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The assignment says I should argue the merits of my chosen author who is to be inducted into the Literary Hall of Fame. My book is The Kite Runner...

I argue that Khaled Hosseini has an important position within the literary canon in part because his fiction presents a marginalized voice that is rarely encountered in Western literature. Indeed, as an Afghan-American author, Hosseini set his novels The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns in Afghanistan and addresses the issues that individuals face in that country. He presents the culture in a strikingly singular manner that warrants his position in this imagined Literary Hall of Fame.

I like your approach in examining The Kite Runner. Favoritism and bullying are certainly important aspects of the novel. I would suggest probing Amir’s relationship with his father for examples of favoritism. Amir seeks his father’s approval, and resents the fact that Hassan receives his father’s affection.


The scenes involving Assef are the most striking instances of bullying in the novel. More specifically, the harrowing scene in which Assef rapes Hassan is by far the most devastating scene in the novel:



“Assef knelt behind Hassan, put his hands on Hassan’s hips and lifted his bare buttocks. He kept one hand on Hassan’s back and undid his own belt buckle with his free hand…. Hassan didn’t struggle. Didn’t even whimper. He moved his head slightly and I caught a glimpse on his face. Saw the resignation. It was a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb.”    



The lamb imagery in the quote above is an important motif, because earlier in the novel  Hosseini writes about sacrificial lambs in Muslim culture. Here, Hassan has accepted his fate like a lamb being led to be slaughtered.


In short, Hosseini’s stellar prose and his examination of a culture that is often misunderstood or else disregarded in Western culture cements his position as an important literary voice. This is why he belongs in your imagined Literary Hall of Fame.

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