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Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner

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Ordinarily, pieces of literature show scenes of violence. These events are not just placed haphazardly; often times, these predicaments are intricately set to build the meaning of the work. Wighout this kind of violence, some points in the novel would be hard to comprehend. In Khaled Hoseini's The Kite Runner, multiple cases of compulsion are demonstrated. Khaled Hosseini uses symbolism and sense of mood during these situations contribute to the understanding of his literary work. Chapter seven of the novel opens somewhat normal, with two young boys, Amir and Hassan, preparing for the annual kite running tournament. When the boys win the contest, an air of jubilance and carelessness comes over Amir and Hassan. Hosseini describes the …show more content…

Moreover, throughout his whole life, Amir feels the need to be repented for his past mistakes. When Amir gets the notorious call from Rahim Khan and asked upon his arrival to save Sohrab, Amir first denies but then accepts the fact that this may be his only chance to redeem himself. Amir finally finds the place where Sohrab is and is coincidentally confronted by Assef. The fight scene here is brutal, and full of bloodshed. However, rather than feeling pain, Amir feels “at peace”, “healed”, and “satisfied.” Overall, the scene is relieving and peaceful, at least for Amir. At the time, Amir's pain makes him feel happy by suffering. Though Assef brings a mood of obscurity, Amir's recent catharsis brings about one of relief. Throughout the whole fight, Amir knows that he really isn't going to win; but, winning was not the goal. When Amir decides not to rin from Assef, he welcomed the pain rather than running away from it as he did early on in the novel. Amir feels as though this is the punishment that he deserved because of his unfaithfulness to Hassan. This is the motive behind Amir's laughter during the fight. Upon going to the hospital after the fight, the doctor tells Amir that he has a scar splitting his upper lip, which ends up being similar to Hassan's. When Amir's scar surfaces, it shows the equality between Amir and Hassan. His whole life, Hassan was seen of a lower status because his family couldn't afford to get it

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