Cross-culturally, there appear to be certain universal struggles that plague human beings. Khaled Hosseini allows the reader to witness these struggles through the eyes of Amir, a young Afghan boy born into a socially-gifted world but is constantly yearning for his father’s approval and forgiveness. There is a constant fight between right and wrong throughout this book, not only in Amir’s conscience but in everyday life. Social class also plays a major theme in this story; Hassan as a Hazara and Amir, a Pashtun. These two boys who were never really allowed to be friends according to society and Amir struggles with his position, as well as Hassan’s, all throughout his childhood and teenage years.
Amir’s mother had died during childbirth and Amir felt his father held him accountable for her death. His whole life was one opportunity after another to win the affections of his father which he finally believed he had when he won the Kite Tournament. Ironically, the happiest moment of his life was spent watching in horror as his best friend was raped in an alley. Amir struggled with what was right and wrong; should he tell his father the truth about what happened or bask in the glory of his win with his father’s adoration pouring all over him? After all, telling his father would mean that he would have to tell on Assef and risk potentially being called a Hazara-lover. Amir was affected by society, and his own cowardice, and decided not to help his friend. He had the respect of his father but lost his best friend that day. This struggle of right and wrong can be translated to what children and adults deal with all over the world, in every culture.
The wanting to be accepted and loved is also universal. Amir felt as if he was never good enough for his father. Amir did not play soccer as elegantly as his father had and had no interest in athletics. He loved to write and read books which were something his mother, the professor, would have understood more had she been alive. Society has an expectation of sons of great men. Society will hold the son to the same standards and if the son falls short of those standards, he may lose his identity and become known as ‘The son of a great man’. Amir had done just that. Amir loathed and adored his father at the same time and was constantly wondering if his father shared the same feelings towards him. The importance of a parent’s approval has been demonstrated throughout literature from Miranda in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, who is in constant pursuit of her father’s affection, to Cedric Jennings in A Hope in the Unseen in which he is always trying not to disappoint his mother.
The distinction between the two main social classes in Afghanistan is that one is privileged and the other, destined to servitude and illiteracy. If Amir wants to maintain his place in society as an acceptable Pashtun and as Baba’s son, he can never fully admit to anyone, even his father who is also Hassan’s father, that Hassan and he are truly friends. In western society, social class is more associated with the amount of material goods you own rather than relying on the status of parents, grandparents and/or great-grandparents. Still, the separation of social classes can be felt here in the western world because of opportunities that are allowed to those who have the money versus those without material goods and what they are afforded. The Kite Runner exposes the triumphs and tragedies of a young boy growing up in Afghanistan and though the conditions may be unique to what any of the western world may experience, there are certain bonds of commonality that form among the reader, Amir, Hassan, Baba, Ali and the others that help the reader identify with the problems and struggles that afflict these individuals.