Theme Of Symbolism In The Kite Runner

Amir’s mother, Sofia, dies in childbirth; Amir inherits her love of literature and probably her looks to some extent, but, her being dead, never receives any motherly love or guidance, which could have helped him out of the cowardly hole he later digs himself into. Amir’s father’s best friend and business partner, Rahim Khan, tries to give Amir the motherly love he clearly needs, fostering Amir’s love of writing and steadfastly standing up for him when Amir’s father, Baba, criticizes him, but Rahim Khan does not do enough to instill honesty, courage, and strength of conviction in young Amir. Amir’s best friend, Hassan, a servant a year younger than Amir, is everything Amir is not: athletic, brave, loyal, honest, and kind, inciting jealousy in Amir. Assef, a local bully, poses a real threat to Amir, hating Amir for the crime of befriending a Hazara (oppressed ethnic minority), but Amir is protected by Hassan, allowing young Amir to freeze and not stand up for himself in Assef’s presence. Last, but most importantly, is Amir’s father, Baba, and his views on Amir: he blames Amir for Sofia’s death,

In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, he depicts the oppression the Hazara people face in Afghanistan through his main characters, Ali and Hassan. His vivid illustration of the demeaning behavior towards the Hazara people (Ali) set the underlying tone of this novel.

“A widespread mythological and literary motif is the one of two brothers, who hate or are in conflict with each other and which sometimes even ends in the murder of one of those brothers.”

The novel Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a story full of love, friendship, and brotherhood, however, on the other hand, it is also full of betrayal, lies, and secrets. Within all of these themes are two young Afghan boys, Amir and Hassan, who each have contrasting backgrounds which in turn causes them to ultimately have a unique relationship. Amir, on the one hand, has everything he could ever want as a young boy, but he doesn’t have the one thing that Hassan has, which is his father’s love. Amir is ultimately jealous of Hassan because of this, and his actions because of his jealousy changes both of their lives.

Honesty and respect are among many qualities that deep relationships carry, especially loyalty. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, he uses two young boys to convey his theme, “loyalty is not freely given, it is learned.” This theme is portrayed as Hosseini uses examples of devotion from his character, Hassan, to teach Amir what defines loyalty. While these two boys grow up together and form a friendship, a life-changing event splits them apart, only to take Amir twenty-six years to discover the truth of their past, their fathers, and their lives.

Growing up in war torn Afghanistan during the invasion of the Soviets and the awakening rise of the Taliban destined the people of Afghanistan to never truly understand normalcy. The main protagonist of the book Kite Runner, Amir, experiences the detachment from understanding why he feels like a tourist in his own country. Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, explores the difficulties of Amir’s friendships and relationships of himself to be committed to others while struggling with loyalty by using contextual Afghan traditional culture and history to influence the textual meaning of the storyline. Amir’s experiences from the contextual Afghan traditional culture and relationships define his mistakes from the past as they recite you must

Mae gets accepted into the Circle and he parents, “were treating her to a celebratory dinner commemorating her fist week at the Circle. This was the kind of sentimental slop they were always doing- at least recently” (Eggers 124). Her parents began doing simple things with her later in her life. They are trying to catch up with all the times they missed throughout her life. The dinners become a symbol of trying to become a family after their time apart.

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 pomegranate tree is a very important symbol in the novel that supports many aspects of Hassan and Amir’s relationship. This tree was were Amir and Hassan became close friends, and created their special connection in the novel. At this tree they would

The conflict seen in Hassan and Amir’s relationship of based, sadly, on unilateral love and exploitation which leads to the terrible crime committed against Hassan. The childhood of both boys is incomplete without the inclusion of the other. From their nativity, their lives have been defined by the presence of the other. “Fed from the same breast” Amir and Hassan share a

Khaled Hosseini writes the novel, The Kite Runner to make readers think of how his use of symbolism and other

Social conditions are what shape a country. Over the years, people, not only in Afghanistan, but around the world create norms that define people’s roles in life, their future, and how they should be treated based on their gender and beliefs. Khaled Hosseini’s first novel, The Kite Runner, comments on the social conditions of Afghanistan through telling a story about the lives of two Muslim boys; a privileged Sunni Pashtun, Amir, and his long-time friend and servant, Hassan, a loyal but disadvantaged Shia Hazara. Hosseini expresses Amir’s uncertain feelings toward Hassan which form the decisions he makes throughout the book. These choices result in Amir destroying his relationship with Hassan. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini is a commentary on the social conditions in Afghanistan as shown through the roles of women and men in society and the ideals of Afghan culture. Unfortunately, these problems are still active in most of Afghanistan.

incomprehensible extent. In Afghanistan, Hazaras–the ethnic minority–have experienced ethnic discrimination by Pashtuns–the ethnic majority–because of a revolt dating back to the 18th century.Another form of discrimination in Afghanistan arises from the distinct religious groups–Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims. Shi’ite Muslims correspond with the Hazara ethnic group, but the Sunni Muslims correspond with the Pashtun ethnic group. This discrimination affects every age group in Afghanistan, and affects each of those individuals, “mental and physical health” (Pascoe). In his 2003 novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini exposes and discusses the ethnic and religious discrimination found in past and present day Afghanistan. By creating tense situations that originate, whether consciously or subconsciously within the characters, the author uses these conflicts to illustrate the impacts that stem from the masculine stereotypes associated with Afghan culture, the dire need for a father’s approval, and the on­going effects of a child’s jealousy. In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses these intense conflicts to develop characters’ relationships and forces the reader to consider how the main character’s loss of innocence stems from a need of approval and ethnic and religious discrimination.

Hosseini uses many symbols in his novel. One, in particular, shows the loss of friendship between Amir and Hassan, the pomegranate tree. In the beginning, Amir and Hassan would go to the tree to read stories and eat pomegranates. “After school, Hassan and I climbed its branches and snatched its bloodred pomegranates” (Hosseini 27-28). After Hassan had been raped, Amir and Hassan had gone back to the tree but this time the loss of friendship starts to show through. When Amir throws pomegranates at Hassan, it is him trying to get Haasan to punish Amir for what he had done wrong. “‘Hit me back!’ I spat. ‘Hit me back, goddamn you !’ I wished he would. I wished he’d give me the punishment I craved, so maybe I’d finally sleep at night” (Hosseini 92). Amir needs the punishment he deserves so badly from the awful things he did and now wants to live up to. Once Amir goes back to visit his home in Kabul, he finds the pomegranate tree that once was a symbol of friendship, and now the loss of just that. “Hassan said in his letter that the pomegranate tree hadn’t borne fruit in years. Looking at the wilted, leafless tree, I doubted it ever would again” (Hosseini 264). The pomegranate tree shows how during their friendship, the tree was beautiful and full of life. Now that Amir has betrayed Hassan and left him to be killed, the tree is now lifeless and no fruit to be eaten symbolizing the end of their relationship.

The story is based on the life and journey undertaken by Amir, the protagonist. Hosseini expresses essential ideas in his novel through the themes of redemption/atonement, the relationship between father and son and lastly, the theme of degradation/discrimination. The author expresses these themes through the setting and characterization. Hosseini presents characters from different social status in Afghanistan and how this affected their childhood. Amir despite coming from a privileged class had to work hard for his atonement by going back to Afghanistan to face his demons as well as to mend his relationship with his father who had rejected him since his birth. On the other hand, Hassan, from the minority class suffered because of his social status after he was abused and mistreated by those in power. The Kite Runner is a story about two boys who grew up in different worlds because of the presence of various social classes in