Symbols In The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini’s, “The Kite Runner”, uses an abundance of diction and tone, to convey a centralized motif. Hosseini, uses three specific symbols throughout the story, the cleft lip; kites; the lamb. The central symbols, tie into what the overall theme is of the story, the search of redemption, tension and love between father and son. Hosseini expressed his centralized motif of irony and regressing in time by using symbolism and figurative language to make his point more clear “I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba.”

Amir's entire life had been haunted by what he saw happen to Hassan. Although he was a child at the time, he couldn't accept his shortcoming during a time of need. He was jealous of his father for being able to stand up for himself and others and Hassan's undying loyalty to him. He developed a pattern of behavior - of covering up his mistakes and hiding his past – that he could not rid himself of until he suffered like Hassan did. He made it up to Hassan by saving his son, and he made it up to himself by suffering the way he

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

    Amir had been disloyal to Hassan his whole life. He did not stand up for Hassan when he needed it most and Amir even ran away when he could have helped Hassan. Amir constantly tortured Hassan as he tried to make Hassan eat dirt, throw fruit at him, or even when he tried to get Hassan to punch him. Amir wanted Hassan to stoop to his level and beat him up, so his guilt would disappear.

At the beginning of the novel, young Amir quickly learns how one poor decision can entirely change the way someone lives. He beloved best friend Hassan was loyal and would happily fulfill any request Amir asked of him, but when Amir started to notice his father, Baba, giving Hassan more attention, he grew envious. When the time came that Hassan desperately needed Amir’s assistance, Amir turned his cheek and took the easy way out.

Hassan is hurt and frustrated by the way Amir treats him after the betrayal, but he never blames Amir for the way he acted. He never forgets about Amir and remains his faithful servant and loving friend until his he is killed by Taliban soldiers, even though Amir and Hassan's paths

The moment Amir heard Baba explaining to Rahim Khan that Hassan stands up for himself and Amir, which leads him to conclude, “…there is something missing in that boy.” , Amir instantly behaves aggressively towards Hassan. This subconscious jealously causes Amir to betray Hassan in a variety of circumstances: the right of correct education, the act of allowing Hassan suffer, and the act of keeping quiet when Amir innated Hassan being a ‘thief’. Inevitably, Amir felt always challenged with his lack of confidence caused by Hassan being admired by Baba and being adroit, which lead to terrible decisions to a loop of

1. It is very evident that Hassan and Amir have a complex relationship, that is not always compromising this could be because Hassan is a Hazara and Amir is a Pashtun, Amir having lived a life which he was always smothered with expectations of being the best and unsurpassed Amir and Hassan relationship suffers because of Amir’s need to be the best and reflects a side of Amir portraying his superiority complex. Amir doesn't see Hassan as a loyal friend, but sees him as a dumb Hazara who will never accomplish anything in life, for example we see Amir snap back with a nasty thought, after Hassan gave his input for an alternate ending for the story when the man killed his wife for wealth “A voice, cold and dark, suddenly whispered in my ear,

In the beginning he is a scared boy torturing himself with memories of his cowardness and unloyalty. Amir doesn't rescue Hassan when he is being bullied and traumatized. Instead of him owning up to his actions he decides to hide his cowardice and get rid of Hassan. He tries to make Hassan look like a thief, which cause the discharge of the family servant. Amir states, “he was just a hazara, wasn't he?” Amir tries to explain his actions. Amir never learned defend himself or anybody else in any way because Hassan always took up for him and took blame. Throughout this tragic part, Amir’s character can most likely be described as cowardly and selfish. He feels as though he shouldn't be suffering, so he thinks if he if he doesn't see Hassan he wouldn't be reminded of the incident. In this part Amir is also young minded because he should be worrying about how help Hassan deal with what happened.

Amir betrays Hassan in a way that will affect Hassan for the rest of his life. Amir becomes a coward in a tough situation that Hassan is in. On page 77 Aamir turns away when Hassan is being raped in an alley; Amir thinks “ I could step into that alley , stand up for Hassan -the way hed stood up for me

In the same way there are steps to making a good kite fighting kite, there are many obstacles one must face to mend the damage you’ve done after betraying a friend. Amir experiences many obstacles in his search for redemption. The symbol of the kite in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is prevalent throughout the story because it illustrates betrayal, guilt, and atonement.

Flying kites together seemed to be the most treasured childhood past time these two boys had growing up, for Amir, Baba’s son, and Hassan, the servant son. They were two kids in Afghanistan, from different classes of society, under one roof, so to speak, and to most would be seen as best friends; they were inseparable in their youth, and renowned for their kite flying (and Hassan’s running). This ultimate pastime with the kites became ‘the’ memory that became synonymous for Amir of the prefect most peaceful moment in time, a moment that captures all that is pure and innocent childhood. Sadly, this treasured memory, at the same time, became stained with haunting regret of his selfish undying desires for approval or redemption, his disappointments and betrayals, and the violation of all that is and was good.

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

Amir “never thought of Hassan as friend” because of his Hazara origin and to get Baba’s love as his goal, Amir feels jealous towards Hassan because Baba likes Hassan’s strength and integrity better. Hassan’s moral codes of integrity and selflessness is not repaid by Amir for all Amir aims at is Baba’s attention and love that he can sacrifice some of the moral codes in order to reach the goal. The very different moral codes between Amir and Hassan makes Amir to finally use Hassan as a “lamb” and destroy their relationship in the

Hosseini also states that Hassan’s lip symbolizes the cultural and social differences throughout the novel, and how Amir's slingshot symbolizes the loyalty, their childhood, and explains standing up for what is right. The Kite Runner is a story of about an Afghan­American boy named Amir who has flashbacks that visually depict how his life was when he was just a young boy living in Afghanistan. It was a time of injustice as he searches for a redemption of his past guilts. Hosseini shows readers how Amir matures, and how he felt about different experiences during his life back in Afghanistan. The Kite Runner employs symbolism to show the experiences and moments in Amir’s life that have meaning to him and have left an impact on his life forever. By using symbolism, Hosseini makes readers think about how much earlier experiences and moments have shaped Amir’s life in The Kite Runner.