As Jody’s control and influence continues to pollute their marriage, Janie remains silent. “No matter what Jody did, she said nothing” (76). Janie’s delicate attitude and inability to speak up eventually completely took over, not only her personality, but her entire life. She has become just an accessory of Jody and not a real person with her own opinions. The relationship of Jody and Janie mirrors the relationship between Amir and Hassan in The Kite Runner. Throughout The Kite Runner, Amir has a superiority complex and controlling attitude towards Hassan, which Haasan never fights or tries to stop. Always falling under the demands of Jody, Janie is very similar to Hassan.
“The years took all the fight out of Janie’s face” (76). This statement also directly relates to The Kite Runner. After some unfortunate events take place, which deeply affects Hassan, his face is changed forever. Amir states he never saw Hassan smile again. Each of these characters (Janie and Hassan) can be considered “victims” of controlling, abusive relationships, which is extremely evident through their deteriorated physical features.
The connection between these two characters can be seen throughout each of the novels. They both go through similar situations by having to deal with controlling people in their lives. However, Hassan never stands up to Amir. Because of Janie’s background and previous relationships, I believe she will ultimately stand up to Jody and face his demands with confidence. Even though on page 76 Janie is described as having “plenty of life beneath the surface but it was kept beaten down by the wheels,” she will eventually find herself again.
I really like the way you were able to reflect on a past story the class has read. Hassan and Janie both suffer because of the stereotypes of the time period. Because Janie is a woman, she is forced into living under the strict control of her husband-Jody. Hassan deals with a similar problem in that he is a Hazara and Amir is a Pashtun; the Pashtun race is still considered superior in comparison. Both characters are forced into lives of servitude because of a characteristic they did not have a choice in.
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