In literature, physical descriptions are used to explain or represent stereotypes, personality traits the character has or different themes in the book. In the Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, Hosseini describes all the characters physical descriptions in ways to symbolize how they connect with the story and the real-life history behind the setting of the story.
The first example of this that I am going to mention is Hassan's minor Cleft Lip. In the beginning of the story, when Amir is describing Hassan he says, "And the cleft lip, just left of midline, where the Chinese doll maker's instrument may have slipped, or perhaps he had simply grown tired and careless" (Hosseini 3). It started out as just one of his identifying features that he was born with, but unlike most people who are born with a cleft lip, his family could not afford the cost of the medical procedure to fix it. It wasn't until chapter 5 where Baba pays for Hassan to get his cleft lip fixed, leaving a scar on the top of his lip. This shows how Hassan is connected to the story because later in the story, after Hassan dies, Amir finds out Hassan was actually his half-brother and travels to Kabul to get Hassan's son, Sohrab. On his way, he gets
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In the story, Amir describes it as "a brown, sickle-shaped birthmark on the smooth skin just about her left jawline" (Hosseini 140). Hosseini gave her this feature because when Amir sees her he will be drawn to her because just like Hassan, his childhood friend, she was born with an imperfection. Also, a sickle is on the Soviet Union's Flag, representing the country's peasants. The Soviet Union is the country that attacked Afghanistan when the government fell. When Soraya and her family moved to America, they moved from high class to the lowest class, accepting peasant lifestyle. This shows that Hosseini gave Soraya the birthmark to represent the lifestyle her parents had chosen in
Thesis: Betrayal leads to feeling of guilt which forces the person in search of redemption either directly or through indirect actions and gestures.
Only two characters, Nel and Shadrack, maintain a static interpretation of Sula’s birthmark, revealing their alienation from society at large. Nel’s unchanging perception of Sula’s birthmark as a stemmed rose highlights her own need for consistency.
The Kite Runner is the first novel of Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It tells the story of Amir, a boy from Kabul, Afghanistan, whose closest friend is Hassan, a young Hazara servant. Novel turns around these two characters and Baba, Amir’s father, by telling their tragic stories, guilt and redemption that are woven throughout the novel. Even in the difficult moments, characters build up to their guilt and later on to their redemption. Their sins and faults alter the lives of innocent people. First, Amir and Baba fail to take action on the path to justice for Ali and Hassan. Moreover, Amir and Baba continue to build up their guilt due to their decisions and actions. Although Amir builds up more guilt than Baba throughout the novel, he eventually succeeds in the road to redemption unlike his father. After all, Amir and Baba have many chances to fix their atonements but Baba chooses not to and Amir does. Baba uses his wealth to cover up his sins but never atone himself while Amir decides to stand up and save Sohrab and finally finds peace. Amir and Baba’s reaction to sins essentially indicate their peace of mind and how they react to guilt and injustice.
One major theme that is evident in The Kite Runner is that scars are reminders of life’s pain and regret, and, though you can ease the regret and the scars will fade, neither will completely go away. We all have regrets and always will, but though it will be a long hard process we can lessen them through redemption. The majority of The Kite Runner is about the narrator and protagonist, Amir. Almost all of the characters in The Kite Runner have scars, whether they are physical or emotional. Baba has scars all down his back from fighting a bear, but he also has emotional scars from not being able to admit that Hassan was also his son. Hassan is born with a cleft lip, but for his birthday Baba pays for it to be fixed, which left a small scar above his mouth. Hassan also has emotional scars from being raped. The reader is probably shown the emotional scars of Amir the most. Amir has emotional scars because he feels that he killed his mother, and also because his father emotionally neglects him. In the end of the novel, Amir receives many physical scars from getting beaten up by Assef, when rescuing Sohrab. Though scars will never go away and are a reminder of the past, not all scars are bad.
The expression "riddled with guilt" is a good way to describe the main character's life, Amir, in the book The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini. The Kite Runner is a story about an Afghan boy, Amir, who has many hardships throughout his life as he grows from a boy living in war-torn Afghanistan, to a successful writer living in America. Amir experiences many events that caused him to carry a great amount of guilt throughout his life. So much guilt that it even turned him into an insomniac. He needed to find a way to make amends which would allow him to forgive himself and hopefully, one day, be able to sleep soundly again.
It somehow contains the concept of beauty, and in the story it's easy to notice that many man found this birthmark attractive, and so did Georgiana, but looking at her husband, who obviously hates this mark, she starts to believe that it's ugly. The beauty is very subjective; it was created by people, and can be changed by them. Thus, it is impossible to be perfect for there always will be those who can find flaws in any creature. Moreover, it is known that 'Perfection leaves no room for improvement". Thus, flaws are part of human beings, and the desire to go against it is
The first example of this that I am going to mention is Hassan's minor Cleft Lip. In the beginning of the story, when Amir is describing Hassan he says, "And the cleft lip, just left of midline, where the Chinese doll maker's instrument may have slipped, or perhaps he had simply grown tired and careless" (Hosseini 3). It started out as just one of his identifying features that he was born with, but unlike most people who are born with a cleft lip, his family could not afford the cost of the medical procedure to fix it. It wasn't until chapter 5 where Baba pays for Hassan to get his cleft lip fixed, leaving a scar on
simple birthmark where the obsession is because he perceives it in a more symbolic way. Georgiana has often been told that the mark on her cheek is a “charm” but Aylmer does not think so where he said, “No, dearest Georgiana, you came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature, that this slightest possible defect, which
Being selfless is to be concerned more with the needs and wishes of others– a form of self-sacrifice. The first character introduced with an abnormality is Hassan whose harelip symbolizes his altruistic nature. Hosseini asserts that, “A thousand times over,” (67) Hassan is willing to sacrifice himself for Amir for instance, when he defends him from the bullies. In contrast, Amir is selfish and harbors jealousy for Baba’s love for Hassan. However, he “wishes [he] too had some kind of scar” (46) to be equivalent to Hassan. Uncoincidentally, he receives a harelip which symbolizes his development from a selfish to a magnanimous person. For example, when Amir places the money under the mattress to support Farid. Not only is Amir trying to redeem himself, but trying to be benevolent by providing for others. Soraya is another character who is considerate; her hallmark is the sickle-shaped birthmark. “Soraya [dedicates] herself to take care of [Baba]” (172), welcomes Sohrab to the family and compassionately fosters Sohrab. Through all the individuals afflicted with deformities, the reader is able to see how the harelip and the birthmark display the character’s selflessness and strive to become
The birth mark also represents the idea of nature and its control over mankind. There are many examples of foreshadowing and irony in particular scenes with our three main characters: Aylmer, Georgiana, and Aminadab. Aylmer’s under worker, Aminadab is described in the story in a way that represents nature at its core.
“There is a way to be good again” (2). This is the line that rolls through Amir's mind over and over throughout Khaled Hosseini's novel, The Kite Runner. This is the story of a mans struggle to find redemption. The author illustrates with the story of Amir that it is not possible to make wrongs completely right again because its too late to change past. In this novel Hosseini is telling us that redemption is obtainable, and by allowing us to see Amirs thought process throughout the novel, Hosseini shows us that it guilt is the primary motivation for someone who seeks redemption. Hosseini also uses not only the main character, but other secondary characters to show how big of a part that guilt plays in the desire for redemption. In this
In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, ‘The Kite Runner’, it is often thought that symbols and metaphors are used as visual representations to reinforce and put emphasis on important stages in the novel. In can be seen that symbols are used in the novel to highlight particular moments in key relationships. For example Kites, the Pomegranate tree, Scars and the Slingshot are each used to put emphasis on specific moments in the relationships between Amir and Hassan and Amir and Baba. Through using symbolism and metaphor to present these key
Many authors often use two contrasting places, such as two different countries, to emphasize the differences in ideas and reinforce opposed forces that are central to the work. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, two countries that are seen as two polar opposites, Afghanistan and America, are brought together to reinforce two completely different lifestyles for a boy named Amir. Growing up in a country known as a land of terrorists and war changed him as he moved to America, known as the land of opportunity and freedom.
Setting: There are numerous settings in "The Kite Runner." In the beginning of the book the very first scene opens in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, in generally the present. Conversely, the book flashes back to Kabul, Afghanistan, where the storyteller (Amir) grew up. Most of the first part is set there in and around the lavish place of his adolescence. In the future, when the family should escape the nation, the story is established along the way, and later in Pakistan. Then they moved to California, in the United States, and a big part of the story is set there. Late in the story, they go back home.
Hosseini incorporates Amir’s scar in his novel, to develop the idea about what the scar means. The scar reflects how Amir and Hassan have similar personalities although they were of different religions and social classes. Hosseini magnifies his use of symbolism when he includes Amir’s scar by writing how it represents brotherhood because just like his halfbrother Hassan he now has a scar on his lip, “... with him is the lip injury—it’s split down the middle like Hassan’s cleft lip (Hosseini 255). The scar also symbolizes peace and redemption for Amir because the scar puts is a physical representation of the pain that he feels he has put Hassan through.Hosseini is saying that Amir was just like his 'brother' Hassan because he now had a scar on his lip.