Juan's movie vs. book comparison

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini was a ground breaking novel published in 2003. Shortly thereafter, the story was converted into a motion picture. When comparing the two works, there are certainly notable differences in not only the overall plot, but in the development of the story as well.

To begin, the plot was altered from the very beginning, where we meet the older version of Amir first. In the novel, Hosseini introduces us to Amir's younger self first. In doing so the reader is also able to see Amir's thought process, establishing a better relationship between the reader and the protagonist on an emotional level. This aspect is essential to the development and overall enjoyment of the story, thus leaving out from the film an important element. Unlike the book the film only shows the direct actions of the characters and what happens in the story. When given introspective one is able to comprehend the story much better, and in the end, because the watcher of the film is not given the privilege of knowing Amir's thoughts, the character from the film and the character from the book are different.

Subsequently, the most noticeable difference, in my opinion, between the novel and film is the intensity in each. The novel's descriptions and overall plot are much more intense than those of the film. Intense can be an ambiguous term, thus by intense I mean that the novel impacts and affects the reader much more than the movie does on the watcher of the movie. For example, the scene where a boy's father shoots himself after the trip in the gas tank is removed entirely from the film. While this scene is unimportant to what happens in the overall plot, it does add to the mood of the story. In the end, this particular scene contributes to how harsh the conditions were and how much Amir had to go through, evoking a feeling of empathy from the reader. Another scene that was crucial to the intensity of the novel was that of Sohrab trying to commit suicide. This scene puts the cherry on top of the intensity sundae as not only the idea of a child attempting to commit suicide, but the imagery as well, can be shocking to a reader. In the movie, the story ends with a happy ending, avoiding this scene. Perhaps producers have done studies showing that audiences prefer happy endings and thus they altered the ending of the story accordingly. Because this scene was cut out, the story was changed entirely and one can even say it was made inaccurately.

One final noticeable difference between the story and the book is the emphasis of a cycle. In the novel, a cycle exists between the moment that Hassan was betrayed by Amir and the final moment when Amir says to Sohrab, “For you, a thousand times over!” This cycle is seen in the scar that both Hassan and Amir obtain, one from an operation and one from a fight with Assef. It is again seen when Hassan and Amir both say “For you a thousand times over.” Finally, it is seen when Assef physically hurts both Amir and Hassan. This is why Amir feels healed when Assef delivers the beating he does. In the film, the evidence of this cycle is nowhere to be found as it is certainly not emphasized like it is in the book.

Overall, I believe that the details included in the book made it better than the movie. As a result, I enjoyed the book, which is one of my favorite books now, much more than the movie.