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Themes of novel kite runner
The kite runner themes essay
Themes of novel kite runner
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The longing for parental acceptance is often what leads to childhood downfall. At some point a child strives to make their parent proud. When a lack of attention is displayed in a parent child relationship there is a lack of communication and support. In The Kite Runner this type of relationship is shown through Baba and Amir's interactions. Throughout The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Amir and Baba’s relationship takes many turns. Their relationship affects the plot through many situations such as when Baba acts uninterested in Amir's life, When Baba fails to treat Amir the same as Hassan, and when Baba takes his guilt and anger out on Amir.
In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Baba expresses an extreme lack of interest in Amir. The way Baba beats down Amir affects the plot immensely. "'What is it, Amir?' Baba said, reclining on the sofa" "His glare made my throat feel dry. I cleared it and told him I’d written a story"(Hosseini page #). Clearly Amir is scared that Baba will criticize his work. Baba shows no interest or support to Amir or his work. Every time Baba beat down Amir he lost confidence in himself. This carelessness from Baba carries on throughout The Kite Runner. Amir seeks affection from Baba anywhere he can acquire it. “it wasn’t often Baba talked to me, let alone on his lap—and I’d been a fool to waste it"(page #). This depicts how tirelessly
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Amir searched for Baba's approval and attention. He rarely was given even just a chance to connect with his father. With this lack of nourishment Amir slowly becomes angry at the attention Baba gives to others, and takes his anger out on them. Due to the fact that Amir has a lack of confidence and fatherly love he doesn't have a great role model to look up to. When Amir is rejected by his father he slowly becomes bitter. To seek affection from Baba, Amir regrets to help Hassan while witnessing an assault to make his father proud by bringing home the runner up's kite in the competition. Those small but impactful actions brought forth by Baba to reject Amir caused an extreme change in plot, and affected the way multiple characters felt for the rest of the book. Throughout the beginning of The Kite Runner Amir shows a strong jealousy towards Hassan. This is ironic due to the fact that Hassan lives a much less luxurious life. “I wished I too had some kind of scar that would beget Baba’s sympathy. It wasn’t fair. Hassan hadn’t done anything to earn Baba’s affections;”(page #). Amir is clearly not mad at Hassan, but mad at Baba for showing more love to Hassan than to him. Amir seems to have a disadvantage to Hassan, but he never quite understands why. “He asked me to fetch Hassan too, but I lied and told him Hassan had the runs. I wanted Baba all to myself.”(page #). Not only does the affect of Baba failing to treat Amir and Hassan equally instill a great deal of jealousy I'm Amir, it also causes him to lie for attention. Baba and Amir's relationship is unhealthy through most of the book. Baba drains Amir's energy and life. With Amir learning to lie and in return get what he wants at such a young age he only gets better and better at it. Because of Baba teaching Amir such a negative lesson, when Amir lies his lies hold so much power over people. He lied to Rahim Khan about seeing Hassan assaulted. After the trust is broken between Amir and Rahim, it is never quite restored. Baba failing to recognize Amir and Hassan as his children causes the character of Amir and Rahim in the plot to grow apart. The effects of a parent can leave such a lasting impact on a child.
From the way that child acts, to the way they present themselves, throughout their entire life they will always fall back on the foundation they were given by their parents. As shown multiple times in The Kite Runner, Amir and Baba's relationship affects Amir's life in childhood and adulthood, and the entire plot of the book. The plot of The Kite Runner is affected mainly by Baba's lack of interest in Amir's life, his failure to treat Hassan and Amir as equals, and his negative impact of taking his guilt and anger from his past out on
Amir
Throughout Amir’s journey to absolve himself from the internal and distressing pain he has felt ever since witnessing the devastating altercation in the alley, trying to reach a standard his father, Baba, would approve of also took a toll on his childhood. Baba often speaks of how he cannot fathom the fact that Amir is a part of his bloodline. (quotes quotes quotes) Trying to achieve the perfect son status that Baba wanted Amir to be clouded his mind so greatly that, during the moment, Amir did not show compassion towards Hassan’s troubling moment of need. What matter most was retrieving the last fallen kite to his father to prove he was not a mistake that Baba made Amir believe he was. Even after Baba’s death, his actions brought more despair and uncertainty to Amir’s complicated life. The secrets and lies that were kept from Amir and even Hassan could have altered the fate of both men. (quote quote quote) Throughout the novel, Amir could arguably be considered as selfish, rude and mean toward his half-brother Hassan. However, since Baba never told the two about their true relationship Amir grew up disliking Hassan because he did not know that they shared blood. Knowing their true identities possibly could
In the novel The Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini writes about Amir a young Afghan child who is a coward and who later as an adult seeks redemption from past mistakes. These characteristic effects Amir’s live throughout the novel from childhood to present. However, these are just words on a paper without some proof and the novel happily supports this either through the events or the behavior of other characters. Now let’s start with Amir’s past childhood.
instance of The Kite Runner, one of the most notable aspects of the story is the relationship between Baba and Amir. The feelings between father and son are deeply
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.
Though some may rise from the shame they acquire in their lives, many become trapped in its vicious cycle. Written by Khlaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner describes the struggles of Amir, his father Baba, and his nephew Sohrab as they each fall victim to this shameful desolation. One repercussion of Baba hiding his sinful adultery from Amir is that Amir betrays Hassan for his father’s stringent approval. Sohrab’s dirty childhood also traumatizes him through his transition to America. Consequently, shame is a destructive force in The Kite Runner. Throughout the course of the novel, Baba’s shameful affair, Amir’s selfish betrayal, and Sohrab’s graphic childhood destroy their lives.
Over the course of the novel, Baba implies that he is not proud of Amir and the only reason he knows Amir is his son, is because he witnessed Amir 's birth. He states to Rahim Khan that he thinks Amir needs to stand up for himself more often. Countless times during the novel, Amir feels like he has to fight for his affection, that he has to earn Baba’s love. In order to prove himself worthy of affection and to redeem himself for not being a son Baba could be proud of, Amir yearns to win the kite runner competition. He reminisces on a memory, when all “I saw was the blue kite. All I smelled was victory. Salvation. Redemption” (65). In the aftermath of Hassan’s rape, Amir got rid of Hassan so he would not have to face the cause of his guilt on a daily basis. Amir buries the secret of the rape deep within him, where he hopes that it will not come back to haunt him, which is not the case. “We had both sinned and betrayed. But Baba had found a way to create good out of his remorse. What had I done, other than take my guilt out on the very same people I had betrayed, and then try to forget it all? What had I done, other than become an insomniac? What had I ever done to right things?” (303). As mentioned earlier, Amir is not one who stands up for himself. In order for Amir to redeem himself for betraying Hassan, and not standing up for him earlier,
Fathers have a remarkable influence on their children. Every son looks up to their dad, and dreams of becoming a man just like them. In the novel Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Ali and Baba play a tremendous role in their sons lives: Hassan and Amir. Both boys strive to become the man their father is, and would go to any measures to mirror their fathers. All children need a father figure in their lives, and even though Ali and Baba raised their children differently, they were both loved unconditionally.
In The Kite Runner Amir, Baba and Sanaubar’s past actions all negatively affect those that are close to them, yet it is not their past that defines them, rather it is how they decide to amend their wrongdoings that reflects more on their character. After Hassan’s rape, Amir spends the rest of his life trying to redeem himself for his betrayal of his loyal friend and does so after saving Hassan’s son Sohrab. On the other hand, Baba betrays Ali and Hassan through his adultery and tries to redeem himself through his strong principles and acts of charity. Finally, Sanaubar ultimately hurts Hassan, as she abandons him at birth, but returns years later to
The constant battle of love and a sense of tension between all of the father and son pairs is extremely apparent throughout all of The Kite Runner. It always seems as though one character is trying to make something up to another character. Feelings of guilt, the need to redeem themselves, and extreme jealousy between Amir, Baba, Hassan, and Ali are the primary factors that keep the plot moving. Whether it is Baba to Hassan or Amir to Baba, there is always a sense of the need for redemption going on. This sense of redemption can be found not only within characters, but also incorporates a bit of polical view in to the novel by giving a glimpse in to the various lives of different ethnicities and how they interact with one another.
“It's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out” (Hosseini). In The Kite Runner, Hosseini shares Amir’s journey to atonement. As Amir states, he was unable to bury his past, similar to his father, Baba, who spent the majority of his life haunted by his sins. While both father and son are consumed by guilt, the way in which they atone for their iniquities is dissimilar. While Baba attempts to live his life according to the Afghan saying, “ Life goes on, unmindful of beginning, end...crisis or catharsis, moving forward like a slow, dusty caravan of kochis [nomads]” (Hosseini 356), Amir strays from this traditional perspective. Baba chose to continue his life unmindful of his past, while Amir, eventually decides to confront his. Although both Baba and Amir have acted immorally, the choices they make find redemption affect the success of their individual attempts. In the novel, Amir’s quest for atonement is more effective than Baba’s because he acts virtuously, while his father, acts selfishly. Ultimately, Amir is the more successful of the two because, in opposition to Baba, he seeks holistic atonement and is willing to make sacrifices to achieve redemption.
Amir is able purge his sin of silence and lying by using his newfound life to forget of all that has occurred in Kabul. This new land of opportunity also brings Baba and Amir closer, for they need to look out for each other as a way to be successful and survive in the land of the free. Also, with a few books published under his belt and an adopted child to relieve his guilt, Amir is able to continue his future without a need for conflict both internal or external. Amir reflects back to Baba and his immigration at the end of The Kite Runner; “‘He was, wasn’t he?’ I said, smiling, remembering how after we arrived in the U.S. Baba started grumbling about American flies. … ‘In this country, even flies are pressed for time,’ he’d groan. How I had laighed. I smiled at the memory now” (Hosseini 366). Had Amir not immigrated to America, one would not see a cleansed and stable main character reminiscing about his father at the
In The Kite Runner, Amir and his father, Baba, display lives of contradictions while Hassan and Rahim Khan live lives of purity. Baba is displayed as an immoral man while at home because he is not loving his son and he cheated with his friends’ wife and had a child. Even some of Baba’s good qualities, such as his care for Hassan and Ali, his father, seem to have a selfish motive behind them because he wants to keep his son close to him. While Baba is never the father figure in the first part of the book, once they leave their home, Baba seems to care a lot more about Amir.
The Kite Runner focuses on the relationship between two Afghan boys Amir and Hassan. Amir is a Pashtun and Sunni Muslim, while Hassan is a Hazara and a Shi’a. Despite their ethnic and religious differences, Amir and Hassan grow to be friends, although Amir is troubled by Hassan, and his relationship with his companion, one year his junior, is complex. Amir and Hassan seem to have a "best friend" type relationship. The two boys, Hassan and Amir, are main characters in the book titled, The Kite Runner. The two boys have a relationship that is significantly different compared to most. There are many different facets that distinguish the relationship the boys possess. The boys do write their names in a pomegranate tree as the "sultans of Kabul" (Kite Runner 27) but, their friendship is not strong and it is one sided. Hassan has love for Amir. He loves him like a brother. Hassan is exceedingly loyal to Amir. The relationship between the two boys is emotionally wearing and rather gloomy for the most part. The main reason for their complicated relationship is the fact that Amir is Pashtun, and Hassan is Hazara. The Afghan society places Hassan lower than Amir. Hassan is Amir's servant. The placement of Hassan in the Afghan society disenables Amir from becoming Hassan's true friend. Amir sees Hassan as lower than human. Amir ruins the chance for friendship between himself and Hassan because he is jealous of Hassan, he thinks of Hassan as a lower human, and because Amir possesses such extreme guilt for what he has done to Hassan. Amir is an unforgivable person overall.
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.
During The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini reinforces the theme of the loss of innocence and redemption. Many characters lose innocence or are the cause of another character losing theirs. Amir both loses his innocence and that of others. His innocence is stolen by his father. In the novel Amir overhears Baba saying, “‘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 24-25). This affects Amir for his entire life as he tries to compete with Hassan for his father's attention. He does not realize that in doing so, this crumbles his world as he knows it. It makes Amir resentful, calloused, and even cruel, all of which are characteristics of someone who has lost their innocence. In turn, Amir’s loss of innocence causes other to lose their innocence because of his lack of courage and disregard for others feelings.