Semiotics In The Kite Runner

Thesis: Betrayal leads to feeling of guilt which forces the person in search of redemption either directly or through indirect actions and gestures.

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.

“ For you, a thousand times over”. This one sentence sums up the immense love, loyalty and friendship Hassan had for Amir.

The novel didn’t really have the best satisfaction between characters, its atmosphere was really awkward, unsettling and funny at times; it is basically a mix of all that. I felt there was no connection between Andy, Connor and Kajsa, and Ethan for the majority of the novel. The three got along well, and Ethan didn’t, which made things awkward in a minute. Ethan wouldn’t help out in setting up tents/putting tents down (“You have to help break camp,” Andy said sternly. “I have to do nothing I don’t want to do,” I replied. “But we’re a team,” Kajsa said. “We’re a team?” I said. “I’m not wearing any uniform. I didn’t join any team” 117; 20-25). Ethan would also play mind games at times, chapter fifteen is an excellent chapter to see how Ethan

Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, is most definitely different than other authors. He uses strong, detailed words that may be difficult, at some points, to understand. His use of vocabulary is rather challenging for me. The more use of challenging vocabulary, in my opinion, makes the book even more interesting. Now, I’m not a big fan of reading, but after reading this book, I had found an interest in reading more challenging books like The Kite Runner. Not knowing a word can change the whole scene by finding out what it actually means. Now, Khaled uses a wide variety of figurative language to grab your attention.

“He was the embodiment of every parent’s dream, a strong, tall, well-dressed and well mannered boy with talent and striking looks”- Hosseini 96

“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 the book The Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini makes Baba first appear to be a man who is wise and protects his son, Amir, however, readers discover in chapter 17 that Baba may be a hypocrite. Throughought Amir’s life, Baba told Amir that theft was the worst and only lie, but in chapter 17, Amir is told that his dad had gone against his word and stole the truth of his life from him. “I opened the door and turned to him. ‘Why? What can you possibly say to me?

Symbolism is a great way to make something in the text stand for something more abstract. Shakespeare, for example liked to use flowers and plants as images to illustrate his ideas. We are able to see Ophelia using flowers as symbols of her deep sorrow and grief. She is very upset because her father, Polonius, has just been killed by Hamlet. Ophelia expresses her feelings by passing out flowers to the king, queen, Laertes in her seemingly mad state.

Hosseini uses many literary devices throughout the book to show great detail of Amir and his life from the great district of Kabul. Some of the literary devices he utilizes are imagery, symbolism, smile, flashbacks, and foreshadowing in the beginning of the book to introduce the plot. Hosseini starts out by using a flashback from when his friend called. This sets the stage for the book that throughout the book there will be flashbacks. The flashbacks help us get to know each of the characters better.

How does Hosseini use symbolism in ‘The Kite Runner’ to present key relationships? You should consider different reader responses and the extent to which your critical approach assists your interpretation.

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is a remarkable coming-of-age novel describing and revealing the thoughts and actions of Amir, a compunctious adult in the United States and his memories of his affluent childhood in the unstable political environment of Afghanistan. The novel showcases the simplistic yet powerful ability of guilt to influence decisions and cause conflict which arises between Amir’s childhood friend and half-brother, Hassan; Amir’s father, Baba; and importantly, himself. Difference in class The quest to become “good again” causes a reflection in Amir to atone for his sins and transform into the person of which he chooses to be.

I will be focusing my essay on Blade Runner: The Final Cut version released in 2007, discussing and exploring through the semiotics, themes, motifs and artistic representation that can be found within the film.