Symbolism In Tim O Brien's 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 myth of the vampire existed in a multitude of civilizations and cultures under various names such is strigoi (for the Romanian territory), Apotamkin, etc. But no matter the name, vampires will always refer to gothic creatures that drain the blood of humans, thus being monstrous.

Vampire is "a bloodsucking ghost that come back from dead person believed to come from the place where a body is buried and wander about by night sucking the blood of people asleep and causing their death." Before vampires were seen as evil monsters and creatures humans must fear. However, now, vampires have become an "famous popular culture and fascination among teens around the world"  This art has increased vampire large groups of fans this way resulting to the creation of many fan clubs and social organizations, whether online or not.

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.

Ghosts are not there just to haunt, they have a purpose (same goes for other supernatural creatures found in literature)

Although irony may be associated with negative events or actions, it can also be a sign of good for characters within stories. According to Dictionary.com, irony in literature is defined as “a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated.” The use of irony is found within the novel The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini. Hosseini uses irony to portray and develop the main dynamic character in this story, Amir. Most of the major events Amir is faced with at a younger age seemingly come full circle when he reaches adulthood. Irony plays a role as Amir lives through tragic events that ultimately teach him how to become a better person.

Color symbolism has been used across cultures for thousands of years, and The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini is no exception. Colors play an extremely important role in the novel by contributing to the reader’s own understanding of the text. Hosseini’s use of the colors blue, red, and green depict the concepts of characterization of Hassan and Amir, tone towards the Taliban, and inter-novel connections.

The essentials of a vampire story are an older man representing corrupt values and a young innocent female that get destructed in order to continue the life force of the male. This can be applied to the Twilight series, as Edward uses Bella. Edward and Bella fall in love; stripping away her innocence, and is brought into the lifestyle of vampires. In the course of the movie Bella gets hunted and runs away; using all of her energy. She runs away from home, stripping her from her youth. Within the next few movies, Bella gets pregnant, destructing her body, and gives birth to Edwards baby in order to continue the life force of the male.

The vampire is not by any means a new manifestation of the fears of a society. Their presence in human culture can be traced back for centuries in human folklore. The first Anglicized representations of the creature in literature date back to the English poetry of the early 1700s, and were then followed in the fiction genre by such works as John William Polidori’s The Vampyre, Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, and of course, Bram Stoker’s Dracula. For the audiences of the 18th century, vampires embodied many of the following common fears shared between the people: of illness, both mental and epidemic, of an embraced sexuality, particularly that of women’s and homosexuals’, and of foreigners. As the archetypical vampire evolved throughout the

The fictional style of writing that O’Brien uses in his work is defined as metafiction. According to Metafiction: The Theory and Practice of Self-Conscious Fiction, by Patricia Waugh, metafiction is:

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.

The generalization for vampires has been displayed in films and literature for hundreds of years. The stereotypical versions of vampires are that they have long fangs, sleep in coffins during the day, and suck the blood out of humans. Both novels contradict those stereotypes in different ways. To understand the diversity of the vampires described in both novels, one must examine the characteristics that the vampires display and the meaning and purpose behind them. David D. Gilmore’s book “Monsters” analyzes monsters and other mythical creatures. Gilmore describes why humanity invented the idea of

As one of the most attractive and enduring figures in the Gothic literature, the vampires have moved from being a peripheral element with the genre to a place near the center and are capable of generating its own massive tradition now. In the recent literary history, they have already been adapted to play a role of a rebel against the moral, social, religious, and even sexual taboos. Put simply, the vampires are now a metaphor of human beings in the modern society and life.

Vampires within literature and film traditionally follow a similar archetype of what a vampire consists of and the traits they harbor. Many European and Western vampire narratives share similar appearances, habits and afflictions. Most readers and viewers are extensively familiar with what they believe a vampire to be most often comparing these vampires to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Dracula is the quintessential example of modern vampires and has a significant and lasting impact on the genre of vampires both from the novel and subsequent films. Simply put, most individuals are familiar with the traditional vampire, who is generally a fair skinned male that drinks the blood from victim’s necks with sharp pointy fangs. These vampires are most often depicted as being fearful of Christian symbolism, being deterred with crosses and holy water. Traditional vampire novels provide a framework that fill us with preconceived notions of what it means to be a vampire yet there are many examples of the vampire myth within other novels that attempt to turn this narrative on it’s head and change what we believe to be a true vampire. This archetypal vampire exists differently in many cultures around the world and every society has a different conception of what a vampire is. The myth of the vampire allows individuals to connect with a dark, mysterious part of themselves. This myth is often associated with sexuality and gender roles, showing a development over time. Due to the fact that