The influential British writer, Hugh Kingsmill, once stated, “Society is based on the assumption that everyone is alike and no one is alive” In his novel, The Kite Runner, Hosseini depicts a unique friendship between two boys in a quickly disappearing Afghanistan. Hosseini creates Amir, an ambitious yet selfish character in order to elaborate on the negative effects society has on an individual. After he betrays his friend Hassan, Amir is conflicted and spends the rest of his life attempting to gain redemption by saving Hassan’s son. Similarly, in Of Mice And Men, Steinbeck uses two lowly ranch workers, George and Lennie, to depict a life impacted by the other men and their surroundings. Their valuable friendship is eventually thrown away due to the pressure of society when George is forced to take Lennie’s life. Although in both The Kite Runner and Of Mice And Men, Khaled Hosseini and John Steinbeck demonstrate society’s overbearing power over the individual, Hosseini and Steinbeck use different motifs and settings to convey their ideas regarding society.
In both novels, Hosseini and Steinbeck use motifs to show the power society possesses to manipulate an individual. In The Kite Runner, Hosseini continually uses the motif of blood to symbolize the sin and corruption of humanity. During a kite tournament in Kabul, the two boys, Amir and Hassan, begin to chase the final kite. When Hassan is approached by a group of bullies, including Assef, Amir decides not to intervene in order to maintain his status and place in the world. While Assef and his friends beat and rape Hassan, Amir witnesses "tiny drops [that] fell from between [Hassan's] legs and stained the snow black" (Hosseini, 78). This is the beginning of Amir’s m...
... middle of paper ...
...ni and Steinbeck draw attention to the diminishing power of an individual in a large society. By using motifs and settings, the authors explain the ability the world has to influence humans’ behaviors and lives negatively. Hosseini convinces us to remain individuals, as Steinbeck professed, and not conform to the world in which we live. As Dahli Lamma once stated, “The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual's own reason and critical analysis”. Is he correct: is it necessary for humans to make individual decisions rather than follow the in the footsteps of others?
Works Cited
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead, 2003. Print.
"Society Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. .
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin, 1993. Print.
Page 2 - “I sat on a park bench near a willow tree. I thought about something Rahim Khan said just before he hung up, almost as an afterthought. I looked up at those twin kites.”
Betrayal, redemption, and forgiveness are all major themes in The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini. The novel also focuses around the theme of a broken relationship between father and son as well as facing difficult situations from ones past. Amir and Hassan are best friends with two completely different personalities. Each character in the novel faces their own hardships and eventually learns to overcome those difficulties. Beginning with betrayal then the characters have to make their way to gaining redemption and forgiveness from others, as well as their self, is carried on throughout the novel. It is a continuous story of the relationships between Amir and his father Baba and facing their challenges from the past every day of their present.
An individual’s mental well being can greatly affect their character and the way they perceive things. In the novels The Kite Runner and A Separate Peace, the protagonists are boys who are infested by internal conflicts such as insecurities and emotions. In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, a boy lets his dad negatively affect his character, causing him to treat those around him in a cynical manner. Likewise, a boy from John Knowles’ A Separate Peace bases his character on whom he wishes to be, letting his unhealthy mental state consume him. Hence, explored through both novels, is how a person’s internal conflicts can lead to their downfall, whether as a result of their struggle with identity or their feelings towards others.
As implied by the title, kites play a major role in the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. They appear numerous times within the text and prove to be surprisingly versatile in their literary function. They provide common ground for characters whose interests do not normally intersect. They are also present as a very powerful symbol, which adds an extra dimension to this already literary rich novel. Reversing the roles transcending generations, it shows itself to be a multifaceted medium.
The Kite Runner is a novel of a Sunni Muslim, Amir, and a Hazara boy, Hassan. Hassan is the son of Amir’s father’s servant. Amir and Hassan spend their childhood days playing with one another in the streets of Kabul. Amir’s father, Baba, as referred to in the novel, loves both of the boys equally. Although, Amir believes that Baba loves Hassan more than himself. Amir struggles to find understanding from Baba for killing his wife during childbirth. Amir strives to make him proud. The Hazara boy, Hassan, finds himself often in trouble protecting Amir, and questioning whether Amir would do the same for him. Over twenty years after Amir left Kabul, and his childhood friend, Hassan, Amir returns to Kabul to find his brother dead by the Taliban, and his son residing in a local orphanage. Amir ventures on to find a way to be good again, while trying to save his childhood friend, Hassan’s son. The motif changes to show how their relationship is growing and evolving thus helping Hosseini, the author of, The Kite Runner, develop his theme in the novel. Friendship does not require physical connection.. The Pomegranate tree is used as a motif and changes throughout the novel. Amir often returns to the motif of the Pomegranate tree. In the beginning of The Kite Runner, Amir and Hassan’s friendship is flourishing as they share stories and laugh by the pomegranate tree. Hassan and Amir bond over stories such as, “Shahnameh,” (Hosseini, pg. 103). As the novel continues, Amir throws pomegranates from the tree at Hassan, breaking the physical relationship between himself and Hassan. At the end of the novel, Amir returns to find the tree dead, and their physical relationship is gone, but they both think of themselves as friends.
According to Psychological Today,“Psychologists find that human beings have a fundamental need for inclusion in group life and for close relationships.” Without people that others need for fundamental reasons, the effects can change them as a person. In Of Mice and Men, the two main characters, George and Lennie, are working at a new ranch. They meet new people and try not to get into trouble. However, not everyone is included in the group. Some are left out and may become lonely. George and Lennie on the other hand have each other in a compelling friendship. In The Fault in Our Stars, Hazel, a girl with cancer, has been impacted by the one and only Augustus Waters. They are both cancer victims and end up falling for each other. They go on a trip to Amsterdam and meet Peter Van Houten, who is getting a little lonely. Throughout the novel, they are at their strongest and weakest points in life and need each other to get through it. Of Mice and Men and The Fault in Our Stars are similar in how they demonstrate themes such as the negative effects of loneliness and the value of friendship.
Going through all these different motifs, it taught Amir many different lessons, good and bad. But in the end, Amir finally is able to let go of his guilt and make his awful choice to not help Hassan in his time of need, have somewhat of a better outcome. In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini’s repeated the use of rape, sickness, and sacrifice to represent many different things throughout the novel.
J.F Clarke said that "The bravest of individuals is the one who obeys his or her conscience". This statement means that the special people, who listen to their conscience, are the bravest because it is not easy to listen and act on what your conscience tells you because many people are afraid of the consequences of doing so. In The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, and Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the characters truly do show this trait of being brave. I agree with the statement because I know myself that it isn't easy to act on what your conscience tells you. Many times the consequences stop me and also it is very hard to base a decision on pure "instinct".
It is difficult to face anything in the world when you cannot even face your own reality. In his book The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses kites to bring out the major themes of the novel in order to create a truly captivating story of a young boy’s quest to redeem his past mistakes. Amir is the narrator and protagonist of the story and throughout the entire novel, he faces enormous guilt following the horrible incident that happened to his closest friend, Hassan. This incident grows on Amir and fuels his quest for redemption, struggling to do whatever it takes to make up for his mistakes. In Hosseini’s novel, kites highlight aspects of Afghanistan’s ethnic caste system and emphasizes the story’s major themes of guilt, redemption and freedom.
We all are heroes of our own story, and it is a quality seen in many movies and books. The hero's journey is about progress and passage. This journey involves a separation from the unknown, known world, and a series of phases the hero must go through . Each stage of the journey must be passed successfully if the person is to become a hero. In “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, the main character Amir faces a series of trials and goes through obstacles where the concept of his childhood dies. Amir's mother passes away during his birth, and his left with the suspicion that his father blames him for her death. Amir longes for his father's attention and approval, but does not receive any affection as a son. He grows up with his Hazara best friend, Hassan. In Afghanistan culture, Hazaras are considered lower class and inferiors in society. Amir describes his friendship with Hassan saying, “then he would remind us that there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break." (20). Amir first refuses the call of action due to being afraid of the adventure ahead of him. Call to action is the very first step of the hero's journey, where the hero is disrupted and the
Khaled Hosseini, the author of The Kite Runner, grew up in prejudiced Afghanistan during the 1960’s as a middle-class Pashtun living with Hazaras working for his family. His move to America after the Communist Coup proved difficult for his family, especially his father. In his novel, Hosseini writes through a young boy, Amir, very similar to himself, who grows up with his father and two Hazara servants in Afghanistan at the time of the Taliban attacks. Both Amir and his father, Baba, treat their servants, Hassan and Ali, like family. Society, however, does not approve of such relationships between Pashtuns and Hazaras. As Amir hides and watches horrified, another Pashtun boy rapes Hassan. This leads to the continuation of Amir’s internal conflict about the treatment of Hazaras by the public, and also makes him feel guilty and self-conscious throughout his entire life. In addition, Amir strives for affection and attention from his rather indifferent father. Amir’s outward conformity to societal values in his relationships with both Hassan and Baba, as a result of his inner struggle and guilt, contribute greatly to the significance of The Kite Runner.
In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, the author follows the development of protagonist Amir through a life filled with sorrow, regret, and violence. Amir encounters numerous obstacles on his path to adulthood, facing a new test at every twist and turn. Amir embarks on the long journey known as life as a cowardly, weak young man with a twisted set of ideals, slowly but surely evolving into a man worthy of the name. Amir is one of the lucky few who can go through such a shattered life and come out the other side a better man, a man who stands up for himself and those who cannot, willing to put his life on the line for the people he loves.
As a foreword, the story of The Kite Runner focuses on a man named Amir. In his childhood, he enjoyed a high-class life in Kabul, Afghanistan, living with his father Baba. They have two servants, Ali and his son Hassan. They are Hazaras, a lower class ethnic minority in Afghanistan. In one Winter of their childhood, Amir and Hassan participate in a kite-fighting tournament; the goal is to be the last kite flying. When a kite is cut, boys chase after it as a trophy. Amir wins the tournament, and Hassan flies to catch the losing kite. Later, following Hassan's path, Amir comes upon a neighbourhood bully named Assef about to rape Hassan who has the trophy, the blue kite. Amir does not interject, believing this will secure him the kite. Thus, Amir sets forth a chain of events he must redeem in his adulthood.
The movie The Kite Runner is based on the book and it contains both subtle and explicit differences as all books and movies do. Both the book and the movie have very compelling and moralistic themes though at times the movie’s themes seem limited. The themes presented throughout the movie and the book are penance, loyalty, prejudice, religion and growing up. The characterization, overall plot of the movie and the setting of the book seem to be consistent with each other though at times they both may vary both slightly and drastically.
To conclude, Khaled Hosseini uses the theme of the loss of innocence and redemption in The Kite Runner to make the point that one can never really redeem oneself. Amir attempted to do so throughout the entire novel but failed although partial redemption may have been achieved. The pomegranate tree, the kites, and even Assef are all symbols of innocence that has been lost. Later on in The Kite Runner they also represent the pursuit of redemption. Also the historical aspect of education and children support that innocence is lost daily and can never really be restored.