The Kite Runner Close Reading Essay The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, is a powerful story about betrayal and redemption. Amir and his father, Baba, lived in Afghanistan in the late 1900s, along with their Hazara servants, Ali and Hassan. Amir and Hassan were around the same age and were best friends, despite the fact that Amir was a Pushtun and Hassan was only a Hassara. Hassan always stuck up for Amir, but when Hassan was brutally attacked by a group of boys, Amir left him there to fend for himself. Throughout the book Amir tries to forget about this incident, even moving to America with his father and trying to start a new life. Later in the book, after receiving news of Hassan’s death, Amir is told that Hassan was actually his half
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In the last scene Hosseini writes, “High above, my kite was tilting side to side like a pendulum, making that old paper-bird-flapping-its-wings sound I always associated with winter morning in Kabul.” (pg. 368). This creates an image in the reader 's head of how important Amir’s past was to him. The last time Amir had flown a kite was 25 years ago, the day that he won the local tournament, and the day that he stood by like a coward and watched Hassan get raped. He was unwilling to risk his own safety to save his friend, which came back to haunt him in the future. With Amir’s help that day in California, Sohrab was able to take down the last kite, winning the tournament. After the final kite fell, Amir says, “I looked down at Sohrab. One corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile. Lopsided. Hardly there. But there… I blinked and the smile was gone. But it had been there. I had seen it.” (pg. 370-371). This is the first time Amir had seen Sohrab smile, and the first sign of recovery after Sohrab tried to commit suicide. This is also the first connection Amir feels with Sohrab after Sohrab stopped speaking. He sees a glimpse of recovery and forgiveness for what happened many years ago. Imagery is just one of the few important elements Hosseini includes in his novel to develop this central idea. Hosseini also includes indirect characterization throughout his …show more content…
All of these literary element help to create a central idea about betrayal and redemption. Hosseini portrays the idea that you cannot run from your past, all you can do is try to face it and improve your future. At first Amir tries to just forget about betraying Hassan but everywhere he goes he cannot move on. Eventually Amir realizes he cannot run from his past so he tries to redeem himself by finding Sohrab and adopting him. Many people may be able to relate to this is some way, since nobody lives a perfect life. Whether it be something big or small, most people have regretted doing something so they try to find some way to make up for it. Their stories may not be quite as dramatic as Amir’s, but almost everyone knows this: sometimes in order to move on and live a better future you must first turn and face your
In the last scene Hosseini writes, “High above, my kite was tilting side to side like a pendulum, making that old paper-bird-flapping-its-wings sound I always associated with winter morning in Kabul.” (pg. 368). This creates an image in the reader 's head of how important Amir’s past was to him. The last time Amir had flown a kite was 25 years ago, the day that he won the local tournament, and the day that he stood by like a coward and watched Hassan get raped. He was unwilling to risk his own safety to save his friend, which came back to haunt him in the future. With Amir’s help that day in California, Sohrab was able to take down the last kite, winning the tournament. After the final kite fell, Amir says, “I looked down at Sohrab. One corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile. Lopsided. Hardly there. But there… I blinked and the smile was gone. But it had been there. I had seen it.” (pg. 370-371). This is the first time Amir had seen Sohrab smile, and the first sign of recovery after Sohrab tried to commit suicide. This is also the first connection Amir feels with Sohrab after Sohrab stopped speaking. He sees a glimpse of recovery and forgiveness for what happened many years ago. Imagery is just one of the few important elements Hosseini includes in his novel to develop this central idea. Hosseini also includes indirect characterization throughout his …show more content…
All of these literary element help to create a central idea about betrayal and redemption. Hosseini portrays the idea that you cannot run from your past, all you can do is try to face it and improve your future. At first Amir tries to just forget about betraying Hassan but everywhere he goes he cannot move on. Eventually Amir realizes he cannot run from his past so he tries to redeem himself by finding Sohrab and adopting him. Many people may be able to relate to this is some way, since nobody lives a perfect life. Whether it be something big or small, most people have regretted doing something so they try to find some way to make up for it. Their stories may not be quite as dramatic as Amir’s, but almost everyone knows this: sometimes in order to move on and live a better future you must first turn and face your