While the movie exposes Amir’s desire for his father’s love and the complexities of his and Hassan’s friendship, some alterations in dialogue, chronology and description make the movie’s revelations less powerful than the prose of the book. Amir’s relationship with Hassan, his closest friend but also his servant, is complicated by an age-old Afghani tribal caste system that places Hassan, a Hazara, beneath Amir, a Pashtun, in wealth, education and social standing. He feels unloved by his father, Baba, and compares his own qualities with those of Hassan whose physical abilities and characteristics are more similar to Baba’s than his own. The main character, Amir, struggles throughout his boyhood with the sense that his father disapproves of him. “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini works well in English and History classes due to the weave of historical events through a story rich in subtle symbolism and universal truths about childhood, friendship and love in its many forms. Author Khaled Hosseini with former President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. This article will look at The Kite Runner movie vs book differences and discuss the impact of these changes.
Suited for young adults, “The Kite Runner” movie and book has scenes that may be disturbing, especially to children. It is a mesmerizing tale of the bonds of friendship and blood strained by cultural traditions, history and, above all, individual actions. The narrator and main character is not Hassan, but Amir, a privileged Pashtun boy living in Kabul. The story of a kite runner named Hassan is set against the backdrop of Afghanistan’s turbulent history.