As I sat in my house unable to spend time with friends, I found myself looking at the critically acclaimed The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and a book I’ve never heard of – The Blackboard Jungle by Evan Hunter.

The Kite Runner follows the story of a boy named Amir and his relationship with his best friend Hassan through pre-war Afghanistan. What Hosseini does best in this book is use vivid imagery to portray difficult scenes including rape and poverty as he explores racism, classism and the guilt associated with members of the “superior” category. 

Amir, the son of a wealthy businessman and a Pashtun (an ethnic majority), is best friends with his servant, Hassan, a humble Hazara (an ethnic minority) who is the son of a disfigured man, also a servant to Amir’s family. As the two grow up, Amir, who is objectively more privileged, finds himself jealous of Hassan’s happiness.

As I read this book, I found myself relating to Amir’s guilt of being of a socially and financially more “acceptable” status, yet not being satisfied. As a daughter of an immigrant from India, I am aware of how lucky I am to be of a “socially accepted” caste. In general, I am also very thankful to have an education, unalienable rights and the necessities to live a comfortable life. However, I still succumb to jealousy and feel sad from time to time; knowing that people would kill to have my life, I am riddled with guilt, just as Amir is. 

Though my experiences in life are not to the extremes portrayed in the novel, Hosseini does a spectacular job drawing readers in and giving them a taste of what it feels to carry that guilt for years.  

The Blackboard Jungle vastly differs from the fast paced The Kite Runner, as it explores the daily life of a new English teacher, Richard Dadier, at a vocational school set in the early 20th century, whose motivation is to break through to at least one student and make them interested in learning.

Although there is not much movement in the novel, the main setting switching between  the school and his house, Hunter focuses the story on the efforts that go into breaking a system. Most of the teachers at the vocational school have given up on the students and merely teach to discipline, whereas Mr. Dadier, our valiant hero, takes up the struggle of not only changing the students’ self perception but also his colleagues’ mindsets.

In terms of relatability, The Blackboard Jungle didn’t offer me much; however, it does a great job of bringing to light the struggles teachers even in today’s time probably go through. 

As a student, I never thought twice about how much mental strength goes into teaching as teachers have to accomodate for the various students they encounter. For bringing up such an important yet overlooked topic, I am able to look past the lack of “movement.

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