Connection: Vehicles and Power

     Vehicles have over time allowed for great advances in the history of man-kind. Who knew that from the wheel we would today have vehicles that can transport people, goods, and ideas faster than any merchants before. But vehicles have also given strong power to people not only for good, but sometimes for evil. We see vehicles being used strongly in The Kite Runner. During each part of the book, when Amir is living in Afghanistan, when he flees, and when he returns, we see a different vehicle being used. In each situation, that vehicle has a specific correlation to the political times in Afghanistan. When Amir is living in Afghanistan as a kid we are often told about Baba's Mustang. This car is all about freedom. The car can go as fast as it wants anywhere it wants to go. It shows just how beautiful and appreciative the times are. The mustang horse is also a beautiful creature full of freedom. It is a wild horse that roams wherever it wants to go. This exemplifies the political situation at the time in Afghanistan. At the time it was all about freedom. People had the right to do as they pleased and the Mustang describes that really well. However, as soon as Amir flees Afghanistan with Baba we are introduced to a new situation. Now they are in, "the tarpaulin-covered cab of an old Russian truck" (110). This gives us a military type of feeling. They are leaving the country that they have always knew due to the conflict in it. It shows us how that military feeling cannot escape them as they are crowded in that truck. They are in the middle of a war inside a military vehicle. When we later find out that the truck breaks down, it shows us how desperate and fragile these times are. Old things often do not last for a long time and this is true about the government of Afghanistan at the time. Finally, when Amir decides to return to Afghanistan we see a completely diverse use of a corrupted vehicle. When Amir returns to his old house he sees a Jeep that is leaking oil on the driveway. This corresponds to two things. First, the car itself is an American made Jeep. At the time and still today everything American in Afghanistan is looked at as corrupt. We get this feeling when Amir describes the situation. It is exactly like America invaded Afghanistan that this American product invaded his home. The second part is the description of the leaking oil. This signifies that the car is not working properly, or maybe broken. This describes the political situation in Afghanistan. After the Taliban took over there seemed to be complaint after complaint voiced silently by the people. Although we see this oil leak, it is a problem not always seen by everyday people. Afghans were not able to loudly voice their opposition, but silently and slowly they were protesting the broken government of the Taliban. It shows how the details of this car are detail of the political system of the time in Afghanistan.
     In modern times we see vehicles being used for practical purposes. However, the types of vehicles and their conditions can tell us more and more about the location that the cars are in. Today in America we see an immense variety of cars. So many, that it is impossible to accurately count how many. But this tells us something about America. It says that there is a great power of choice and decision making that is placed upon the people here. People can decide on their own what to do and that is seen through their choice in cars and America's political situation too. But what if we look at a poor nation? Lets say India. We see that there are not many cars there and mainly only the rich own them. But even for the people that have them these cars are all beat-up, rusty, and old. This says so much about India. It tells us that India is a poor nation needing the help of others. But can the specific detail of old cars teach us something else? In America we see mainly new cars and everything in America is good. But in The Kite Runner, and also in real life modern day but poor countries we see old cars. In the book we clearly see that there is a poor political leadership in place. Does this mean that power in the nations today is also in serious trouble? But lets finally look at the Jeep and imported vehicles. Today many cars are imported from overseas and sold all over the world. This is something often taken for granted and accepted. But what we do not always see is the political and economic implications of this. Countries allow the import and export of cars to economically benefit each country, but to also create strong political ties. We can see the deep implications of this only when looking beyond the cover.
     This insight is extremely useful because in can show us how significant little details in a book can be. The topic here was vehicles, but we see not only in the book, but also in real life, how this topic also correlates with politics ans power. This close look can show us much more than what we normally see as insignificant details. It is the details however that show to be the most important part. Here we see how cars are power.