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Themes of the kite runner
Themes of the kite runner by khaled hosseini
Literary analysis of the kite runner
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As implied by the title, kites play a major role in the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. They appear numerous times within the text and prove to be surprisingly versatile in their literary function. They provide common ground for characters whose interests do not normally intersect. They are also present as a very powerful symbol, which adds an extra dimension to this already literary rich novel. Reversing the roles transcending generations, it shows itself to be a multifaceted medium. This novel presents two almost irreconcilable individuals. The main character, Amir, was raised without a mother; therefore, Amir was left with his father, Baba, to please as he grew up. Early on in his life, it became obvious that pleasing Baba would prove to be problematic. They simply did not have similar interests as a consequence of Baba “fathering a son who preferred burying his face in poetry books to hunting” (Hosseini 19). Baba was described as a very dominating figuring standing at a monstrous six feet five inches tall who often enjoyed hunting and ran his own business. Amir, on the other hand, was of insignificant stature even for his young age and often was found reading poetry and stories with his friend and servant, Hassan, who, although being a year younger than Amir, often beats Amir in the area of athletic prowess such as throwing rocks when “Hassan made his stone skip eight times. The most I [Amir] managed was five,” (Hosseini 14) or even simply running when Amir said, “Hassan ran faster than I [Amir] did, and I was falling behind,” (Hosseini 53). The son was simply not very sportive. Inversely, The athletic father also greatly enjoyed playing soccer as a child and later enjoyed being a spectator of this sport; consequ... ... middle of paper ... ...r image had occurred from the past with the reversal it entails. The kite is important in this situation because the reversal could not have taken place in any other scenario. Sohrab would not interact with the world nearly at all at this point, and the only way it could have paralleled would be with a kite battle. Amir had traded places with Hassan through Sohrab with the use of the kite. Wholly proving to be a very dynamic object in this novel, it functions on multiple levels. It provides a connection between two characters that reside in totally different spheres of interests. It acts on the symbolic level as a symbol of freedom for the characters within. It also provides a medium for the reversal of roles between two characters in this novel. Kites prove to be quite potent in their presence and function in the novel, The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini.
Throughout the thought provoking and eye opening narrative, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini provides a vivid and in depth story told through the eyes of a privileged young narrator who is forced to come of age in the capital of Afghanistan. As a story told from a different cultural perspective,culture and morals in this society are different from foreign beliefs. A reader will not fully comprehend The Kite Runner without discerning the differences between social classes and understanding the importance of honor in the Afghanistan culture.
The Kite Runner, is the first novel written by Khaled Hosseini. The Kite Runner is set in Afghanistan before the war in the city of Kabul, and then eventually in America. The novel relays the struggles of Amir (A young Shi’ boy), Hassan (a young Hazera servant boy) and Baba (Amir’s father) as they are growing up in an ever-changing Afghanistan. The young boys face difficult challenges most adults will never have to experience. Amir, Hassan, and even Baba must overcome cruelty in every aspect of their lives.
Betrayal, redemption, and forgiveness are all major themes in The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini. The novel also focuses around the theme of a broken relationship between father and son as well as facing difficult situations from ones past. Amir and Hassan are best friends with two completely different personalities. Each character in the novel faces their own hardships and eventually learns to overcome those difficulties. Beginning with betrayal then the characters have to make their way to gaining redemption and forgiveness from others, as well as their self, is carried on throughout the novel. It is a continuous story of the relationships between Amir and his father Baba and facing their challenges from the past every day of their present.
Actions made in a moment of pain, anger or simple immaturity can take anyone to make mistakes that can change their lives completely. Everyone has something in the past that is shameful, embarrassing and regrettable that is kept present daily. Whether this event happened during childhood, adolescence or early adulthood, this event could haunt and have shaped that person’s life into what he or she is today. In a similar way, in the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is shaped by a tragic and eventful past that has shaped Amir’s, Baba’s, and Hassan’s life. The four literary elements that will be used in this essay that Hosseini strategically uses in this book are: irony, simile, Metaphor, and personification.
...ind a way to redeem themselves. The relationship between Amir, Hassan and Baba has shown so much neglect and disregard to the fatherly love that Amir and Hassan needed from Baba as it stands in comparison to Amir and Sohrab’s growing relationship. The appreciation of the unselfish actions are demonstrated as they give up their career, life, and pride for the betterment of their sons. The book itself demonstrates the development of the characters as they got more mature to which this bad past they had causes them to reinforce a more effective functioning father and son relationship. A neglect of a father may lead to bad decisions as a father should be there to ensure and reinforce a lesson to his son, acquiring the happiness of the son which is necessary for a fatherly figure.
In Khaled Hossenini’s novel The Kite Runner, one of the main themes is separation. Separation is an important theme in this book in order to capture life in Afghanistan and how it reflects the characters’ lives. Afghanistan is a land with many values when it comes to class, gender, religion, race, and political climate. Their culture isn’t based on equity for the people, but the traditions that they’ve had for thousands of years and the teachings from the Quran. Since their traditions are so valued; Afghanistan reflects some of the values of the characters. As the book progresses, you can see Afghanistan separating and effected negatively by terrorism throughout the land. This affects the characters, especially Amir’s relationship with Hassan. Separation is an important factor to this book in order to express the elements of class, religion, and political climate and how it effects to the characters.
The Kite Runner is a book about a young boy, Amir, who faces many struggles as he grows up in Kabul and later moves to America to flee from the Taliban. His best friend and brother , Hassan, was a big part of his life, but also a big part of guilt he held onto for many years. The book describes Amir’s attempt to make up for the past and resolve his sins so he can clear his conscious. Amir is worthy of forgiveness because although he was selfish, he was very brave and faced his past.
Infancy is the rudimentary status of human beings, which the ways for the rest of one’s life is determined. Unforgettable events may generate certain emotions in childhood. Thus, it modifies the nature of that person as an adult. Setting in the 1970s in California, the historical and fictional novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, illustrates the main character through his determinations to lengthy life conflicts. The novel outlines Amir’s assorted feelings of love and jealousy towards his best friend, Hassan. Despite their distinctive economic and social classes, they grow up in the same household facing strenuous hardships, resentments, and guilt together. However, the two boys reach a decisive point when the neighborhood bullies Hassan severely. As Amir sees his best friend getting a torture, he tries to provide an assistance. Unfortunately, he gets afraid and watches and does nothing. Amir's guilty, caused by the fear of avoiding his friend’s struggle, eventually leads him to betray his friend. Through the use of irony, foreshadowing, and metaphor, Amir’s childhood experiences harass him into his adulthood.
It is impossible to separate the events of Hosseini’s life from the plot and implications of The Kite Runner. Hosseini often faces interviewers and readers who wonder how much of his first novel is autobiographical. In a 2005 interview with Todd Pitt of USA Today, Hosseini responds to readers inquiries regarding the autobiographical nature of Amir and Hassan’s story: “When I say some of it is me, then people look unsatisfied. The parallels are pretty obvious, but… I left a few things ambiguous because I wanted to drive the book clubs crazy” (“Kite Runner Catches the Wind”). It is easy find the “obvious parallels” that Hosseini himsel...
The other source of tension in Amir’s life is his relationship with Baba, his hard-driving and demanding father. Desperate to win his father’s affection and respect, Amir turns to the sport of kite flying, and at the age of 12, with the assistance of Hassan, he wins the annual tournament in Kabul. Amir’s victory soon is tarnished when he witnesses a vicious assault against his friend, who raced through the streets of Kabul to retrieve the last kite, Amir had sliced from the sky, and fails to come to his aid. Amir’s cowardness is compounded by a later act of betrayal that causes Ali and Hassan to leave their home, and he now faces the nightmare, bearing the burden of his poor choices for the rest of his life.
In Amir’s early childhood, kites represented happiness. Flying kites was his favorite pastime, as it was the only way that he connected fully with Baba, who was once a champion kite fighter. However, the kite takes on a different significance when Amir doesn’t stop Hassan's abusers from raping him in order to prevent the kite from being stolen. The kite serves as a symbol of Amir’s guilt throughout the novel. Hechose his fragile relationship with his father over the well-being of his best friend and half-brother: “Baba and I lived in the same ...
Guilt can do many things to a person; harm them, make them become a better person, or a person simply does not feel remorse for what they have done. Many things can cause a person to feel guilt, they could’ve lied to someone, stole something committed a sin, and much more; everyone experiences guilt at some point of their life. In the novel, guilt is portrayed throughout the course of the main characters journey to redemption. “That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, and how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.” In The Kite Runner, a key theme that was present was that your past will always haunt you unless you redeem yourself- Amir will always remember about Hassan, the death of his father, and the extremity of his lies, but in the movie version, the element that was missing was the thoughts of Amir, to help the viewer get a better take on his pain and guilt; in present time many people go through life changing events that can torment them for the rest of their lives, some people manage to break free from the chains of guilt by redeeming themselves, and go on to live a happy life, like Amir.
“I do not regret the things I’ve done, but those I did not do” (Rory Cochrane). Life tends to have many obstacles to go through and how they are handled depends on the person. Taking the wrong path, especially when knowing it is wrong, can lead to a life full of guilt. Guilt from a troubled past is a motif in the book The Kite Runner. Khaled Hosseini uses syntax and diction to portray a story in which the characters, especially Amir, constantly accept their past and learn to move on, while in the movie, it is harder to distinguish the characters’ growth, due to the third person point of view; yet, in both, the readers/viewers learn to understand the importance of dealing with a problem when it occurs and move on.
The Kite Runner is a powerful story of love and trust blended with elements of deception and human wickedness at its worst. The full beauty of the story lies in the sundry
As a foreword, the story of The Kite Runner focuses on a man named Amir. In his childhood, he enjoyed a high-class life in Kabul, Afghanistan, living with his father Baba. They have two servants, Ali and his son Hassan. They are Hazaras, a lower class ethnic minority in Afghanistan. In one Winter of their childhood, Amir and Hassan participate in a kite-fighting tournament; the goal is to be the last kite flying. When a kite is cut, boys chase after it as a trophy. Amir wins the tournament, and Hassan flies to catch the losing kite. Later, following Hassan's path, Amir comes upon a neighbourhood bully named Assef about to rape Hassan who has the trophy, the blue kite. Amir does not interject, believing this will secure him the kite. Thus, Amir sets forth a chain of events he must redeem in his adulthood.