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Analyse how the setting(s) influenced the characters’ actions and attitudes. In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini the story is set in three distinct settings: 1970’s Afghanistan – in particular the city of Kabul, the USA and modern Afghanistan under the Taliban regime. Despite the different times and places the social background of these remain the same: dominated by the rules and norms of Afghan culture. Afghan society is very strict and conservative. There is a class order and Hazara are at the bottom as a servant or peasant class. Not long after Amir was born, Baba, his father, had an affair with his Hazara servant’s wife and fathered her child, Hassan. In Afghan society, as Rahim Khan later explains to Amir, this would have been a “shameful situation.” Infidelity and illegitimate children were taboo subjects. “All that a man had back then, all that he was, was his honor.” Baba was a rich, successful merchant and if word got out abut his affair, he and his family would be out-casts. So, to cover up his mistake, Baba lied and let Hassan grow up as the son of his servant father, a servant himself, and raised in Baba’s home. However, the guilt of the lie and betrayal haunted Baba for the rest of his life and prevents him from being a good father to Amir as he cannot demonstrate his affection for him because he feels guilty that he is not giving Hassan the same open affection and recognition. He is crippled by the lies that his social environment makes him decide to keep. Amir grew up without the firm foundation of Baba’s love and support. He had always felt neglected by his father and this drove him to be selfish and cowardly. Baba was never proud of Amir and his interests. Baba felt guilty for showing Amir affection when he couldn’t do the same for Hassan; couldn’t even publicly acknowledge him as his son. Because of this, Amir was always craving attention and approval; he jumped at any chance to impress Baba. When the kite competition started, Amir knew he had to get the blue kite to win Baba over, so when he saw what was happening to Hassan, he ran away rather than try to help and risk damaging the kite. He says: “Maybe Hassan was the lamb I had to sacrifice for Baba’s love.” The guilt of not helping his friend haunted Amir and made him an insomniac. He even framed Hassan for theft to try to get rid of him because he thought it would ease his guilt. In Afghan society and in Baba’s eyes, weakness is not tolerated. This stopped Amir from trying to make things right as it would expose his original lack of courage and act of betrayal. Although Amir finally found “a way to be good again” by helping Sohrab, all the pain and suffering could have been avoided if Amir and Baba’s culture was not so harsh, strict and judgemental. In conclusion, Afghan society put Baba in an impossible situation. Even though the initial problem – the affair – was his fault, the way he was forced to handle it was influenced by the novel’s setting. He was given two options and although the one he chose was not “right” he chose the lesser of two evils. These societal constraints are present in all communities and we all choose to conform rather than face the judgement of our peers. For this reason it w easy to understand why Baba did what he did. He chose to hide the truth to avoid becoming a pariah and no matter what he chose to do, both options would have resulted in pain.