The Kite Runner

In my book, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, I have noticed several cultural differences. First off, everyone living in Kabul and the locations around it, are judged by their religious beliefs. Hassan and Ali are both servants for Baba and Amir, and they believe in very different religions. Because they believe in different things, they are treated very differently in society. The United States is just the opposite; people believe in all kinds of religions, and are all treated alike in society.

Another huge cultural difference that I have noticed when reading The Kite Runner, is weddings. When Amir gets married to Soraya in Afghanistan, their wedding is a lot different than the typical American wedding. Instead of asking the women to marry him himself which is usually the case in America, Amir requests that his father asks her father for Soraya's hand in marriage. Even throughout the rest of the wedding procedures, the rituals vary dramatically.

Another huge difference between the two cultures is the seasons. The kids in Afghanistan go to school during the summer, while kids in America get the summer off of school. Afghanistan children get the winter off of school, while American kids are in school. This difference in school seasons has an impact on the culture. During the Afghanistan winter break people gather together to have a kite flying and running competition. As far as I know, America has no such competitions during our summer, that are as large and important as the ones in Afghanistan.

The biggest cultural difference between America and Afghanistan is dominantly the government and the wars going on in The Kite Runner. The streets in Afghanistan are torn up, and Afghanistan is just a terribly destroyed country. Living in America, I can't say the same. America has its rough cities and towns, but nothing in America can even compare to the destruction in Afghanistan. The thing about all this too, is that the people living in Afghanistan are used to all the horrible violence, they live day by day, just simply trying to live. While people in America are fixed on their toys and games, and for most people life comes easily.