Pomegranates In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

Pomegranates With A Purpose The term “friendship” collectively sums up an emotional relationship between two humans; however, one typically associates friendship with a positive connotation, failing to see its negative aspects. (P1A) In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the pomegranate symbolizes the complex nature of friendship, illuminating its dual nature of pleasure and pain. The pomegranate tree initially acts as an innocent rendezvous point for the novel’s protagonist, Amir, and his best friend, Hassan; they frequently climbed the tree and picked its “blood-red pomegranates” (21). (P1) Afterwards, Amir read stories to Hassan, sharing multiple moments of unadulterated jubilation of each other’s company under the tree, “shadows of …show more content…
Hosseini’s diction choice - morbid but purposeful - uses the color blood-red to foreshadow Hassan’s rape and the pain of Amir’s cowardice. (P11) He combines both elements of pain and pleasure in the happy scene of Amir reading to Hassan while enjoying pomegranates. The imagery of the shadows on Hassan’s face creates a carefree ambience, showcasing pleasure in friendship. The novel’s third person omniscient point of view provides a variety of emotions and allows the reader to connect the significance of the pomegranate’s recurring image to the complex nature of friendship. In the beginning of the novel, the pomegranate serves as a symbol for pleasure, but after Hassan’s rape, the pomegranate embodies pain. The rape compares to a poem’s volta, or the shift in tone from pleasure to pain. Amir and Hassan visit the pomegranate tree again shortly after Hassan’s violation, and any blissful memories vanish. Amir heaves a pomegranate at Hassan’s chest, where it “exploded in