Themes In 'Oedipus RexAndThe Kite Runner'

In the book the Kite Runner there are many examples of betrayal and here are two of them. First Amir betrays Hassan by watching and doing nothing when Hassan is abused by Assef“I ran because i was a coward”(pg82).“But before you sacrifice yourself for him think of this would he do the same for you”(pg77). Secondly Amir is betrayed by Rahim Khan when he learns that Hassan is his half brother“How could you hide this from me from him”(pg235).“i’m 38 years old and i’ve just found out whole life is one big lie”(pg235).

It is amazing how two literary works from different time periods and different cultures can portray the same theme. A major theme in both The Kite Runner and Oedipus Rex is the limits of free will. The way Khaled Hosseini portrays the theme in The Kite runner is the way that the majority of Pashtuns treat the Hazaras, they are either treated as objects that people can do whatever they want with, they are treated as second class citizens or they are servants to the Pashtuns. In Oedipus Rex, the way that the theme is portrayed is that Oedipus is bound to a prophecy that he heard when he was a child.

When you think of blindness you think of sight and when you think of ignorance you think of knowledge. Throughout the play Oedipus, sight and blindness imagery is very noticeable, along with ignorance and knowledge. Sophocles creates Oedipus as a character of ignorance, confidence, and good insight. The story starts out as Oedipus is the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta. The oracle told the parents that their son would kill his father and marry his mother. The parents refused to let this happen and sent the servant to pin Oedipus’s feet together and leave him on the mountain to die. The messenger knew this was not right and stepped in immediately to help the poor child. As Oedipus grew older he found out the truth about his life and why certain things happened. Over time, Oedipus's blindness shows him the lack of knowledge he knew about his true life story.

“Who am I?” This has become the essential question asked in each literary work The Kite Runner and Oedipus Rex. Striving to find who they are the characters, Oedipus and Amir, try to figure out what they have become through their separate journeys. Most of their conclusions rely on the fact that both characters continue to look back into their past. The constant theme in both the novel and the tragedy is continuously looking into the past. Both characters constantly look at the past in ways such as their relationship with their father, the wrong choices they have made, and the secrets that lie in the family.

What similarities could current fiction novels possibly have with old Greek drama? Greek dramas and current day novels have more in common than anyone realizes. For example, there are many similarities between Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex and Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. These similarities show how writing and entertainment have not completely changed despite how long it has been. One of the most important similarities is the theme. This essay will explore these two works by looking into the similar themes, how the themes are treated, and the importance of similar themes.

After reading both works of literature it is clear that betrayal is a major theme within both works. The Kite Runner has an occurring theme of betrayal. One specific event occurs that sprouts the overall theme of betrayal within the novel. In this event, Assef rapes Hassan. This has to do with betrayal because Hassan was raped by a peer. Not only is this very upsetting, it gives off a clear theme of betrayal. Also the fact that Amir does not do anything about it even though his best friend is getting abused can be considered betrayal as well. Amir lives with the fact that he didn't do anything about it for the rest of the book. This just strengthens the theme of betrayal.

Both stories have the theme of fate in them. In The Kite Runner it showed fate when Sohrab was adopted by Amir. The reason this is fate because Amir’s wife was not able to have children. Amir and Soraya tried to have a child of their own but were unsuccessful. Amir and Soraya then lived there life for a while by themselves because Soraya’s father General Taheri is strongly against adoption because he doesn't feel it is right for afghans. Once Baba died from cancer and word got back to Rahim Kahn, Rahim Kahn then invited Amir to come back to Afghanistan to inform Amir things he was not told about his life. Amir found out that Hassan is his half brother and that he had died but Hassan had a child named Sohrab. Amir then adopts his child Sohrab and now he has a child who related by blood and Amirs wife is okay with it and is happy that he is bringing him back to the United States. In a way this is Amirs repayment to Hassan from when Amir watched Hassan get raped. In the book Hassan would do anything for Amir and proves it when he says “For you, a thousand times over” (Hosseini 2). This quote is very important to the story and is repeated multiple times throughout the story. Amir hears Hassan say this and it reminds him of letting Hassan get rapped and makes him feel extremely guilty Amir needed some way to repay him and fate made him take care of his child Sohrab. In Oedipus Rex Oedipus is king of Thebes and there is a huge plague happening. Oedipus has Creon go to Apollo to find out how to stop the plague. Creon finds out that in order to stop the

Even as literature has multiple genres, themes can still parallel each other regardless of appearing in two altogether varying works very different authors of distinctly separate time frames conceive and write. Even as The Kite Runner is written as a work of historical fiction and Oedipus Rex develops a well known and praisable Greek tragedy, a theme of betrayal places itself throughout both. Literature demonstrates that morals can genuinely be learned through any method. In both pieces of literature, betrayal is a shared and understood theme throughout, the discourse and contemplations of each character magnifies the author’s treatment of the theme, and the author’s

Another theme the reader would find in “The Kite Runner” would be betrayal. The biggest act of betrayal coming from our protagonist and his father Baba. As we know Hassan gets raped by a Pashtun who is far against Hazar’s and sees the world being a better place without them. The betrayal comes in as Amir sits back and watches his close friend get raped. Amir has two choices at the time of the incident, to either stop the rape and save his friend, or sit back and walk away. His choice haunts him for the rest of the novel. Another act of betrayal would come from Baba himself. When Baba made the choice of sleeping with his servant’s wife and impregnating her with Hassan. To the knowledge of Ali and Hassan it never happened, as Baba kept it a secret and never spoke of it. Baba betrayed Hassan and Ali, in a very distinct way. If Baba would have let it be known that Hassan was the son of the notorious Baba would his life have perpetuated to be full of

Sophocles used symbolism throughout Oedipus the King to better explain the meaning behind the story to his audience. Throughout this tale, vision is used to symbolize ignorance and enlightenment. Oedipus is constantly searching for a way to avoid his prophecy. This opens him up into a world of things he never even knew he was blind to. Oedipus lives his life blind and “seeing” the solution to the riddle of the Sphinx only reveals that he truly is ignorant.

So how can some books have sensitive topics like rape, death, or murder in them? Books like The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Oedipus Rex by Sophocles catch the audience’s attention with their exciting thrills. The Kite Runner is mainly about a betrayal of Amir’s close friend/half brother, who was later murdered which led to him watching over his son when he passes. While Oedipus Rex is about trying to change a prophecy and trying to convince that he does not kill his father and to then marry his mother, but in the end the prophecy stayed the same and those events occur. As the books The Kite Runner and Oedipus Rex establish a common theme, validate the author’s treatment of the theme, and its significance it serves a purpose to the reader.

The kite runner features many examples of betrayal, be that choosing to betray, or choosing not to betray. A lot of characters in this novel have to make tough decisions based on do they want to betray someone, or not. there are also different ways to betray someone, many of which we see in this work of realistic fiction. some of the most important examples of betrayal are Amir's actions, and inactions, towards Hassan, and the secret that Baba has kept hidden, and Assef with his betrayals to Iran as well as earlier on, his mother. on the other hand, is Hassan who had opportunities to betray Amir, and did not.

As a summer assignment, I had to read two books: The Kite runner, a novel by Khaled Hosseini, and Oedipus Rex, a play by Sophocles. The Kite Runner follows Amir’s journey as he goes through the ups and downs of his life. Amir was raised with Hassan, his servant’s son and an unlikely friendship grew between the two boys. As they grow up, all sorts of barriers were put between them, such as society, ethnicity, religion, and literacy. Amir’s life completely changes when he witnesses Hassan getting attacked by the district’s bullies, but flees instead of standing up for his friend. The guilt, resulting from his action caused their friendship to deteriorate and in the end, Amir managed to have Hassan sent away. Oedipus Rex, however, is an older tale; it is a story of self-discovery, sins, and redemption. Set in the Ancient Greek era, Oedipus Rex tells the story of a king who, unintentionally, kills his father and marries his mother and follows his reaction as he discovers the horrible truth. Despite having different stories and settings, the books shared some common themes, notably guilt and redemption.

We often over complicate the definition of betrayal. There is nothing complicated about it, in fact, it is actually quite simple. As Amir did in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, we hide behind our shame- act as if we’ve done nothing wrong when in reality, we know the damage we’ve done. The Kite Runner exemplifies the most painful form of betrayal- allowing self-image dictate the way in which treat others. Amir allowed his social status, as well as his own insecurities, distort his sense of morality.

In the book The Kite Runner there are multiple themes that are a prominent analysis of the text. Betrayal, forgiveness and love are three that are used a lot throughout the novel but then have a deeper meaning.