Hi everyone can i please get some comments/advice for my speech
the statement is " Texts from different cultures enlighten us'
and my book is the kite runner
thanks
Salam, Good Afternoon Dr _____ and Class
Has anyone been to Afghanistan?....well It does seem like an unlikely tourist destination! Have you seen their culture first hand or perhaps read about it? You've probably seen on the news all about the conflict and the heard the Taliban’s name 1000 times over. But I’m here to enlighten you about the real Afghan culture before the country was at war before it was ravaged before it was taken over all from one inspiring novel.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini follows the journey and life of a young man, starting in his childhood then eventually his quest for redemption. Initially set in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970’s it expresses to us the changing Afghan culture through the Russian invasion and the Taliban through the perception of a young man struggling to reconcile his wrongs. Hosseini also enlightens the reader with a unique perspective of the identity of Afghan culture in a foreign land.
Through the form of a bildungsroman and the use of features such as symbolic references and Irony we begin to see our knowledge of Afghan culture evolve and unravel to us. The 2 major cultural lessons that I am going to talk to you about today are about the Hazaras and the Pashtuns and honour and pride.
Hosseini demonstrates the adversities faced by the two main ethnic groups with the symbolic friendship of Amir (a Pashtun) and Hassan (a Hazara).Throughout the novel Amir is being told by his culture to accept the simple fact that Hassan is just a lowly “flat nosed” Hazara servant to his household. Amir struggles to balance cultural expectations and regrets of his childhood which ultimately leads to self-forgiveness and repayment. This social hierarchy doesn’t demonstrate a foreign notion to us, the alienation and oppression of the Hazaras in Kabul could be contrasted in regards to our treatment of our own marginalized groups. By reading about the oppressed groups within Afghan culture it could enlighten us on how we should treat our own.
The Kite runner also explores the importance of image and honor in Afghan culture through the hardships Amir’s wife Soraya. Soraya expresses the role and the expectations of a woman, double standards between genders and the concept of not marrying for love but name. When she ran away with a boy “everyone was talking nang and namoos” or honour and pride comparatively she boldly states that ironically males can “go out to nightclubs looking for meat”. Additionally her father must approve of her khastegar or suitor which any Motaram or respected girl would not have asked her father about .Soraya educates us about a woman’s perspective on traditional beliefs and customs and provides the foreign idea of how hard it is for some women in the world to be restrained by their culture.
In conclusion the Kite Runner demonstrates and expresses Afghan culture in an engaging and thought provoking read. It enlightens us about a culture that too long has been overshadowed by wars and terrorism. Through its form and features it communicates a fictional journey that strikes real life lessons in each and every one of us. Whether you remembered about Pastuns or Namoos the Afghan culture that is embedded in the Kite Runner’s pages illustrates what makes all cultures special: diversity.
Thank You
All set for the spamming of techniques - no sweat.
