Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini vs. Movie Version PDF

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Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini vs. Movie Version It is instantly recognizable that most movies are limited to a two-hour screening window and it is therefore impossible to fit every event in the book with detail. The “Kite Runner” is my least favorite book because of the scenes that included the Taliban, the use of Kalashnikov or the AK-47, and overall Afghanistan. Everything in the book and movie after Amir arrives back to Afghanistan to rescue Sohrab, reminds me of the deaths of thousands of American Military personnel serving in Afghanistan during the “War on Terror.” The movie is a loose adaptation to the book because many of the scenes in the movie is different from the book. We can easily distinguish the difference attributed to the book, to that of the movie. Many of these differences are easily distinguishable, others require deep analysis between the book and movie. Along with this composition, I will go over several key noticeable differences in the book and movie. The story of a kite runner named Hassan is set in the background of Afghanistan’s blustery history, the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and then the Rise of Islamic Terrorist Organizations after the government collapse. Much of Afghanistan’s decade-long war led to the rise of Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The narrator and main character are not Hassan, but Amir, a privileged Pashtun boy living in Kabul. The main character, Amir, struggles throughout his boyhood with the sense that his father disapproves of him and his actions. He feels unloved by his father, Baba, and doesn’t realize why Baba values Hassan and considers him a son. Amir’s relationship with Hassan, his closest friend but also his servant, is complicated by a century-old Afghani tribal caste system that places Hassan, a Hazara, beneath Amir, a Pashtun, in wealth, education and social standing. Near the end, after Amir returns to Afghanistan to rescue Sohrab,

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini vs. Movie Version Hassan’s son from the Taliban, he discovers Hassan is his brother. While the movie exposes Amir’s desire for his father’s love and the bonding of his and Hassan’s friendship in color, there is no other way of describing the events of Amir’s life, but in a 371-page book. One of the first differences you will notice between the film and the book is that Hassan does not have a cleft lip in the film. Given you read the book, the cleft is mentioned quite a few times. The first time Hassan is introduced, he is called ''the harelipped kite runner” (Hosseini 2). For Example, “The curious thing was, I never thought of Hassan and me as friends either… Never mind that we spent entire winters flying kites, running kites. Never mind that to me, the face of Afghanistan is that of a boy with a thin-boned frame… a boy with a Chinese doll face perpetually lit by a harelipped smile. Never mind any of these things. Because history isn’t easy to overcome. Neither is religion. In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi’a, and nothing was ever going to change that” (Hosseini 25). In the book, the harelip may have been a way to emphasize the ethnic difference between Hassan, a Hazara and Amir, a Pashtun. This was the long-standing bitter rivalry between the Shi’a’s of Islam and Sunni’s of Islam, this caused massive civil wars and bloodshed lasting for centuries. Another noticeable difference between the book and movie is the surgery by Baba to fix Hassan’s harelip for his birthday, which was discussed in vivid details. For instance, “I KEPT THINKING OF THAT DAY IN 1974, in the hospital room, just after Hassan’s harelip surgery. Baba, Rahim Khan, Ali, and I had huddled around Hassan’s bed, watched him examine his new lip in a handheld mirror. Now everyone in that room was either dead or dying. Except for me” (Hosseini 219). In the movie version, however, Hassan’s birthday gift was a visit to the local Kite shop,

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini vs. Movie Version where Hassan gets to pick the kite. This was followed by a plot where we read about Hassan and Amir winning the kite competition and the dramatic scene of Assef raping Hassan because Hassan refuses to give up Amir’s winning kite and chose NOT to defend his honor and integrity, foolish boy. After, Amir witnesses this gruesome scene, he chose to ignore Hassan and unfriend him. Another difference between the book and the movie comes when Amir goes to rescue Sohrab (Hassan's son) from Assef who is now a member of the Taliban. In the book version, Assef’s price for Sohrab’s freedom is beating the living daylights out of Amir by using stainlesssteel brass knuckles. In my opinion, the decision by Assef to use the stainless-steel brass knuckles was cowardly because he used a weapon to inflict damage on an unarmed man, purposely. If he used his bare knuckles, there would be a different story since both characters are evenly matched. As the saying goes, “There’s no honor among thieves”, especially in the Taliban. For example, from pages 287 to 292 in the book, the fight between Assef and Amir is described so vividly in details that the reader would see the whole scene play out in their head. So much that Amir needed to be taken to the hospital or he would bleed from the inside. He had to stay in the hospital for over a week because of the severity of his injuries. In the movie, Amir and Assef fight, but Amir is not hurt badly enough to end up in the hospital. One reason for this difference is that this cut may have been strictly for time-saving purposes since most movies are regulated to a two-hour window. Given you read the book, this would be easily noticeable.

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini vs. Movie Version Another difference between the book is the scene when Assef rapes Hassan. In the book, the rape scene is described in detail. In the book, we are told ''Assef knelt behind Hassan, put his hands on Hassan's hips and lifted his bare buttocks. He kept one hand on Hassan's back and undid his belt buckle with his free hand. He unzipped his jeans. Dropped his underwear. He positioned himself behind Hassan. Hassan didn't struggle. Didn't even whimper'' (Hosseini 75). In the movie, we see Hassan gets shoved down and his pants pulled down. Assef unbuckles his pants and the scene cuts away. We see the struggle and guilt that fills Hassan’s eye’s, much like fear, he gives away and doesn’t resist anymore. We can understand the limitations of this scene since it would be graphic especially for young viewers. In conclusion, the movie does a great job in referencing the book in detail. In several circumstances, the movie does differentiate between the novel and changes or twist the words of the book to be more appealing to viewers. I hate this book, aside from the history surrounding Afghanistan, I hate the author. The reason behind it is, we see Hassan’s loyalty to Amir much like a soldier’s loyalty to his country, both would do anything for it, and even suffer or die for it. Amir, he doesn’t understand that he sees his so-called friend getting rapped and decided the best option was to run away and cowardly hid it and keep it to himself. He continuously hides it from everyone, and that eats him up inside all these years. Given his age, it doesn’t exclude him from what atrocious behavior he had. Seeing today’s society, kids as old as 4 or 5 do the right thing, under unimaginable pressure, it further proves my point. I’m guessing this book was written to share his sins with the world and somewhat relive what is eating him up. Aside from that, the movie was a great fit with the book and correctly aligned....