Metaphors In The Kite Runner Essay

Plato's Cave Metaphor

Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” is a piece of work that emphasizes the desire for one to pursue a degree in education. The concept demonstrates how one should overcome the idea of being tied up and following what society provides for how one’s outlook on life should be perceived. This universal metaphor can be recognized from Plato’s era till now. Whether intentional or not, most modern author’s implements this idea within their creations to recognize that this theme is still applicable today. Khalid Hosseini’s novel TheKite Runner is a metaphor for Plato’ s cave because of the common theme of breaking out of one’s boundaries to learn to become enlightened, resulting in a different perspective of the world.

Both works

feature a character that is to a degree “chained up”. While there is a prisoner that is locked up in the Cave, Hassan, the main protagonist of the Kite Runner is also locked up in within his own reality due to his lack of education. This novel recognizes a trend within Afghanistan culture where certain ethnicities within the country are looked down upon. Unfortunately, Hassan is a member of that minority ethnicity group referred to as the “Hazaras.” This results in a multitude of external and internal conflicts that come about the novel which he follows as these are the stand society has in place for him, much like how the prisoners have what his reality is defined as. Because of Hassan’s ethnicity, he is limited to his sources of education. Growing up in his role, the world is the way it is and his fate is destined due to his inability to change his background. Much like the prisoner chained against the wall, he has no capability to change his direction in life and all he can do is witness the harsh reality he is tied behind. Because he is powerless, he is bullied throughout the novel and has no opportunity to stand up for himself. He knows that much like the prisoner he is chained to the wall and accept what is presented to him. Hassan endures getting tortured by society, but he just has to accept his fate as he is powerless to fight back what he sees much like the prisoner.

Amir, another main protagonist from the Kite Runner, represents the prisoner that is free and has the ability to pursue an education that increases his intellect which ultimately alters the way he lives his life.

Unlike Hassan, Amir was born into a wealthy family where he was fortunate enough to have everything granted to him. He was also part of the higher-class ethnic groups where they were born into their wealth. Much like the prisoner, he had the ability to explore not only his external environment but his internal thoughts to recognize his true purpose in life. While he was young, he also experienced the same societal effect as Hassan where the “Hazzaras” were looked down upon. Hassan was ultimately Amir’s best friend, but when push came to shove, Amir found himself quickly leaving Hassan because of the embarrassment he would feel associating himself with a low-level member of society. Leaving Hassan vulnerable throughout the book lead to his beatings and soon his abandonment as Amir enters America while Hassan is stuck in Afghanistan during the war which ultimately leads to his demise. Through the bond he had with Hassan, Amir learned over time to break free from this bond and to judge others based on their character versus their societal norms. After returning to America knowing the guilt and sorrow he felt due to his friend passing away, he became courageous enough to go kidnap Hassan’s son and bring him to America to provide him with the life his father deserved. Therefore, he passed down the torch of giving an opportunity to pursue an education. Amir’s grand lesson that he learned from being freed into a first-world country where he isn’t at the top anymore brought a humbling intellectual experience for him as he learns the true essence of a friendship and learns the values of respect. He was planning to apply this knowledge to being an author and writing his experiences using his books as an outlet for what he has learned. He was brought out of the cave

much like the prisoner to learn the true aspects of reality versus the ones he was born into. From there, both people view life through a different lens from what was enforced upon them.

The metaphor of The Cave is a concept that most writers find useful within their creations to push the fact that nothing is better than pursuing an education. In both cases for these two pieces of work, knowledge is essentially power. Both the Prisoner and Amir’s opportunity to be released from a non-existent reality provides them an opportunity to think for themselves. A higher degree of intellect is sufficient in providing one’s soul with freedom of being “locked up” with a set system that has to be followed. Having the ability to think and make decisions for one’s self is what defines life’s purpose in both novels.