Yes: I think the idea of referring to Afghanistan under the Taliban as a \'dystopia\' makes a lot of sense. Do you think that the USA is therefore, by contrast, presented as a sort of Utopia? (Mr Heald)

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Although it is a much happier place than Kabul i do not believe that America can be called a Utopia in the novel. As there is frequent reference back to Kabul when Amir refers to Baba, as in Kabul he was a wealthy businessman yet in America he is reduced to working in a lowly, ordinary petrol station as a petrol filler, surely greatly demoralizng to him and highlights that perhaps America is not the Utopian country they pursued when they fled Afghanistan

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America can be regarded as Utopia from the viewpoint of Amir because this is where he finds comfort and solice from himself away from Kabul. In contrast Baba suffers from being away from his beloved home country and eventually withers due to old age and the stress from long hours of work. While is can be argued that Kabul must be dystopia because it is ruled under tyranny the place that is called uptopia really is dependant on how the character\'s feel about it.

Critical Terms / Frameworks