The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a story about two Afghan youth growing up during a very turbulent time in Afghanistan’s history. Through their very different journeys to adolescence, they witness the crumbling of the country they once knew, and are changed for life at the injustices they witness. In The Kite Runner, literary elements are important because they help portray the story to the reader in detail. In The Kite Runner, many literary elements are present including characterization, symbolism, and theme. Amir, the main character of the story, can be best described as cruel and gutless. Even though Hassan and Ali have nowhere to go if they cannot live with Amir and Baba, Amir still frames Hassan in an attempt to force him out onto
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This journal represents Amir’s shaky relationship with his father. One of the many symbols it represents is love. Amir feels that Baba only threw him a grand party because he won a big kite running tournament. In other words he feels Baba only loves him for his achievements. Amir further clarifies this when he says, “Baba would have never thrown me a party like that if I hadn’t won the tournament…it was all blood money”(Hosseini 90). Amir’s journal is important in The Kite Runner because it represents his bad relationship with his father, which persists throughout much of the book. It is also the only item he takes with him when he leaves Kabul for America, which symbolizes the end of his strained relationship with his father. Amir’s journal also represents change in his life. The night he took his journal with him, was the night he changed his life forever with his father and his friends and family by moving to America and leaving Kabul behind. He further conveys this when he says, “The signs of our elopement were subtle…The leather-bound notebook Rahim Khan had given me five years earlier was gone”(Hosseini 97). The journal is important not only because it represents love, but it also represents change such as the change Amir and Baba face when moving to America. The journal is also a major symbol of Amir and his transition to adolescence, since he takes it …show more content…
In the story Baba has a child, Hassan, out of wedlock with a woman named Sanaubar who was married to his servant Ali. Since it is considered dishonorable to have children out of wedlock in Muslim culture Baba hides it from everybody to protect his honor. Amir further clarifies this by saying, “He and Sanaubar had Hassan…’No they didn’t’…Then who…’I think you know who’”(Hosseini 181). The theme of honor reveals that Baba and Amir aren’t so different after all because they both confront their problems with secrecy. Amir hides the fact that he did not save Hassan from getting raped, and Baba hides his affair with Sanauabar. Another main theme present in The Kite Runner is guilt. Amir is guilty because he did not save Hassan from being raped. He further conveys this by saying, “’I watched Hassan get raped’…a part of me was hoping someone would wake up and hear, so I wouldn’t have to live with this lie anymore”(Hosseini 77). This theme teaches the reader that when you do something you are guilty about, the worst action you can take is to keep it a secret to everyone. Amir keeps his secret throughout the book until he tells his wife towards the end of the story, but Amir can only become more courageous if he tells his secret, and when he finally does he has the courage to adopt Hassan’s child
This journal represents Amir’s shaky relationship with his father. One of the many symbols it represents is love. Amir feels that Baba only threw him a grand party because he won a big kite running tournament. In other words he feels Baba only loves him for his achievements. Amir further clarifies this when he says, “Baba would have never thrown me a party like that if I hadn’t won the tournament…it was all blood money”(Hosseini 90). Amir’s journal is important in The Kite Runner because it represents his bad relationship with his father, which persists throughout much of the book. It is also the only item he takes with him when he leaves Kabul for America, which symbolizes the end of his strained relationship with his father. Amir’s journal also represents change in his life. The night he took his journal with him, was the night he changed his life forever with his father and his friends and family by moving to America and leaving Kabul behind. He further conveys this when he says, “The signs of our elopement were subtle…The leather-bound notebook Rahim Khan had given me five years earlier was gone”(Hosseini 97). The journal is important not only because it represents love, but it also represents change such as the change Amir and Baba face when moving to America. The journal is also a major symbol of Amir and his transition to adolescence, since he takes it …show more content…
In the story Baba has a child, Hassan, out of wedlock with a woman named Sanaubar who was married to his servant Ali. Since it is considered dishonorable to have children out of wedlock in Muslim culture Baba hides it from everybody to protect his honor. Amir further clarifies this by saying, “He and Sanaubar had Hassan…’No they didn’t’…Then who…’I think you know who’”(Hosseini 181). The theme of honor reveals that Baba and Amir aren’t so different after all because they both confront their problems with secrecy. Amir hides the fact that he did not save Hassan from getting raped, and Baba hides his affair with Sanauabar. Another main theme present in The Kite Runner is guilt. Amir is guilty because he did not save Hassan from being raped. He further conveys this by saying, “’I watched Hassan get raped’…a part of me was hoping someone would wake up and hear, so I wouldn’t have to live with this lie anymore”(Hosseini 77). This theme teaches the reader that when you do something you are guilty about, the worst action you can take is to keep it a secret to everyone. Amir keeps his secret throughout the book until he tells his wife towards the end of the story, but Amir can only become more courageous if he tells his secret, and when he finally does he has the courage to adopt Hassan’s child