Theory of Marxism in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

             By referring to The Free Dictionary by Farlex as cited in American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language from the fifth Edition, by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, Marxism is defined as the concept of class struggle which has been introduced by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in understanding society's apparently unavoidable development from middle-class oppression under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society.

            The word Marxism is derived from the name of a person who is responsible for introducing this concept, Karl Marx, a German philosopher and revolutionary socialist. He had published The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital, ant-capitalist works that form the basis of Marxism. (biography.com, n.d.). Besides, he became famous for saying that "Religion is the opiate of the people".  (Delahoyde, n.d.).

This theory has been used by Khaled Hosseini in one of his masterpieces, The Kite Runner. He has portrayed the social class differences as one of the main elements in the story. Introducing Amir and Hassan as the main characters and their friendship has somehow shaped the story in which both possess different social background. Amir has been portrayed as the luckiest child as he has everything, as what other kids are wishing for. As what Hossein has mentioned in his book, Amir lived in a big house and he actually proud of it.

“Everyone agreed that my father, my Baba, had built the most beautiful house in the Wazir Akbar Khan district, a new and affluent neighborhood in the northern part of Kabul. Some thought it was the prettiest house in all of Kabul. A broad entryway flanked by rosebushes led to the sprawling house of marble floors and wide windows. Intricate mosaic tiles, handpicked by Baba in Isfahan, covered the floors of the four bathrooms. Gold--‐stitched tapestries, which Baba had bought in Calcutta, lined the walls; a crystal chandelier hung from the vaulted ceiling.” (Chapter 2, Hosseini, 2013)

 In contrast to that, Hassan is their servant’s only son who lived together with their master in the same house, yet different room. “On the south end of the garden, in the shadows of a loquat tree, was the servants’ home, a modest little mud hut where Hassan lived with his father.” (Chapter 2, Hosseini, 2003).

These excerpt has braced the idea that there are two different classes which have been introduced by Hosseini and they suit the Marxism concept well. Even though Amir and Hassan were two best friends, there are still boundaries between them. Being a son of a servant, the status will remain forever.

“When the sun dropped low behind the hills and we were done playing for the day, Hassan and I parted ways. I went past the rosebushes to Baba's mansion, Hassan to them mud shack where he had been born, where he'd lived his entire life. I remember it was spare, clean, dimly lit by a pair of kerosene lamps. There were two mattresses on opposite sides of the room, a worn Herati rug with frayed edges in between, a three--‐legged stool, and a wooden table in the corner where Hassan did his drawings. The walls stood bare, save for a single tapestry with sewn--‐in beads forming the words _Allah--‐u--‐ akbar_. Baba had bought it for Ali on one of his trips to Mashad.” (Chapter 2, Hosseini, 2003).

By applying the theory of Marxism, Hossein also made Hassan treats Amir well, although they are at the same age and just kids, he still needs to treat Amir as his master. This can be braced by this excerpt when Hassan addressing Amir as “Agha or Master” in Turkish. “I remember Hassan and I crouching that next morning outside my father's study, as Baba and Rahim Khan sipped black tea and listened to breaking news of the coup on Radio Kabul.”Amir Agha?" Hassan whispered. "What?" "What's a 'republic'?" I shrugged. "I don't know." On Baba's radio, they were saying that word, "republic," over and over again.” (Chapter 5, Hosseini, 2003). Here, it can also be said that Hassan does not receive the proper education, as he is just a son of a servant, and just be friend with the master’s son. This shows exactly the same with what Marx has mentioned in his theory of Marxism, the main element in the control of the working class is the use of separation in all aspects of society, including the family, the education system, and the media. (Trueman, n.d.).

            Other than that, the concept of Marxism can also be found through the social class distinction of Hassan’s father, Ali, with the community leaving there. They perceived Ali as an alien living together with them in the same place. Ali, who belongs to the Hazara is considered as strangers and they are Pashtun, who are the owner of the land. That is why, Ali is always being bullied, mentally, by the Pashtun. As stated in this excerpt, "Hey, Babalu, who did you eat today?" they barked to a chorus of laughter. "Who did you eat, you flat--‐nosed Babalu?" They called him "flat--‐nosed" because of Ali and Hassan's characteristic Hazara Mongoloid features. (Chapter 2, Hosseini, 2003).

            Overall, The Kite Runner tells the reader that there is a huge gap in the social class between the superior and the inferior. Throughout the story, the reader might be seeing that there are a lot of examples of the Marxism concept that has been used in this story. Moving on to the next excerpt which perhaps may give a clear picture of the theory, in Chapter 19, where Amir has grown up and went back to his hometown which during that time, and the place was dominated by the Taliban, who seemed to be superior at this time. Hence, indirectly it created a huge social distance in the lifestyle of these two groups, the Taliban as well as the local there. “A SHORT WHILE LATER, Maryam and her mother brought two steaming bowls of vegetable show and two loaves of bread.”I'm sorry we can't offer you meat," Wahid said. "Only the Taliban can afford meat now”. (Chapter 19, Hosseini, 2003). These two different types of food depict that the gap between them is real. The lower-class people (the local) could not afford to buy meat which has been considered as an expensive food which can only afford by the superior.  This proves that the abnormality in any behavior that varies from the societal norm which becomes the belief of Marxists. The deviation can differ from simply odd behavior to behavior that can harm society or is considered dangerous or disrespectful. (Trueman, n.d.).

            Moreover, based on the same chapter, (chapter 19), there are few other excerpts that seem to be important in which demonstrating the Marxism theory. For example,  

“As I ate, I noticed Wahid's boys, all three thin with dirt caked faces and short--‐cropped brown hair under their skullcaps, stealing furtive glances at my digital wristwatch. The youngest whispered something in his brother's ear. The brother nodded, didn't take his eyes off my watch. The oldest of the boys--‐--‐I guessed his age at about twelve--‐--‐rocked back and forth, his gaze glued to my wrist”. (Chapter 19, Hosseini, 2003).

“I was about to go back inside when I heard voices coming from the house. I recognized one as Wahid's. "--‐--‐nothing left for the children." "We're hungry but we're not savages! He is a guest! What was I supposed to do?" he said in a strained voice. "--‐--‐to find something tomorrow" She sounded near tears. "What do I feed--‐--‐" I tiptoed away. I understood now why the boys hadn't shown any interest in the watch. They hadn't been staring at the watch at all. They'd been staring at my food”. (Chapter 19, Hosseini, 2003)

Based on these excerpts, we can see that the problems faced by them are also dissimilar. The Proletariat might be facing problems which bourgeoisie perceive them as not a problem at all. Like what Hosseini portrayed in The Kite Runner, Chapter 19, Amir did not think that food is a problem for the Wahid’s family because Amir has never encountered that problem in his entire life. 

            However, the social class discrimination according to the Islamic perspectives is obviously impermissible. As Allah (SWT) says in Surat Al-Hujurat, "O Mankind! We have created you from a male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you in the sight of Allah is he who has most Taqwa among of you. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware." Noble Qur'an (49:13). In Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) last sermon, he said that “All mankind is descended from Adam and Eve, an Arab is not better than a non-Arab and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab; a white person is not better than a black person, nor is a black person better than a white person except by piety and good actions. Learn that every Muslim is the brother of every other Muslim and that Muslims form one brotherhood.” Therefore, this concept is totally not aligned with the Islamic teachings as it introduces the inequality among humankind.

            All in all, the social class distance which has been introduced by Marxists in the Marxism concept, has also being used by Khaled Hosseini in one of her masterpieces, entitled The Kite Runner. The discrimination of the upper-class people to the lower class people happened in various aspect, including the family, the education system, the media, and so on and so forth.