The Kite Runner Critical Lens Essay

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.

When Khaled Hosseini wrote The Kite Runner, he made several important choices involving narration. He chose to write the story in first person from a limited point of view. This is a very fitting decision because, writing in the first person adds a sense of intimacy that is crucial to this story; writing from a limited perspective allows the reader to make their own conclusions about what the characters are thinking. The way Hosseini writes The Kite Runner makes it very intimate, and feels like a person telling their life story. If The Kite Runner had been written in third person, or omnisciently, the story would not have impacted readers as much, and would have been too cold and impersonal to create emotional connections with the reader.

“ 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

In Canada women are treated equally as men. Both genders can go to school, work, and are equally represented in government. In many Muslim countries such as Afghanistan, women aren't treated equally as men. Most women are stripped of their right to an education, career, and a lot of other things. In the novel "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, women are betrayed two different ways. Soraya Amir's wife, is a educated women with a job. In real life many Muslim men are against women like Soraya to attain an education and job. The author betrays women by respecting their rights to freedom and education. However, Hosseini also betrays women as objects of their fathers. This is proven by Soraya and Amir's wedding.

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

Khaled Hosseini’s novels, The Kite Runner (year), and A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007) both explore the idea that a significant individual can inspire a course of action, which may result in a change of self.

Though Hassan was his best friend, Amir feelt that Hassan, a Hazara servant, was beneath him. He passively attacked Hassan by mocking and taunting him. Amir never learned how to affirm himself against anyone because Hassan always defended him. All of these factors lead to Amir not being able to stand up for Hassan when he needed him most.

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.

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.

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.

While Amir is lying in the dark, with nothing but his own thoughts, he feels that his guilt is taking over his life. He realizes that he is going to get away with his betrayal and yet he feels terrible. He decides that the only way he is going to live with his remorse is to ignore Hassan, blot him out, so he does not have to think about his sin. Amir’s guilt is so great that he cannot bear to have Hassan under the same roof, so he commits another sin. He lies to his father and accuses Hassan of stealing. “…I took a couple of the envelopes of cash from the pile of gifts and my watch, and tiptoed out…I lifted Hassan’s mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it…I knocked on Baba’s door and told what I hoped would be the last in a long

Amir does move on with his life but doesn't begin to forgive himself or let go of the load of guilt he carried until the story

Secrets impact people in different ways, especially if they get told. All of Amir’s childhood was spent with his best friend and servant, Hassan. But what was kept secret for a majority of Amir’s life, was that Hassan was his half brother. On page 222, Hosseini explains, “‘Ali was sterile,’ Rahim Khan said. ‘No he wasn’t. He and Sanaubar had Hassan, didn’t they? They has Hassan--’ ‘No the didn’t,’ Rahim Khan said… ‘I think you know who--’” Amir felt an anger he hadn’t felt before. They betrayal from his own father. After Rahim told Amir that Hassan was his half brother Amir felt this guilt inside him that he couldn’t handle. He pictured Hassan’s face, in the ally, helpless, as he watched from the shadows because while Hassan was his friend, his superego wouldn’t allow for him to stand up for Hassan. Amir as a child always knew Hassan as his servant and

This one decision left a stain on Amir for the next thirty years. A quote on pg. 88 states “I wish someone would wake me up, so I wouldn’t have to live with this lie anymore” This quote explains how guilty Amir felt after seeing Hassan get raped as he desperately sought for anyone to find out but didn’t chose to tell anyone the actual truth. Another example from the text is when Amir tries throwing pomegranates at Hassan, as an attempt to get Hassan to fight back and punish Amir for choosing to leave Hassan. However, Hassan refused to throw any pomegranates at Amir, but instead smashed one into his face. A quote on pg.94 states “I wanted Hassan to fight me back for the way I failed him” This quote indicates that Amir wanted Hassan to fight him back, so he could have the “punishment [he] craved” (93) This demonstrates that Amir wanted to feel the act of being punished for his wrongdoing, similar to how Hassan was brutally raped due to Amir’s apparent mistake. Amir’s guilt forces him to travel across two countries to seek redemption for the mistake he made. 15 years later, Amir’s guilt led him to make the hefty decision of returning to Afghanistan “to be good again” (189) by rescuing Hassan’s orphaned son, Sohrab, from the terrible conditions he was left to face in Kabul. Amir sees this as an opportunity to redeem and free himself from