In the very dramatic novel, The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, the theme of father and son is developed through 3 main literary devices.Conflict, allusions, and symbols all help convey the relationship between Amir, Baba, Hassan, and Sohrab. Throughout the novel, Hosseini uses a variety of symbols and allusions to convey this complex relationship between fathers and so called “sons”. In the novel, Kite Runner, the character of Amir has a very conflicting relationship with his father, Baba. Although Amir loves Baba, he rarely feels his father fully loves him back. Amir’s desire to win Baba’s love consequently motivates him to not intervene in his best friend, Hassan’s, rape. Baba has his own difficulty connecting with Amir. He feels guilty treating Amir in a good way because Amir is not the kind of son Baba always dreamed of. On page 172, Amir finally gets a bit of relief when Baba has Amir’s wife, Soraya, read him Amir’s story that he wrote.This is significant because prior to this, Baba wanted nothing to do with Amir’s writing, as he thought it was a …show more content…
“waste of time”. Amir also refuses to acknowledge Hassan as Babas “second” son. As a result of these conflicts, Baba is very hard on Amir, and only shows his love for Hassan in a indirect way. He does this, for instance, by bringing Hassan along when he takes Amir out. He also pays for Hassan’s lip surgery. In contrast with Amir and Baba’s relationship, we also see the most loving relationship of father and son between Hassan and Sohrab. These two have the kind of relationship that Amir dreams of having with Baba. Many times throughout the novel, kites appear, seemingly without reason.These kites serves as a symbol of Amir’s happiness, as well as his guilt. Flying kites is what he enjoyed most as a child, because it was a way of him connecting to his father, Baba, who was once a champion kite fighter. Amir wants his father’s attention so bad, he is willing to do anything to prove it. “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.” Baba says this to Rahim Khan,referring to Amir at the end of Chapter 3.This quotation reveals important traits of both Amir and Baba.These words sum up one of Amir’s major character flaw,his cowardice, and Baba shows how much value he places in standing up for what is right, which Amir can never seem to do especially with Baba. Amir, consequently, behaves jealously toward anyone receiving Baba's affection.His heart sank everytime he saw Hassan and Ali’s relationship.Although Baba doesn't acknowledge Hassan as a blood son, Baba appreciates the fact that Hassan is more aggressive and stands up to bullies while Amir is more subdued and passive.
Amir does not see Hassan as a friend because friends stand up for each other and support each other and help each other in times of trouble and come to each other's defense when needed, and Amir did not do any of those things for Hassan. After and the things Amir has done, Hassan still has a final sacrifice for Amir, something that Baba would have never done for him(pg.105). In that same page Amir feels guilty for betraying Hassan, he refers himself as the “snake in the grass”. A biblical allusion, referring to the Garden of Eden. The snake, who deceived Eve into eating an
apple. As you can see, the literary devices of conflict, symbolism, and allusion make a big impact on how Hosseini writes, and carry’s on the novels message. Without these devices, the novel would simply be a story of two boys and their life as afghans. Literary devices make a big impact on any story,and should always be used to enhance the message the author is trying to convey.
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
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
Actions made in a moment of pain, anger or simple immaturity can take anyone to make mistakes that can change their lives completely. Everyone has something in the past that is shameful, embarrassing and regrettable that is kept present daily. Whether this event happened during childhood, adolescence or early adulthood, this event could haunt and have shaped that person’s life into what he or she is today. In a similar way, the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is shaped by a tragic and eventful past that has shaped Amir’s, Baba’s, and Hassan’s lives. The four literary elements that will be used in this essay that Hosseini strategically uses in this book are: irony, simile, metaphor, and personification.
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.
At times Amir had trouble realizing that they were best friends because Hassan was a Hazara, he was of Asian descent and of the Shiite tribe, he resembles his ancestors, the Mongols. Amir is a Pashtun, of the Sunni tribe, a majority group in Afghanistan. Hassan was loyal and showed endless amounts of respect and praise to Amir. Though Hassan knew what Amir had witnessed and done to him, he covered up for him. He did not ever let Amir get into trouble with Baba, his father. Hassan was also the half brother of Amir, neither knew until Rahim Khan, a friend of Baba’s informed Amir. He and Hassan had a connection, both as friends but also as brothers.
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,
Hassan would do anything for his friends and treat everyone, even bullies, with respect because his respectful dad, Ali, taught him to always be loyal to all, and never hurt anyone. Ali was Baba’s servant and long-time friend, and stayed close to him throughout their childhood and adulthood. Amir's actions showed how much of a coward he was. Amir suffered his whole life living with the guilt of knowing that Hassan was raped, much like Baba lived his whole life in guilt knowing that he stole the truth from Ali by committing adultery.
In his first historical fiction novel, Khaled Hosseini tells the story of a young boy growing up in Afghanistan. The Kite Runner is the story of Amir, the young boy, and the path his life takes because of the decisions he makes when he is a young child. Forgiveness is woven throughout the book as it takes Amir to places he might not have gone if he hadn’t been able to forgive.
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.
Throughout Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, Hosseini depicts a character unlike any other, Baba. Baba is portrayed throughout the novel as a tough man who is always willing to help someone in need. Baba seems to love and care for everyone in the novel except his son, Amir. Amir is always trying to pursue eminence in Baba’s eye and give Baba a reason not to loathe him. Amir thought Baba hated him because when Amir was born, it killed his mother, Baba’s “princess.” Baba’s transformation throughout the novel is very clear as he transforms from a father who despises his son, to accepting his son and finally being a true father to Amir.
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.
His father was a role model in the way that he was always looking out for others. When they are escaping Afghanistan, Baba stands up for the lady in the truck at the possible cost of his own life. “Tell him I’ll take a thousand of his bullets before I let this indecency take place” (pg.116). Amir’s conscience travels back again to the alley way. “Some hero I had been, fretting about the kite”(pg.116). Amir would never have stood up for the lady, comparable to how he never stood up for Hassan in the alleyway. Back in the alleyway Amir had been given the perfect chance to stand up for Hassan, relatable to how Hassan had stood up for Amir innumerable times before. Instead, in a time that he could have proven to his father that he was a man, he was a boy. Not necessarily as a result of not been taught to stand up for others, but by cause that the idea of proving himself to Baba was more appealing than sacrificing the kite. “Sometimes, I too wondered if I was really Baba’s son.” (pg.116). Both Amir and Baba cannot understand how they are related. Baba fits his nickname“Toophan agha, or “Mr. Hurricane”...my father was a force of nature, a towering pushton specimen” (pg. 12) vs. Amir, a shy scrawny child who cannot stand up for himself, let alone
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.
Because of Amir’s extreme desire to receive the attention and affection from Baba, he begins to subconsciously sacrifice his relationship with Hassan in order to fulfill his interests. However, as Amir continuously matures and begins to recognize his initial ignorant, detrimental actions towards Hassan, he no longer “worships” his father like he did in the past. This causes him to ensure a sense of independence because of his ability to quickly adapt to a completely new, unfamiliar environment and remain adamant on pursuing their own aspirations. When individuals highly idolize and worship the successes that their loved ones have achieved, their in-suppressible desire to emulate the achievements of others causes them to inevitably experience difficult circumstances that challenge their morality and principles. In The Kite Runner, Amir has always displayed overflowing affections for Baba due to his prideful feelings of being the son of a wealthy, prominent father.