Best of Week: Culturally Defined

Throughout our reading and discussion of The Kite Runner, a predominant question was raised both by myself and the class as a whole. This question was one of Amir and Hassan's relationship. It was prompted by many passages, this, simply being one of them: The question being, why don't Amir and Hassan recognize their relationship as a true friendship? rather, what's stopping them from retaining that mutual bond?

"Ali and Baba grew up together as childhood playmates--at least until polio crippled Ali’s leg--just like Hassan and I grew up a generation later. Baba was always telling us about the mischief he and Ali used to cause, and Ali would shake his head and say, “But, Agha sahib, tell them who was the architect of the mischief and who the poor laborer?” Baba would laugh and throw his arm around Ali.

But in none of his stories did Baba ever refer to Ali as his friend.

The curious thing was, I never thought of Hassan and me as friends either. Not in the usual sense, anyhow. Never mind that we taught each other to ride a bicycle with no hands, or to build a fully functional homemade camera out of a cardboard box. Never mind that we spent entire winters flying kites, running kites."

I found the answer through Baba and Ali's dialog and interaction with one another, and that reflection upon their child's relationship.

Baba and Ali's dialog identifies with their societal relationship (i.e. "Agha sahib" and the nonrecognition of a true "friendship") and reflects the cultural relationship between a Pashtun and a Hazara. Regardless of Amir and Hassan's childhood experiences together, their relationship was bound by the same cultural standard. Hassan recognizes Amir as "Amir Agha" and sets himself in a position lower than Amir in both outside and within their time together. Khaled Hosseini used their relationship in order to illustrate a theme of civilization and culture represented in life itself, sufficiently answering our questions. That ethnic and cultural boundaries drastically affect and define who we are and our relationship with others regardless of our situational experience. But most importantly, that it can’t erase the bond that has been created within those experiences.

Is it fair that culture have such a dominant role in defining these relationships? I can't tell you for sure, but I can speculate that maybe society's interpretation is what makes some relationships so special after all.