Recently, there has been controversy surrounding Mr. Tony Dolz’s stance on the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. That book is my, as well as many of my peers, favorite out of all the literature we study in class. It is not only a stellar example for standardized testing, but also a catalyst that urges us to consider the injustice that we don’t normally see in the sheltered environments around the Las Virgenes and Conejo Valley areas. He claims on his website homepage to “speak for the children.” At first, I wasn’t sure whether or not he was including teenagers in this broad category, but Mr. Dolz continued to say that he wants to rid a book that describes “the rape, sodomy and penetration of a 12 year old boy by a pedophile” in attempts to “protect the innocence of our children.” First, only students in 12th grade English read The Kite Runner – schools are not offering this curriculum to teenagers just out of middle school. Second, his very word choice, which I find offensive, is underestimating the maturity of seniors. If we are allowed to watch rated R movies at the age of 17, I do not see why we should be sheltered from a story that very much reflects reality. I hope Mr. Dolz recants his decision and (re)reads the novel for himself, recognizing that the central focus is the search for redemption; Hassan’s loss of innocence is merely the medium through which the author relays his message.
JSAers, what are your opinions on this novel?
Jane Chen