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Don’t judge a book by its’ cover they say, but don’t we all do it anyway? The same can be said about people, that we shouldn’t judge others based on their appearance. However, in How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Fosters writes that in literature, physical deformities mean something symbolically, emotionally, or thematically. Allowing us to scrutinize these characters to further understand them. Hosseni uses the motif of scars and physical deformities in The Kite Runner to illustrate a character’s purity and goodness.
Deformities and scars function highly in the novel, and the author correlates the characters’ markings with their virtuousness. In most literature “bad guys” posses a physical marking or injury; however, the contrast is true in The Kite Runner. For example, Ali has polio and paralysis, but he exhibits many admirable
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Characters such as Sanabaur and Amir who have no scars display dishonorable qualities. Sanabaur “in her youth […] was a vision” and “no one who passed her on the street, […] could look at her only once” (210). Despite her beauty, she abandons her family shortly after Hassan’s birth, has an affair with Baba, and treats Ali horribly. Amir also demonstrates shameful traits; he’s selfish, disloyal, and dishonest. He allows Hassan to get raped so he can bring the kite home to Baba and receive his praise, allows Hassan to take the blame for stealing, and treats Hassan unfairly. However, when these two acquire a physical deformity, they find redemption. It’s not until Sanabaur is physically scarred that she becomes the mother Hassan deserved and in the end she has found redemption and Hassan’s forgiveness. Amir’s split lip, gives him a deformity like Hassan’s that allows Amir to feel as though he’s been redeemed of his betrayal and symbolizes he’s become someone like Hassan-brave, selfless, and willing to stand up for what’s
We see a innocent boy who is struggling to be himself. His father that goes by the name of Baba continuously makes Amir feel unworthy and shameful. In a scene Amir eavesdrop and Baba unapologetically proclaims, “If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son” (Hosseini 23). Baba bluntly insinuates that he doesn’t understand Amir. He doesn’t understand why he spends so much time reading books and why every time there’s an opportunity to fight with the local boys he doesn’t. From the genesis, the audience can tell that the protagonist will have an issue with his identity. By not being accepted by Baba, Amir selfishly watches his dear friend Hassan get raped because he knew if he stood up for him that there will be a chance that the kite would be tarnished and as a result he wouldn’t receive the affection that he always craved from Baba. As soon as this occurred, Hassan and Amir’s relationship drastically alters. Hassan later tells Rahim Khan what happened. His unforgettable scar haunts him and this scar is later passed on to his offspring. Amir’s identity issue is what forced Hassan and Ali to depart. This could’ve been changed if Amir didn’t doubt himself from doing what is moral because at the end he ends up doing just that. If he knew that his identity truly lied in the decision that he makes the regret he suffered wouldn’t have exist.
In the skillful novel, "How To Read Literature Like A Professor" by Thomas C. Foster, there is neither a protagonist nor antagonist. As a whole, the novel gives insights on how to pick up signs of symbolism, irony, and many other hidden details that are buried within the words of literature. Foster refers to many classis novels by classic authors to demonstrate the use of logic in writing. The novel is extremely educational, leaving many insightful questions and interpretations to the reader's opinion.
“Unfortunately, this moral looking-glass is not always a very good one. Common looking-glasses, it is said, are extremely deceitful, and by the glare which they throw over the face, conceal from the partial eyes of the person many deformities which are obvious to everybody besides. But there is not in the world such a smoother of wrinkles as is every man’s imagination, with regard to the blemishes of his own character” (112).” (Kelleher
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 by Khalid Hosseini and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet have demonstrated how the protagonists’ action of concealing and revealing their true selves impacts themselves and the surrounding. Amir’s escaping from the alley in the year of 1975 and Hamlet’s supernatural conversation with the ghost respectively trigger the aggressive plot development in the stories. Second, Amir’s desperation for paternal love and Hamlet’s grief for the death of Old Hamlet cause them to act differently and lead to a life dilemma. Nevertheless, Amir’s redemption saves him from further concealing the sorrow of betraying Hassan, whereas Hamlet’s life, without forgiveness, forebodes the remarkable tragedy, death.
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.
The scars of our pasts are said to have established a place among our present, however visible or invisible, and that these scars, through time, are unpeeled before our future selves. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is about the story of a man, Amir, who relays his life during the times of peace and conflict in Afghanistan, and his life in the United States. It is about the life of a man who tries to escape his shameful past, but is constantly lost and incomplete as a result. As the story revolves around the life of Amir, from childhood to adulthood, Hosseini utilizes first person point of view of Amir, various use of diction, and the symbolism of kites to reveal the underlying message of how the past is a part of whom we were and who we are today.
Thomas C. Foster’s novel How to Read Literature Like a Professor, helps the reader understand the beginnings of a quest by breaking down the task into five steps. A quest will always consist of 1) a quester, 2) a place to go, 3) a stated reason to go there, 4) challenges and trials en route, and 5) a real reason to go there. A quester, the protagonist, typically is not aware that they are partaking in a quest. Step two and three are thought of together usually because the protagonist is told to go somewhere to do something. However, the stated reason to go to their destination is not the real reason they go there. As Foster explains, “In fact, more often than not, the quester fails at
In conclusion, the historical events that took place in “The kite runner” affected multiple characters in different ways, some had no way of changing the result they are put into while others are given the resources to change their life for the better like never before. However both sides have their lives changed drastically like never before.
The only thing that separates humans from the savagery of mere animals is our ability to distinguish right from wrong. Throughout thousands of years of evolution and our own constant road towards an unstable future, humans have long grappled with morals and ethics. It is up to the individual to determine what they believe to hold true in situations that test their values. Literature shows us scenarios to interpret without the risk of real experiences - literature tests our ideas of what it means to be “a good person”. Critic Roland Barthes describes literature as “the question minus the answer”. In the novel The Kite Runner by Hoseinni, we see through the eyes of an Afghan boy named Amir as he continuously makes selfish decisions fueled by
In conclusion irony, symbolism, and foreshadowing contribute to the omnipresent theme of redemption throughout The Kite Runner. Khaled Hosseini ties together seemingly unimportant details of the story to create irony, and juxtaposes segments of his book to show redemption.
In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini tells a notable coming-of-age story portraying the actions and thoughts of Amir, a penitent adult living in the United States and his reminiscence of his affluent childhood in the unstable political environment of Afghanistan. Throughout the novel Khaled Hosseini uses character description to display his thoughts on sin and redemption.
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.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a novel based in Afghanistan that shows the betrayal between two boys with two different social backgrounds. Four years later “The Kite Runner” was filmed by David Benioff, which shows the meaningful message that the book delivers in a movie. Throughout the book and movie, Amir the protagonist must live the rest of his life with guilt from his childhood. Although the movie gave the same meaningful message that the book delivered, the book was further developed, which had more detail and kept the readers wanting more. Ultimately these details that were present in the novel gave the readers a better understanding of the characters, which led to the relationships
Khaled Hosseini’s goals in The Kite Runner are to create an immediate impact on the reader to the pain and suffering in Kabul, Afghanistan. The author successfully uses vivid (sometimes vulgar) descriptions to paint a realistic portrait of a country that most readers probably have very little connection to. On top of illustrating the gruesome setting of Kabul, Hosseini also emotionally connects the reader to the characters by using flashbacks and a first person point of view. The story is mainly narrated by the main character Amir, who