Silence is like pressing the stop button on life (Hosseini 361). In Khaled Hosseini's novel Kite Runner, Amir is an exceptional model of how ignoring life can lead to a different conclusion. The event of the rape of his friend, and later revealed half-brother, affected his life towards the end of the story. Throughout the novel, many differences arise such as customs, everyday objects, and punishments that are not the same as in the United States. This book gives a verbal perspective on how two different places (the United States and Afghanistan) are not even close to being similar at any point in their residents' lives. Kite Runner gives privileged citizens of the United States situations that some might not even consider acceptable environments and living conditions. Customs is an important part of why Afghanistan and America are not on the same page in many cases. For example, Afghanistan allows men to have more than one wife because the family of Baba's first cousin Homayoun consisted of two wives (82). American men are only supposed to be married to one woman, otherwise it is considered polygamy. If an American were married to more than one woman at a time, this would be unacceptable and the punishment would most likely be prison. In the story, Amir describes his traditional family dinner which involves eating on the floor while sharing the meal on a common platter in groups (85). However, most Americans dine with their family at a dining room table and have their own table. individual plates of food. A life-changing moment occurred when he asked his father to ask General Taheri for his daughter's hand (161). Usually in America, fathers do not need to agree on marriage for it to take place. In other words, Amir would have asked the question to General Taheri himself, otherwise he would not have cared about the father's opinion and would have simply asked Soraya, General Taheri's daughter. Customs are what sets everyone apart from each other, but they can also cause divergence if they are too independent and insulting to each other. The fact that both places think of each other in unconstructive ways is highlighted in various excerpts from the novel..