Examples Of Allegory In The Kite Runner

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An allegory reveals a hidden meaning through the interpretation of a novel, picture, or a poem. Allegories are frequently used in literature to enhance the meaning of the novel, and allow it to be read on more than just a literal level. The author of the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini, uses allegory to allow for the interpretation of the novel on a higher level. The rape scene, Amir’s quest for personal redemption, and the relationship between Amir and Hassan all stand for something greater than entertainment and can be considered an allegory for events in the country of Afghanistan.
The most significant scene in the novel, the rape scene, has an allegorical dimension to it, it is an allegory to Afghanistan. After Hassan runs to …show more content…

Just as Hassan served his purpose and in return was abused and raped, the same happened to Afghanistan, “Once a million Afghans died and the Soviets were defeated, which in no small way contributed to the end of the Cold War, once that happened, the international community just kind of watched while the Afghan community was brutalized by these warlords and by the extremists and the Taliban and they did nothing” stated Hosseini in an interview (Rocchi "Interview: 'The Kite Runner' Novelist Khaled Hosseini"). In the book, Assef is the one implementing the brutality just as the warlords, extremists, and the Taliban are to the people of Afghanistan. Assef, as those taking over Afghanistan, is not one hundred percent Afghan, his mother is German and therefore is linked to totalitarian rule because he descends from a foreign country just as the others inflicting pain upon Afghanistan. Hassan is the victim of the brutality in The Kite Runner just as Afghan people are in Afghanistan. Just as Hassan was helpless and outnumbered in the ally, the Afghans were in Afghanistan. While he was being raped, “Hassan didn’t even whimper,” he did not …show more content…

Assef, Amir’s childhood nemesis, is the Taliban official in the end. Amir had to rescue Sohrab from Assef as redemption for not helping Hassan in the alleyway when they were children, this “lends an allegorical and mythical dimension to the battle between the two men. As a young boy, Assef is already described as ‘a sociopath;’ an admirer of Hitler, Assef displays fascist tendencies and openly advocates removing the Hazara population from Afghanistan” (Maria Elena Caballero-Robb "The Kite Runner"). Again, Assef is representative of the Taliban and extremists causing pain to Afghanistan, or Sohrab. He is a part of the group, the Taliban, that wants to get rid of all of the Hazaras. Amir is also still representative of his previous role, a bystander and at the end of the novel Amir is faced with another decision; to put himself at risk to save Sohrab, or to remain a bystander and watch the innocent be brutalized. Maria Elena Caballero-Robb analyzed the situation and says that “If the grown Assef appears to be a nearly cartoonish embodiment of sadism and the desire for absolute power, Amir's struggle to defeat him and save the young Sohrab appears to be an allegory for a broader struggle for Afghanistan” (Maria Elena Caballero-Robb "The Kite Runner"). The struggle is over the safety of Afghanistan. Amir wants to take Sohrab with him to America to keep him safe, just as other countries got involved with the

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