Emerson concepts in ‘Kite Runner’ and ‘Giovanni’s Room’ Essay

Society eitherplace is in conspiracy against the macrocosmhood of e very one of its members. (Emer word of honor. 2) Thus we plump in a world, where in order to give-up the ghost we essential conform but Emerson believes that whoso would be a man mustiness be a nonconformist, (2) and that nonhing is at delay sacred but the integrity of your take in mind. (2) Self reliance and independence of persuasion, which atomic number 18 fundamental to Emersons perspective, atomic number 18 organic to the understanding and analysis of the characters in The increase counterbalance (Hosseini, 2003) and Giovannis Room (Baldwin, 1956).The kite smuggler, is a tale of two boys in 1970s Kabul growing up amidst discrimination, bigotry and divide structure in society in this case Afghan society Hassan, a Hazara a minority group of Afghanis who conserve Islamic beliefs c totallyed Shia although a wizard and half-brother, is a upper-lower- strain servant to ameer. emir, a Pus htun the majority, who believe they are a better class than the Hazara and who follow the Sunn sect of Islam although raised in the egotismsame(prenominal) crime syndicatehold and sharing the same derisory nurse as Hassan, stretch forths in a different sphere of domain. ameer is the received son of Baba, a prominent and fuddled man, whereas Hassan is the disasteregitimate one and raised by Babas servant. Both lost their mothers emeer at birth and Hassan a workweek after birth, when she ran off with a club of singers and dancers. (Hosseini 4) For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure, (Emerson 4) and thus Baba, preferably than be subjected to the displeasures of his society, opts to conform to its rules and customs that turn ins not realities and creators, but names and customs, (Emerson 2) and not cave in that Hassan is his son by a Hazara woman.His comelyice, or what Emerson characterizes as compensation (The Internet cyclopedia of philosophica l system) is the loss of Hassan and his love. This same class deflexion among Amir and Hassan, largely dictates and limits their relationship. It is casual enough for a firm man who knows the world to brook the rage of the well-bred classes, (Emerson 4) and Hassan, the victim of such discrimination and class structure, remains completely devoted and liege to Amir, both as his servant and as his friend.He shows his faithfulness when he and Amir are terrorized by Assef, a enounce for the creature that Assef was sociopath (Hosseini 25-26) who admires Hitler for eliminating the Jews and with whom he aims to emulate by destroying the Hazaras. Hassan stands up to Assef and his friends. Although frightened, he holds the bricole pointed directly at Assefs sheath (Hosseini 28) and sh surfaces if you move, theyll have to change your nickname from Assef the head Eater to One-Eyed Assef. (Hosseini 29) Assef, neer jamting a slight, plots revenge.Just as Hassan practices Amirs br eakfast, folds his clothes, and cleans his room, so does he cater to Amir in kite tournaments. plane though Hassan shares in the excitement of kite fighting, he does not actually have chequer over the kite. Hassan may help the kite lift-and-dive, but Amir is the one who claims a victory. Hassan may catch a love rival kite and hold it in his girds, but al modes to bring it buns to Amir, to whom it then belongs. His joy is explicit, special, and secondary in effect(p) standardised his experience of wealth and fringe benefit while spirit in Babas household.So it is that Hassan is subjected to rape because of his nonconformity to his puzzle as a Hazara and he relies on himself to go alone to refuse the estim subject models. (Emerson 5) Assef and his friends attack Hassan after he snuff its for the no-good kite but although terrified of what is departure to happen to him he claims Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly, this is his kite. Amir agha and I are friends. (Hosseini 50) Hassan is brutely raped by Assef but never gives up the kite and brings it back for Amir.Later, when the Taliban came to investigate and interrogated Hassan (Hosseini 149) and consistent him to leave the house Amirs receives house he again shows his lealty to Amir by protesting. The Taliban ordered him to kneel and shot him in the back of the head. (Hosseini 150) Hassan dies because he accepted the elysian place that providence had found for him (Emerson 1) he had violated the social expectations of conformity by favouring self reliance its aversion (Emerson 2) by standing up to his aggressors in loyalty to Amir.Amir, contrary to Hassan, lacks self trust and conforms all told to society, and although enjoying time spent with Hassan, never truly calls him his friend. When confronted with Assef the first time he shows his cowardice by wanting to tell Assef that Hassan is not my friend, hes my servant. (Hosseini 28) It is ironi c that when Hassan stands up for Amir against Assef, and calls him Agha, Amir wondered briefly what it king be like to live with such an ingrained sense of ones place in a hierarchy. (Hosseini 28) soon enough he himself lives in such a focal point as to lose himself his self worth and reliance by conform to society and its customs. For many years, Amir feels as though he and Hassan are adversaries for Babas love and he is overjealous of this, together with Hassans abilities Hassan made his stone skip eight times. The most I managed was cardinal Baba patted Hassan on the back. Even put his arm around his shoulder. (Hosseini 8-9) Amir greatly desires his gos acceptance and approval and very seldom receives it.He overhears his incur speculate that in that respects something missing in that boy and that he believes a boy who wont stand up for himself becomes a man who enduret stand up to anything. (Hosseini 15) Amir decides there was no other vi subject weft than to win that winters tournament, and run that last kite. (Hosseini 38) He believes that his purport as a ghost in this house would finally be over and that he would show Baba once and for all that his son was worthy. (Hosseini 38) On winning the race, he experiences the great moment of his twelve years of life, perceive Baba on that roof, proud of him at last. (Hosseini 45) succeeding(a) Hassan, who has gone running for the kite, Amir wants to make a grand entrance, a hero, prized loot in his bloodied hands. (Hosseini 46) He finds Hassan standing at the end of a blind bridle-path (Hosseini 49) blocked by Assef and his two friends. merely rather than help Hassan, even after seeing the look of the lamb (Hosseini 53) on Hassans face Amir runs, express himself that I was a coward afraid of Assef and what he would do afraid of getting faded (Hosseini 53) but in reality it is the impairment he had to pay, the lamb he had to slay, to win Baba.His reasoning He was just a Hazara, wasnt he? (Hosseini 54) After the rape, Hassans very existence infuriates and irritates Amir because it reminds him of his cowardice his guilt. He tries to forget what he has done to Hassan and treats him like a servant instead of a friend he lies about him being ill hes got a polar or something, (Hosseini 56) he hits him with ripe pomegranates, he asks his father have you ever thought about getting new servants? (Hosseini 61) last he frames Hassan for theft and Hassan again takes the load rather than reveal Amir for what he is.Nothing works however, because he cannot put to sleep his guilt as easily as he can discard Hassan himself. Even after later leaving Afghanistan for the States with his father, he is never really able to forget and later he realizes you can bury the past but that it claws its way out. He realizes that he has been peeking into that deserted skittle alley where Hassan was raped for the last twenty six-spot years. (Hosseini 2) After returning to Afghanistan and learning of Hassans death and his orphaned son Sohrab, Amir endeavours to right his wrongs there is a way to be good again (Hosseini 2) by locating Sohrab, who is in fact his nephew.He finds Sohrab in the hands of Assef, now a Talib, and being used as a sexual plaything. This illustration of mans inhumanity to man, gives tell apart to Emersons belief, that the differences among the members of a race are greater than the differences between races. (The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Amir must fight and defeat Assef if he is to liquidate himself and his past thus Amir finds his dominance of character, the inner strength that he had all along, but believed was somehow missing Emersons self reliance and trust in himself. Ironically however, it is Sohrab who saves Amir in just the same way as his father Hassan had saved him before with his slingshot. Amirs lack of self-acceptance, his desire to win his fathers heart and his envy of Hassan causes him to live his life con forming to an unjust and class conscious society. He places blame on Hassan for the lack of his fathers love and blame on himself for his conformity and the painful injustice he has caused on Hassan. gibe to Emerson, one must be able to find a blameless living if they are to be a on the whole man, (The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) and Amir understandably illustrates his lack of living blamelessly. Just as Hassan was socially alienated, so to is David, in Giovannis Room, wherein he is faced with a option between his American fiancee (value set) and his European boyfriend, so ultimately he must grapple with being alienated by the culture that produced him. In other words, does he conform or does he not? Does he be honest with his legitimate self and be reliant on himself? David, unlike Hassan, takes the easy way out and marries Hella.David has been running from himself since his first sexual catch as a teenager, with Joey, and although he has a profound connection with Jo ey, he deserts him and spurns his friendship afterwards. In other words, like Amir he conforms rather than live with the integrity of his cause mind. (Emerson 2). He becomes what Emerson terms as an imitator and lives a life of deceit and denial. Although mixing with the gay crowd, he proclaims his hetero sexual activity. Later he meets Giovanni and they fall in love. Afraid to commit to Giovanni he has a one night stand with Sue, other American lost in Paris.As with Joey, David deserts Giovanni, whereupon Giovanni goes into a downward whorled and because of lies, false promises, abuse and humiliation he eventually kills and is sentence to death by the guillotine. Giovanni dies because of the people around him they are envious of his beauty, openness and inward freedom they judge to be what they are not imitators. David remains forever trapped in his own room, closet, or hell of his hostile identity. (Zaborowska, M. J. 1) He fails in his journey of self-discovery in spite o f appearance a society where gender, race and sexuality impacts on national identity.David remains loyal to America, the land of the free but never finds happiness, becoming emotionally dead and hollow, uneffective to love others, but mostly himself. In summary, we can recognize the lack of Emersons concept of self-reliance in the polar characters of Amir and Baba in The Kite Runner and David in Giovannis Room, while at the same time we see evidence of nonconformity to social standards by Hassan and Giovanni. spicy be his heart, faithful his will, clear his sight, that he may in good beloved be doctrine, society, law, to himself. (Emerson 10)ReferencesBaldwin, J. Giovannis Room. Dell Publishing, NY. 1956 Emerson, R. W. turn out II Self Reliance 1841 As published on http//www. emersoncentral. com/selfreliance. htm Hosseini, Khaled The Kite Runner courtesy of Shahid Riaz, 2003 http//esnips. com/UserProfileAction. ns? id+ebdaae62-b650-4f30-99a4-376c0a084226 The Internet Encycloped ia of Philosophy Ralhp Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) http//www. iep. utm. edu/e/emerson. htm December 6, 2008 Zaborowska, Magdalena J. University of Michigan. 2003 http//www. litencyc. com/php/sworks. php? rec=true& angstromUID=4964