“Men Are More Convincingly Portrayed Than Women in the Kite Runner” Discuss

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“Men are more convincingly portrayed than women in the Kite Runner” Discuss The Kite Runner is a heavily driven through male characters; its female characters, while effective, play minor roles in the telling of the story. This being a narrative decision by Hosseini to effectively demonstrate that society in Afghanistan – through the lacking of female characters - is often foreshown for their gender inequity. Some would agree with this view; the key conflicts throughout the novel being between the relationships between brothers, male friends, male enemies and fathers and sons. The most significant conflict being between Amir and Assef; this conflict bringing about the key theme of the novel, that being redemption and so their conflict contrasts as the story progresses. The main conflicting scene which acted as a narrative tool to help the story move on was the rape scene in chapter 7. Amir is finally in realisation of the extent of how cowardly he is “I just watched. Paralyzed.” This being significant as it even the rape consisted of only men which emphasises the inequity of gender in Afghanistan and in this novel. However some would disagree - For Amir's mother Sofia - Even though she was a well-known literature professor, her death almost completely eliminates her influence from Amir's life. Baba never discusses her with Amir, and he doesn’t appreciate the qualities she passed down to her son “That was how I escaped my father's aloofness, in my dead mother's books” this being a disgrace to baba as he wished for a masculine son "Real men didn't read poetry-and God forbid they should ever write it!” this effectively showing baba’s disinterest in Amir as Baba believes a real man is interested in sports. One interpretation to explain his lack of conformity to the ideal model of manhood could be due to his mother as she feminizes him even though she's almost
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