Class+Identification


 * Class Identification **

In the novel __The Kite Runner__, Hosseini identifies three classes which are portrayed through the main characters.

Pashtuns


 * Half of the country's population derives from the Pashtuns [1]
 * Is known as the earliest recorded class in Afghanistan, regard themselves as "true Afghan people" [1]
 * Are Sunni-Muslim people
 * Main language spoken is Pushtu [1]
 * Maintain a "miliant heritage", which makes them more independant than most classes [2]
 * Have always been known to associate warfare with their everyday lives, most still carry firearms [1]
 * Physical characteristics
 * Are said to resemble "true Aryan stock" [1]
 * Typically tall with fair skin [1]
 * Dark colored hair/eyes [1]
 * Men traditionally have mustaches and cover their heads in public because of ancient customs [2]
 * Women wear modest drapes over their heads [2]
 * Both sexes wear traditional clothing of loose shirts and baggy trousers [2]
 * Characters in __The Kite Runner__
 * **Amir** "'And, you know, he never fights back. Never. He just...drops his head and...' 'So he's not violent,' Rahim Khan said" (p. 22).
 * **Baba** "My father was a force of nature, a towering Pashtun specimen with a thick beard, a wayward crop of curly brown hair as unruly as the man himself, hand that looked capable of uprooting a willow tree, and a black glare that would 'drop the devil to his knees begging for mercy'..." (p. 12-13).
 * **Assef** "Born to a German mother and Afghan father, the blond, blue-eyed Assef towered over the other kids. His well-earned reputation for savagery preceded him on the streets" (p. 38).
 * **Rahim Khan**

Hazaras


 * Live among the mountains and remote countrysides with little water [1][2]
 * 1.5 million live in the Hazarajat (rugged mountain/narrow valley) [2]
 * Hazara comes from Persian word "Hazar" meaning thousand. Referrring to size of Mongol military unit [2]
 * Most are shepherds that seasonally crop "follow seasonal grazing grounds" [1]
 * Are known to be hardworking, but cannot prosper with the region they are living in [1]
 * Either join army or do "menial labor" in the cities [1]
 * Mongoloid [1]
 * Descended from the soldiers of Genghis Khan Army [1]
 * Shi'a Muslim [1]
 * Physical Characteristics:
 * Men wear skullcaps, clean shaven [1]
 * Women wear long dresses [1]
 * Characters in __The Kite Runner__
 * Ali "... Ali had a congenital paralysis of his lower facial muscles, a condition that rendered him unable to smile and left him perpetually grim-faced" (p.8).
 * "But polio had left Ali with a twisted, atrophied right leg that was shallow skin over bone with little in between except a paper-thin layer of muscle" (p.8).
 * **Hassan** "They called him 'flat-nosed' because of Ali and Hassan's characterisitic Hazara Mongoloid features. For years, that was all I knew about Hazaras, that they were Mogul descendants, and that they looked a little like Chinese people. School textbooks barely mentioned them and refereed to their ancestry only in passing"(p.9).

Tajiks


 * Middle class of Afghanistan [1]
 * Large portion live in urban areas [1]
 * About half are Sunni-Muslim, and half are Shi'a-Muslim [1]
 * Shi'a-Muslim are the lower level of the Tajiks [1]
 * History of the people is not well known [2]
 * Jobs range from skilled artisans and traders to farmers and landowners [1]
 * Physical Characteristics
 * Are said to resemble "Mediterranian stock" [1]
 * Typically tall with light skin
 * Black hair is common, although red and blonde hair is not unusual [2]
 * Slender people [2]
 * "Mongoloid" features [1]

Turkish Groups/ Minorities

Uzbeks
 * Broad, flatface, light skin [2]
 * Farmers, stockmen, breeders of sheep and horse [2]
 * Large leather boots, belted cloak, turbans (men) [2]
 * Long floral dresses and leggings [2]
 * Mongoloid descent [1]
 * Shi'a muslim [1]
 * Occupations
 * government civil service [1]
 * craftspeople [1]
 * clerks [1]

= Discussion Questions = 1. How do you think class identification influences Assef and Hassan's relationship?

2. Looking specifically at Hassan and Amir's relationship, if there ever came a time when Hassan was in danger (with other Pashtuns around the situation) would Amir help his friend or revert back to Pashtun ideology and not step in?

3. Since the classes are so distinctly defined, do you think it would be possible to be friends with someone from a different class? Or is Amir and Hassan's relationship a rarity?

References

[1] Ali, S. (1995). //Cultures of the world: Afghanistan//. (pp. 60-67). New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark.

[2] Clifford, M. (1989). //The land and people of afghanistan//. (pp. 15-22). New York: J. B. Lippincott.

[3] Coghlan, T. (Photographer). (2008). Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1556949/Villagers-forced-out-by-Taliban-nomads.html

[4] Larson, M. & Hazelton, L. (2008, June 17). Hazara people. //National Geographic//, Retrieved from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com