have a lot of rights. For instance: Khanum Taheri – Soraya’s mother had a good singing voice, but General, her husband, never allowed her to sing in public. Moreover, she wanted to dedicate one song to her daughter, at the wedding, but General gave her one of his looks and her desire immediately disappeared. Hospitality of Afghans can also impress the reader. When Amir arrived in Jalalabad, his driver Farid decided to stay for the night in his brother’s house. The family’s hospitality towards the guest was perceived in every word and every movement of the house owners. Amir was a stranger for them, but they shared with him the food that was prepared for the children; consequently, the children remained hungry.

In the Kite Runner, the reader is faced with different rather engaging main characters. People are not born egocentric; they become egocentric because of outside influences. Baba Amir’s father has a lot of reasons such as ethnic priorities, wealth, high social status and power to be egocentric; moreover, he lost his wife when his son was born and stayed for along time without warmth and love. He educated Amir in the same manner. On the one hand, he gave him “everything” such as education and abundance; on the other hand, he kept his distance and didn’t give Amir the most important thing, love. Once Baba explaind to Amir what is the meaning of the word “steal”: “When you kill man, you steal a life. You steal his wife’s right to husband, rob the children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth… There is no act more wretched than stealing.” Personally, Baba didn’t teach to him a lot, but failed to follow what he did teach himself because he lied to him and stole Amir’s right to the truth. He never told Amir that Hassan was his half brother because he was as much of a coward and an egocentric as his son. Moreover, he was a cruel person because he lied to his best friend Ali as well, so under what principles did he act? What principles does the reader need to believe when this person, on the one hand, built an orphanage and on the other, he preferred one son over the other. Also, Amir was a very egocentric person as well. He did not even care for the fact that his close friend Hassan was raped. There is no doubt, that Amir is as guilty as Assef who executed this improper act. The reader cannot ignore the graceful and charming characters such as Hassan, Ali and Rahim khan. Hassan knew that Amir was present when this terrible incident happened; nevertheless, he was ready to forgive him because he loved him. Ali served Amir’s family with loyalty all of his life and loved both of the boys equally. Rahim Khan was the only person among Amir’s father friends who paid attention to him and talked to him in the same level. Rahim was the person who helped Amir to believe in himself and gave him a feeling of self – forgiveness. He gave Amir the power and courage to rescue Sohrab from the Taliban leader.

Ethnic differences are a big problem which causes meaningless hatred among adults, and it passes like an inheritance to the next generations. Most of Pashtuns felt that they were more important than the others and that they have the power to omit / defame the others. Inequality is a concept that Afghans do not spend a lot of time understanding because it didn’t bother them. It is an appalling fact that ethnic differences exist among the friends and a majority is ashamed of making such friendships obvious in public. According to the story, prejudice always was and always will exist as a strong trait among the Afghan people and is hard to exterminate.

Anna Lee: Success

The movie celebrities often say that they don’t have personal freedom, and they wish they could be normal persons while they are chased by paparazzi. However, if they are not famous, who will care about them and report their daily lives? Often, we hear the politicians say they finally can stay home and enjoy spending time with their wife and children when they lost their election. Then, years later, when they have second chance they would run in the election again without any hesitation. Those are two examples of what we call successful persons. Therefore, I don’t agree with the statement that the most successful person is a man who was loved by his family, respected by his friend, worked hard and had a full life. I don’t think the CEO would agree to change places with the gardener, neither would I.

Let’s look at the definition of success from Wikipedia. The meanings of success are (a) A level of social status, (b) Achievement of an objective/goal, and (c) The opposite of failure. Many of us define success in term of how society and culture define it, and some define success in terms of what we have accomplished so far in life. To many people, a successful person should be a person who can attain wealth, position, power, honors, or the like. To me, a successful person should be loved and respected not only by his family and friends but also by a larger scale of people, such as the community he/she lives. A successful person means one should have a certain amount of fame. One is known not only by his family or friends but also by a certain amount of people, people who are in the same specialty area or community, Or on a larger scale, to be known by people from the native nation or foreign nations. In addition to that, a successful person means one might not be a millionaire, but at least should hold a certain amount of money. One can provide a comfortable accommodation for his family and still have some extra money to buy what one try to buy. A successful person means one should have a respectful job. However, it is because he wants to have a job rather than he has to have a job. A successful person should have something to contribute to the society and have a kind of influential power. For example, the famous golf player, Tiger Wood, or the Microsoft inventor, Bill Gates, are successful persons by most socio-economic standards.

To me, the gardener described in number 2 might be a happy person because he was loved by his family and respected by his friends. However, happiness doesn’t equal to success. Based on the definition from the dictionary and my personal view, the gardener is far beyond a successful person because his social circle is only focused on his family and friends. He worked hard and had a full life. However, working hard doesn’t necessarily make a person successful. Many people devote their time to miscellaneous tasks without making big achievements in life. Is the CEO willing to exchange position with the gardener? I don’t think so. A CEO has a great deal of power, who has great authority on his employees and can make a lot of contributions to his company. He has fame, position, and wealth. In contrast, a gardener has less influential power than a CEO and might live in a poor life. As the example of movie celebrities and politicians I mentioned earlier, Would anyone think those two types of persons like to change their position with others, such as a gardener?

In conclusion, it’s not up to the individuals to be a CEO or a gardener; if I have choice I would rather be a CEO with a busy but wealthy life.

Maryam Rouyanipour: Success

In my opinion you don’t need dispositional luck or any special diploma to reach the success you deserve. If you have a quick look at famous successful people’s biographies, they weren’t born to be successful necessarily. The main point that all of them had was, acquired skills which made them successful.

I do know the most important parameter that makes you successful is “ faith”. You have to have faith that you are going to be exactly what you expected to be. You need to believe that you deserve all success you earn. On the other hand, you have to value yourself. In order to value yourself, you need to feel you are worth valuing or you have to say “I am valuable ”. Everyday, you should tell yourself a positive sentence such as: I am smart, I am strong, I can learn to do new things and to be creative. Those are the things that make you more self-confident. Because you can believe that you are capable of being independent and making your own decisions in your own way. Those are really valuable. But be aware. Never use any negative form in your sentences. If you affirm negative, this is what you will get. You have to be very careful in your affirmations.

The next step to be successful is “gathering enough right data and information” around your goal to know what you have to do functionally to get to your purpose in the shortest way and time. There are so many strategies to get information such as: reading, searching on line, having relationship with successful people and consulting with them, … . Then you have to compare those data together to choose the most influenced item. In addition, to have a successful relationship, you might need to improve your personality in order to be a sociable and gregarious person. Although you must not be exactly the same as they were, you can get a suitable pattern of their experiences and follow them.

Finally, most of successful people are often ”ambitious and hardworking”. As I mentioned in the first parameter, if you have a positive perspective, you will get to the glamorous future by working hard on your goals. It means you have to always cope with different kinds of obstacles that might exist in your way. All the time you have to be hopeful and don’t feel exhausted to continue your struggle.

So if I want to have an adding up, I have to say to be successful, everyone has to practice more and more on her/him abilities, potentials, beliefs, attitudes and skills. Obviously, those big changes will not happen in one or two days. You have to be patient and more practical person to get your aims and feel happiness.



Maryam
19 Jan 2008

Nancy Lin: Success

In a real society, it’s sometimes quite difficult to find the right person to do the right job in a perfect manner. You will be very happy if you are able to find one. In this case, the CEO was able to find one and that’s a win-win-situation. However, I don’t think the CEO would rather be a gardener and neither do I.

The definition of success varies and it depends on job nature. As an employee, you must be able to accomplish your job as committed. In addition, hard work will gain more merits for you. As a gardener, it will be much better if you are an extrovert, and have a sincere and nice personality, as you will from time to time meet many people. So, being sociable and open-minded is very important. In this case, the CEO’s gardener is able to gain the trust from his family and friends as he has the technique to do his job and able to communicate with them peacefully.

Though his gardener was very successful, both the CEO and I wouldn’t consider taking his position as different people have different strengths. The gardener was very good at decorating the flowers, trees but it didn’t mean that he could be a good chef. Therefore, understanding your strength is very important, as you have to maximize it in order not to waste your genius. Another concern is the money you have to earn to support your living. I believe that the living standard between a gardener and a CEO is very different; how can a CEO earn so little to survive? If the CEO has the technique to do the gardening job, he can do it as his interest when he has the time to do so but not on his daily things-to-do list. Also, being a successful CEO can be well recognized by the world and the degree of happiness can hardly be measured.

For myself, I definitely would not consider to be a gardener as this is a tough job to me. I don’t like to be exposed under shinny/rainy days without stop. In addition, the salary given cannot fulfill my needs at all. I would rather be a salesperson who can meet many people and make as much money as I can to have my early retirement. In conclusion, I think everybody needs to have a deep thought on what you want to do in the future and stick to it. Try your best to accomplish it. Being a hundred percent good is not enough; there is always ways for improvement. You can’t under estimate yourself, once you go for it; you need to ask yourself, how can I be much better? You are always competing against yourself and that will make you the best in your own field.

Behnaz Ghatan: The Kite Runner

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Anchor Canada, 2003) is an amazing and extraordinary book about culture and history of Afghanistan. This story is about a writer who lives in the U.S.A, and spent his childhood in Afghanistan. He has some memories of the past which bother him. First, Kite Runner shows readers picture of Afghanistan in the last three decades, and the relationship between father and son and their servant who has a son. These two boys grew up together but differently. The book describes some cultural aspects, racism, and wars in Afghanistan that destroyed people’s lives and their country. Most of the people were killed, wounded, or immigrated to the other countries while they lost their real identity. Khaled Hosseini wrote Kite Runner for two major reasons.


Khaled Hosseini wrote about Amir who spent his childhood in Kabul, and he lives in the U.S.A. The novel begins with Rahim Khan’s call in which he says “There is a way to be a good again” (2). It was the last sentence that he told Amir before he hung up. It reminds Amir of the memories of his past and his childhood spent with Hassan, and his father Ali, who were Hazara and worked in Amir’s father, Baba, house. Hassan was an intelligent boy who was one year younger than Amir. He was very good at slingshot and flying kites. Baba loved Hassan the same as Amir, some times more than him so that it made Amir jealous of Hassan, but Rahim Khan was so kind and close to Amir and encourage him in writing. Assef was a half German, half Pashtun boy who was a bully and was called “ear eater”. One day Assef insulted Amir and wanted to hit him, but Hassan protected Amir. There was a kite tournament, that Amir won, but Hassan was raped by Assef. Amir saw that, but he did not do any thing. Amir tired to keep Hassan far away from himself because of his feeling of shame and guilt. After the Russian invasion, Amir and Baba went to the U.S.A. Baba died and Amir married an Afghan girl, Soraya; they could not have any children. Amir went to Pakistan after Rahim Khan’s call. He asked Amir to go to Afghanistan and bring Sohrab, Hassan’s son with him. Amir understood Hassan was his half-brother, and he and his wife had been killed by Taliban. He found Sohrab had been sold and raped. Amir took him to the U.S.A, but Sohrab did not talk again. Amir flew the kite again with Sohrab and remembered his memories of his real friend.

Khaled Hosseini wanted to show how memories of the past can haunt someone’s life. He describes the memories of Amir’s friend ship with Hassan never left him. Baba was so kind to Hassan even more than Amir which made Amir jealous of him. Amir tried to keep Baba for himself and did not share his love and attention with Hassan who had Ali’s devotion. Although Hassan was growing up illiterate like his father, he loved books. Amir read him poems and stories specially “Shahnameh”. Hassan loved all the chapters, but his favorite story was “Rostam and Sohrab”. Amir’s favorite part of reading was when Hassan came across a big word that he did not know. Then, Amir teased him and exposed his ignorance. Also, Hassan was the first person who encouraged Amir to write when Amir wanted to show his knowledge off and humiliate him. Hassan loved Amir so much, and his first word was Amir. He always protected Amir; Hassan rescued his friend, Amir, by his slingshot when Assef and his two friends wanted to hit them. Amir won kite tournament, but Hassan was raped by Assef because of Amir’s kite. Amir was standing in the corner and watching what was happening to Hassan, but he did not do anything even ask for help. Amir felt guilty about Hassan and the silence between them made the situation worse. Amir tried to keep Hassan far from himself, so he plotted against Hassan. He planted his birthday watch under his pillow and accused him. As a result, Ali and Hassan left the house .However, Baba asked them to stay with them. It was the first time that Baba cried. Ali and Hassan got stick in Afghanistan after Russian pillage. Ali was killed by land mine and Hassan and his wife were murdered by Taliban when he was preventing them from entering Baba’s house. Amir relationship with his father affected all his life. After wining kite tournament, Amir had a chance to be closer to Baba, the thing that he always dreamed of. He had tried before by his writing, but Baba just said one sentence:” Well, that’s very good, isn’t it!”(33). Amir felt that he was not the exact person that Baba expected, “An independent courageous boy”.
Khaled is critical of some aspects of afghan culture and beliefs. The
Hazara do not have equal rights and equal opportunities in their lives because they are a minority in Afghanistan. Hazara are distinguished because of their appearance and people insult them. They do not have any opportunities to have a good job or to study like others, so they cannot improve their lives; for example, Amir and Hassan were at the same house and same age. But, Hassan could not go to school like Amir, even though he was clever. The other thing which is mentioned is prejudice and chauvinism in Afghanistan which is against women’s rights. Men have the right to marry more than one woman, and they are free to make a relationship with opposite sex before marriage which is strictly forbidden for women. In this story, Soraya, Amir’s wife, was the victim of this culture. Also, Khaled Hosseini shows his disagreement with Taliban behaviors. They kill, abuse, and insult people under the shadow of Islam which is an unforgettable sin, and strictly forbidden in their holy book”quran”. Two people have been killed by Assef because of their sexual relationship which is banned in Islam, but Assef raped innocent children!

Kite Runner is a painful, unforgettable Afghan history that reminds us people in Afghanistan have been devastated by barbarism and savagery in the twentieth century. Khaled Hosseini has written an interesting mixture of black and white memories of a man who has been carrying them all his life. He has also shown how childhood can affect people’s lives and behavior in the future. Khaled Hosseini describes places, people’s attitude, and their feeling vividly which makes them real and alive for readers. The story touches the heart of the readers, and they contemplate in the story.

Alicia Correa: The Kite Runner

The novel The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini (Doubleday Canada, 2003) describes
how culture, prejudices, religion and family are important in people’s emotional development. In this story, a twelve-year-old Amir, a Pashtun rich boy, decided not to help his servant when he was sexually abused in order to achieve a goal and make his father proud of him. What he did not know was the consequences of his decision; he felt a guilt that was going to be with him for the rest of his life. Amir grew up in the city of Kabul in Afghanistan; in this culture history, religion and family’s reputation were major matters. However, Amir’s character has been formed mostly based on the relationships with his father Baba, and his Hazzara servant, Hassan.

The Kitte Runner is about Amir’s life, a pashtun afghan boy that lived in Kabul with his father Baba, a rich, proud and generous man. The family lived in a Mansion and they had a servant, Ali, who lived with his son, Hassan, in a mud shack next to the mansion. Amir and Hassan had had many things in common during their childhood: both had lost their mothers because Amir’s mother died after the delivery and Hassan’s mother left him after he was born, and the same Hazzara woman had breast fed them that made them share a brotherhood based on people’s belief. Also, they spent time playing together and reading books. In additon, they loved to spend time with Baba, and flew kites in winter. When Amir was not at school he was with Hassan. Hassan loved Amir in an unconditional way, but for Amir, their relationship was very complicated. He felt that sometimes Hassan was his best friend; however, Hassan was also his servant, and their social and ethnic differences made the idea of Hassan as a friend unreal. The relationship with his father Baba was also complicated because they did not have many similarities to share, and for Baba, it was difficult to understand Amir and his passion for books and writing. On the contrary, Rahim Khan, Baba’s friend and business partner, understood Amir and his passion for books. Sometimes, he was the father that Baba could not be for Amir. One day, Amir saw the opportunity to make Baba proud of him; he would have to win the Kite Runner Tournament, and Baba would be the father he had always wished for. On the tournament’s day, Amir and Hassan were the best team; Amir cut the last Kite and won the competition. Hassan, the best kite runner, ran to bring the kite to Amir; this kite and Baba’s recognition was everything Amir wanted . Hassan found the last kite, but a group of children intercepted him asking for the kite. Hassan fought back becuase he had promised Amir “for you a thousand times over” (pag.86). One of the children, Assef, decided to give up the kite; instead, he wanted to give a lesson to Hassan about race superiority. Assef raped Hassan when Amir was hiding and watching it. Amir wanted Baba’s recognition so much that he decided not to stand up for Hassan. This happened when Amir was twelve years old; as a result, the guilt would make him suffer from insomnia for the rest of his life. He tried to get rid of the guilt by getting rid of Hassan. Knowing that Baba could not bear a thief, Amir created a plot to make Hassan seem like a thief in front of Baba’s eyes; even so, he would not stop feeling guilty for the rest of his life. From that day on, everything had changed for Amir; also, the country had changed, and they had had to flee to America to avoid the war. Once in America, the relationship between Baba and Amir changed; now,it was time for Baba to rely on Amir who found America like his home. In America, Amir had the joy of Baba’s love; he became a writer and he fell in love and got married to Soraya, before Baba died. When Amir was thirty- eight years old, a phone call changed his life. He went back to Afghanistan to meet Rahim Khan, and he received a letter from Hassan with a picture of his family. Rahim told him that they were half brothers, and Hassan and his wife had been killed by the Taliban, leaving behind their son, Sohrab, who was ten years old, and was living in an orphanage. Also, Rahim khan told him, “there is a way to be good again” (pag.247) by finding the boy. When Amir tried to rescue the boy, he found out that Sohrab was Assef’s slave, and he had been sexually abused. Assef had become a member of the Taliban. Amir and Assef decided to fight until one of them would die, and the winner would keep Sohrab with him. During the fight, Sohrab could not tolerate more aggression because Assef was killing Amir, so he took sides shooting Assef with his slingshot, and destroying one of his eyes. After they could escape from Kabul, Amir tried to bring Sohrab to America. The paperwork became complicated, and Sohrab could not handle the idea of staying in an orphanage. He tried to commit suicide. When he was recovered, and the paperwork was done they went to America; although, life is senseless for Sohrab. The new family goes to a meeting with Afghans, after one year living together, and the children flew kites like in the old times. Sohrab and Amir were bonded in same way when they flew a kite together. That demonstrated to Amir that there was still hope in Sohrab’s life, and also in his life.


Hassan was an influential person in Amir’s childhood. Hassan was Amir’s true mentor. Amir shared with Hassan his passion for reading, and Hassan was pleased with Amir’s stories specially with the Shahnamah about ancient Persian heroes. One day, Amir had been reading to Hassan, and he decided to make up a story. When he finished, Hassan was clapping excitedly and told him that this had been the best story in a long time. Amir was fascinated with Hassan’s excitement, and this encouraged him to write his first story. When he finished the story, he asked Hassan about his opinion. He approved Amir’s writing with a bravo like Rahim Khan, but he suggested why the man in the story did not peel an onion to cry instead of killing his wife. One more time, Hassan surprised Amir with his intelligence, teaching him about the irony in the story, even though he did not know how to read. Also, Hassan taught Amir about loyalty more than once in his life. Firstly, when Aseef, a racist, rich and Pashtun boy wanted to attack Amir, for he believed Amir and Baba should not take care of a Hazzara because they should be exterminated. Even though Hassan was scared, he stood up for Amir with his slingshot, making Assef and his friends to back up. Secondly, Hassan shoewed his loyalty when he was raped by Aseef because he wanted to keep the promise to bring the kite to Amir. Thirdly, when Amir could not stand to see Hassan because he reminded him about his lack of courage and his betray; he made a plot to accuse Hassan of stealing some of his birthday gifts. Even after Baba asked to Hassan if he was responsible, Hassan said he was to protect Amir. Finally, Hassan gave Amir the last lesson of loyalty when the Taliban wanted to take Baba’s house, and he was killed defending Baba’s property. In addition, Hassan taught Amir to forgive. The first time was at the age of twelve, after the incident with Assef and the kite. Amir’s guilt did not allow him to sleep, and he felt an intolerable pain. He convinced Hassan to go to the hill to read a book; instead, he attacked Hassan throwing pomegranates to him. Hassan cried and felt the humiliation even though he did not punish Amir. The second time was at the age of thirty eight when Amir read the letter that Hassan had written before he died. The letter does not show any feeling of resentment; on the contrary, it expressed the love and respect he had felt for Amir and his father.




Besides Hassan, Amir’s father Baba had a major impact on the development of Amir’s personality. Amir was raised by a father who could not demonstrate love which made him feel unloved and insecure. Amir was always trying to please Baba, but not matter how hard he tried, there were rare occasions that Baba made him feel special. When Baba was busy he sent Amir away to read with disapproval; Amir sometimes spent one or two hours sitting outside of Baba’s studio hearing him or waiting for the right opportunity to be with him. Amir had learned how a father should express love thanks to Rahim Khan who had demonstrated affection holding Amir’s finger in a baby’s picture, reading his first story, encouraging him to write, and sharing Baba’s anecdotes. However, the most important lesson Amir had learned from Baba was about morality. Baba told Amir that the only sin was stealing. The other sins were a variation of stealing because when one lies or kills, he or she is stealing the right to the truth or to life. One more lesson about morality was that he should not trust the Mullahs because they did not know anything but to pray and recite The Koran. In addition, Amir learned about jealousy from Baba. He could see the pride Baba felt every time that Hassan showed similarities with Baba. Commonly, when Baba and Amir went out, he invited Hassan. One time, Amir and Hassan were skimming stones in a lake, and when Hassan made a stone skip eight times, Baba patted him on the back. Also, Baba was proud because Hassan was strong and good with the slingshot. Amir could not compete with Hassan’s abilities; he had not inherited it from Baba. The only time that Amir believed Baba would be proud of him was when Baba suggested that he could win The Kite tournament. Amir decided to try hard to win the tournament, and he would be the son that Baba always wanted. Hassan knew how important this was for Amir; he supported Amir all the time, and he would not let him down. Amir was so desperate for Baba’s approval that he let down Hassan; however, when Amir came back with the last kite he had cut, Baba finally was proud of him.

The novel shows how such factors as religion, culture, education and family interact and influence our personality although we are responsible for our own choices or the way we decide to react in different situations. In addition, we form our lives by adding individual choices; therefore, these choices should be consciously taken because when our choices do not turn out the way we have expected, we are able to correct them and change the course of our lives.

Sergey Kazakov : The Kite Runner

I’m again thinking about this book. I’m surprised about Amir, Baba, Soroya , and all other persons occupying this book; their lives still disturb me. Why has this book has touched me so much? What troubles me? A month ago, I first opened this book and in a few days it was over. But the grip of this story remains strong. For me as a former citizen of USSR Afghanistan had not been Terra Incognito until this book. In the former USSR, Afghanistan was part of our lives. We could discuss historical possibilities but the main result is evident – we were, we are and we will be inseparable. The Western World was not really interested in this part of the World until recently, when the Taliban emerged as if from nowhere. Only when the first coffins of international soldiers arrived home, it became a spotlight global interest. It is well known fact that people at the North America usually are not interested in foreign affairs. I think they were shocked when easy and understandable western democratic values have not been accepted by Afghan people, when war against tyranny step by step skidded to civil war. This had aroused many uneasy questions: Who are those people populating Afghanistan? Why don’tthey understand privileges which International Forces have brought them? Khaled Hosseini with his book has arrived just in time to answer these questions. Did he do did this? I believe that Khaled Hosseini wrote this book as a response to the unconscious urge to do something on behalf on his Homeland, on behalf of his people, to explain something very touching and important about Afghanistan to the other people, but simultaneously it was absolutely a sober plan of newborn writer, educated in the USA, targeted on the success in the American market.

This book may be regarded as mini-saga – behind the life of one family we could see Afghanistan. It started many years ago in Afghanistan, where Amir, the main character of this book, and his father Baba lived their lives. It was life of an adored father and a rejected son struggling for his love. Fortunately for Amir his father was rich which gave him the opportunity to enjoy his life in full measure. He even did not have to struggle for friendship of his peers – during all young years he was followed by his Sancha-Pansa – servant’s son Hassan. His time was filled by games, dreams, reading, walking and the main devotion – running kites. But the author reminds us that even for the youth life is a struggle, a constant challenge. To gain Baba’s love Amir should struggled to overcome himself and to win a competition of the kite runners. And he did it! However a peaceful life was abruptly broken to pieces when one morning the USSR army entered Afghanistan to “fulfill their international duties”. Although troubles changed to real horror when soviet occupation was changed by Taliban’s reigning government. If the first tide wave destroyed the usual life, the second one swept out a lot of Afghan from the Homeland and dispersed them all over the world. In a short period, Baba and Amir appeared in the USA and had to start their new life from the very beginning. Amir whom Baba used to view as feeble, clumsy, and not determined boy proved to be a reliable and highly intelligent person ready to struggle for the new life. Their roles changed – he became the main support for his family, but he never tried to humiliate his father. Many troubles came and went but even in peaceful and rich America old “ghosts” haunted him –Afghanistan had called him. It was against his will, but it gave him a chance to pay his old debt to Hassan – he finally saved Hassan’s son Sohrab. But after years this price had grown to the really troubling measure.

I believe that Khaled Hosseini wrote this book first of all as a response to unconscious urge to do something on behalf of Homeland, on behalf of his people, in an attempt to explain something very touching and important to the World about Afghanistan. For anybody who is acquainted with World’s history it should be amazing that a region with such a remarkable history is so poor, so distracted, so far away from the rest of the World. It looks like this part of the World still exists in the medieval centuries. In ancient times knowledge began to spread all over the World. from here as from cradle of civilization. Afghanistan as a cross-section of World’s main roads contemplated a lot - it saw army of Alexander the Great, merchants moved through Afghanistan to the West on Great Silk Way; armadas of tataro-mongol nomads looting the country. In recent history Afghanistan has attracted attention of “big players” - England Empire, USSR, and USA. Their interests are usually purely political without taking into account people of this poor country. But they are so different! We couldn’t ignore them anymore. the World, due to the USA policy, has become involved in the life of this suburb of civilization. If we remove some aspects from this book we’ll be surprised that Afghan people resemble us so much. They share the same values as any other nation – they love their families, they love their children, they love life. They can feel as deeply as any other people. When the readers are reading this book, at least it was absolutely true for me, they can feel some kind of aroma arise from the fields surrounding far outstanding mountains; they feel freshness of the winter wind and smell of the simple and delicious food, you hear undistinguished noises of the eastern bazaar, you can see indigo-blue sky above dirty murky land and plumes of smokes rising to the sky. They even can feel more then that – they can feel the spirit of this ancient land. All differences which we are so tempted to imagine for other nations are trifling matter – the reader cannot distinguish them from many other nationalities in melting pot of North America. They behave as if they have grown up there, they can work, they can study, and they can write books.

But simultaneously the novel was a sober planning targeted on the success on the American market. We shouldn’t forget that Khaled Hosseini grew up in the USA; he was educated there; he shares all values of this world, and he is a writer, looking for a success and a recognition there. So he constructed the book in accordance with recommendations and laws of the American cultural tradition. When he described young years of Amir, it was negligible due to the strong aroma of the East and maybe more touching pictures. The second part of the book had revealed clearly all things hidden before – it is an American writer with afghan roots. He adopted not only literature skills but mentality of the West World. Sometimes, his reasoning about the politics which he had put in Baba’s mouth looks absolutely naïve. On purpose or not he omitted the more tragic question – what is Afghanistan now? Why are people here fighting against international forces? Why don’t they accept western values? What role do drugs play in the life of modern Afghanistan? I didn’t wait for him to answer these questions, but I blame him for the lack of desire to discuss such troublemaking questions. He wrote his book as if on the recommendation of Jack London (Martin Eden). Many times during reading I was surprised that I could predict future up to tiny details. This predictability together with other typical features did not improv total impression from the book. We saw a lot such kind of scenarios before – good American guy consul, who can share feelings and would help in critical situation, Amir – a-la James Bond, easily defeated one of the Taliban leader in bloody battle, and of course a Happy end. For his pictures in the second part of the book he uses only black and white colors. Khaled Hosseini, of course, is a bright and outstanding person. But absolutely clear that the lack of life experience is his big trouble spot. Therefore, characters, who inhabit his book, sometimes look artificial, unnatural. Amir during his childhood is a real boy, but later as if by magic he will became “normal American guy”, Baba-Amir-Hassan triangle is far beyond imagination. Besides Hassan is an absolutely unreal person, far more from Baba’s ideal of a boy, Baba loved him, not Amir. It is understandable that this character allows describing Amir more vividly, but easy ways are not always the best. And on the other side - Assef. If Hassan represents absolute moral quality, Assef represents absolute dark forces of the world. Easy and clear!

When I finished this book unavoidable question had aroused – was it worth reading it? Did the author fulfill his mission? And my answer is “Yes”. People of the western countries received some information about Afghanistan. Some prejudices were never cleared up. Could Khaled Hosseini have done his work better? He could have. But paraphrasing old joke about taper in American saloon which says “Don’t shoot pianist; he plays as he can”, I like to say don’t judge this book too strictly, the author did what he could. The big success of this book could play tricky game on Khaled Hosseini - he can miss his chance to become a real Writer. And Afghanistan will lose a man who could be entrepreneur in difficult and complex discussion which would occur in any case.