Even within two completely different settings, characters can experience similar struggles eternally or internally. Although Moira from Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Hassan from Khaled Hosseini’s Kite Runner come from completely different locations and time periods, they manage to experience similar struggles along their journey.
To begin, both Moira and Hassan are best friends to the main characters of their stories, Offred and Amir respectively. They also both share traits that both of their friends desire. Hassan has a brave nature and Baba’s attention which Amir in envious of while Moira has courage (to escape the red center) and independence which Offred longs to have. This is explained when Amir says "I'd change my mind and ask for a bigger and fancier kite, Baba would buy it for me - but then he'd buy it for Hassan too. Sometimes I wish he wouldn't do that. I wish he'd let me be the favorite," (Hosseini, 45) highlighting Amir’s jealousy towards Hassan. Offred has a similar feeling when she expresses “Moira was our fantasy,” (Atwood, 133) when discussing her escape. Furthermore, both Hassan and Moira live in a society that oppresses their freedom. Hassan, being a servant and Hazara, is considered inferior compared to other muslims and is condemned to live in a shack outside of his master’s mansion because the strict nature of Afghan society. This causes him to be on the receiving end of ridicule constantly without any way of defending himself. Moira is also forced to live in the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian government that greatly limits freedom in hope of providing a safer life. Instead of being a minority with limited rights, Moira along with other women are are all limited to a prison life environment to learn to new ways of the society. Her old life was stripped completely and many of her past freedoms have been abolished completely.
Although both Moira and Hassan have many similarities, they are far from being the same. For starters, they are different genders. This may seem insignificant, but coming from Gilead where men and women have vastly different roles and Afghanistan where gender plays a significant portion in the rights an individual has, their characteristics would be affected if their genders were the same. Moreover, Hassan decides to accept his fate in society while Moira chooses to rebel. In chapter 16, when Rahim Khan is telling Amir Hassan’s fate, he describes how he stayed in Afghanistan struggling to get by and ultimately being killed by the Taliban. Hassan accepted his position as a Hazara living in poverty and is ultimately killed because of it. Moira on the other hand decides to fight against her place in society. While Offred is describing Moira’s escape of the Red Center, she says “Moira had power now, she’d been set loose, she’d set herself loose.” (Atwood, 133) Moira chose her fate instead of letting her society decide if for her, a major difference between the two. Basically, Moira’s motivation is to overcome societal binds while Hassan is motivated to survive in his hostile environment. Finally, both characters have very different personalities. Hassan is described as shy and introverted, yet kind to those he loves. Moira on the other hand is outgoing and extroverted, being upfront and at times sarcastic.
Personally, Hassan is much more believable compared to Moira for me. I actually got halfway through The Kite Runner with the assumption that the story was true, only to find out by looking it up it was all fiction, which really surprised me. Since Hassan lives in Afghanistan, which is an actual setting, I was able to relate Hassan’s struggles to some of the news regarding the war on Afghanistan. Moira on the other hand comes from a post apocalyptic world that seemed unlikely to occur it was difficult to connect to any of the character’s struggles. Because Hassan was so much more believable, he relates to me on a greater scale than Moira. Gender and age probably play a major role since Hassan is very close to my age for the majority of the book. Moira is in an opposite demographic being a gay middle aged woman. Furthermore, Hassan was a very unfortunate and unlucky character, having unspeakable actions done to him. I was constantly sympathizing with him, hoping he would turn out ok in the end. The same cannot be said for Moira. She was extremely fortunate to escape a heavily guarded facility with very little struggles. I was virtually unable to relate Moira to myself because of her unrealistic achievements in the end.
In conclusion, two characters from extremely different settings can experience similar struggles. Although they were very different characters, Hassan and Moira had certain parallel characteristics that define them. Much can be learned from both of these unforgettable characters from classic books.
1 comment:
First and foremost I would like to commend you for your introduction to your comparison. You give some background and briefly touch on the topics you intend to address in the coming paragraphs.
Secondly, your recognition of the common relationships of the characters is genius—after reading both books it was something I had failed to acknowledge. You further your comparison by adding the piece about how both characters, Moira and Hassan, possessed bravery—something their best friends, (and the protagonists of both novels), envied. The quotes you used highlighted the role the characters played as best friends and supported your statement about the bravery they possessed; thus, they flow seamlessly into your piece and provide adequate sustenance for your assertions. I thought another important piece of this paragraph was your mention of their similar limitations due to their environments, despite the fact that they lived in different geographic regions and time periods. Both Moira and Hassan were severely limited in regard to personal freedoms, which is another important comparison to make because their reactions to these limits is what makes each character unique.
In the third paragraph, you acknowledge the characteristics that set the characters apart. As I mentioned above, each character reacted to their environment differently, making them unique. You also point out how the characters reactions differentiate; Moira is much more rebellious, escaping the Center because she could no longer live the life she was being forced to accept. However, Hassan “accepts his fate in society”. He accepted his role as a Hazara and paid the ultimate price for this acceptance. In my own opinion, this adds dimension to each character, because each reaction shows strength, despite the fact they went about things differently.
Lastly, I agree with your decision that Hassan is the more realistic character. I also believe the setting aids this ideal. Afghanistan is relatable to us, because we grew up watching the news about the war taking place there. We were taught about the customs that set them apart from our own Western Democracy. We were able to draw from our own knowledge rather than having to imagine an entire future such as the one from The Handmaid’s Tale. All in all, I believe your comparison is well put together. You make sense of elements from both books and use the elements to comprise a juxtaposition of both characters, in spite of the different themes, settings, and plots of the novels.
Post a Comment