Theme Of Racism In 'The Kite Runner'

The effects of a dream deferred are also seen in the physical and emotional trauma experienced by both Henry and Beatrice. At one point, Henry temporarily begins to doubt his chances of ever playing professional baseball. Just the thought of never achieving his dream is enough to send Henry into a panic: “Henry’s face perspired, and his hands were moist, and there was again that melting sensation around his heart, and he had a vision of that fish flapping on the sand…It wanted to get back to the water because it was there that it could breathe, live, live, and move” (112). Henry compares himself to a fish out of water, suggesting that he literally could not survive without baseball. The dramatic comparison is used by Beckham to stress the crippling effects of a life of disappointments, setbacks, and injustices for African Americans who do everything right, yet still get their dreams taken away from them by a prejudiced society. Beckham highlights the gendered experience of racism by using Henry’s character to show the effects racism has on men’s masculinity and their ability to provide for their families. Each time Henry begins to lose hope, thoughts of baseball and …show more content…
Throughout the novel, Beckham weaves together a story filled with surrealist scenes and countless setbacks that comment on and demystify the interconnected myths of baseball and the American Dream. Although the novel has fallen out of circulation, it deserves to continue being studied. While Runner Mack was published in 1973, many of the themes, conflicts, and underlying messages about life for African Americans and the result of a dream deferred remain true today. Beckham has displayed how sports are much more than just a game, and that they do not simply exist within society, but rather they reflect, illuminate, and reproduce many of society’s best and worst