Abbey Robertson Abbey 1 Ms. Lubinsky ENG2D1.05 April 26, 2024 The Kite Runner Essay Amongst the backdrop of Afghanistan’s shifting political landscape, Hassan, Rahim Khan, and Baba experience a journey marked with loyalty, sacrifice, redemption, and love in Khlaed Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner.” Hassan, the loyal servant of Amir, experiences the harsh realities of power and oppression while struggling with social injustice. Despite Hassan’s innocence and his purity of heart, he becomes tangled up with political changes, saying “It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime” (Hosseini pg. 86) His words capture the shifts of the political state of his country and in fortune defines his existence. However, when …show more content…
A friend and business partner of Rahim is a strong man, will he stay strong during these tragic events? Baba. I am a naylor. Baba is the father of Amir. His title of being a father navigates Afghanistan's political landscape with resilience and conviction. Baba is a proud Pashtun and a very successful wealthy businessman, Baba is a symbol of strength and tradition. His difficult journeys during Afghanistan’s political events include the Soviet invasion and civil war, which shaped his character and his view of the world. His resolve is evident in his declaration speech “I will build this orphanage,” (Hosseini pg.14). This shows his commitment to making a difference during the chaos and wanting to overcome the challenges that are happening in the changing political climate. Baba yet Abbey 3 again shows his moral compass, which remains unexpected during the craziness happening in Afghanistan, by saying: “There is only one sin, only one. And that is a theft. Every other sin is
Page 2 - “I sat on a park bench near a willow tree. I thought about something Rahim Khan said just before he hung up, almost as an afterthought. I looked up at those twin kites.”
“It is easier for a father to have a child than for a child to have a real father”; a quote from Pope John XXIII that sums up the relationship between Baba and Amir. Fathers are important in children’s lives, however occasionally a father is not emotionally connected to their child. Relationships are important for learning, especially those with parents. In “Kite Runner”, Amir’s character is shaped and colored by many people. Baba is most responsible for how Amir was shaped.
“I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan – the way he'd stood up for me all those times in the past – and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran.” In Khaled Hosseini’s, The Kite Runner, Amir, the young protagonist, lives a lavish lifestyle with his father, Baba. Until the Soviets invade and the Taliban become the dominant influence in Afghanistan. Amir’s sumptuous lifestyle comes to an end, and the values of not only his father but also his society begin to impact him and he realizes how much he does not belong in his own culture. Amir is taught the virtues of being a good man, however when the opportunity presents itself to demonstrate his teachings; Amir realizes how different he is from the ways of his father.
The Kite Runner is a mix of an epic and a tragedy. I will argue how the text highlights a Hero’s Journey with characteristics of a tragedy.
Much like Amir has a friend who is as loyal as Hassan, Baba actually has a friend who is just as loyal to him and his name is Rahim Khan. Rahim Khan is Baba’s best friend and has been with Baba for as long as he can remember and one can see that he values their friendship through his loyalty to Baba through his word. One example is when Rahim Khan finally tells Amir the truth about the relationship between Hassan and Baba where we see Rahim’s Khans true loyalty. Rahim states, “Please think, Ami Jan. It was a shameful situation people would talk. All that a man had back then, all that he was, was his honour, his name, if people talked… we couldn’t tell anyone, surely you can see that” (Hosseini 233). Rahim Khan shows his loyalty to Baba by not proclaiming Baba’s misfortunate actions to the public. Rahim knew that if people were to find out about what Baba had done, all that he has worked for would be of no use anymore. The Orphanage, Baba’s name and the respect he receives from the people of Afghanistan would be worthless. A second example to present Rahim Khan’s loyalty is when Baba “sells” the house to Rahim Khan before him and Amir leave for Pakistan and eventually to America. Here Amir narrates, “Baba had ‘sold’ the house to Rahim Khan shortly before he and I fled Kabul… So he’d given the house to Rahim Khan to keep watch over until that day”
Redemption is a capacity that both Amir from the remarkable novel Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseni along with Walt Kalwoski the main character of the unforgettable movie Gran Tornio, directed by Clint Eastwood, withhold. Both Walt and Amir were collided with life changing events that later shaped the individuals they are today. Nevertheless, throughout both stories, the protagonists are faced with opportunities to redeem themselves, often at the risk of hurting their loved ones more than they already have. “There is a reason for everything” and in Walt and Amirs case that saying is quite evident. Walt and Amir are two completely divergent characters with opposite personalities. However, this doesn’t interfere with the fact that both carry the weight of guilt and regret upon their shoulders. In spite of that, both characters atone to their faults by PUT POINTS HERE. Kite Runner and Gran Torino, both, break the ice with introducing the characters and efficiently showcasing their complications. As mentioned earlier, Amir is the protagonist of the novel. Typically, a main character that discusses their problems in the opening of a novel, catches the readers attention, let alone makes the reader them self feel sympathetic for this character. However, Amir is far beyond that statement. Amir expresses his feelings about his relationship with his father, Baba, and his shenanigans with Hassan. Amir struggles with his selfish conscious. Nevertheless, his adult view point when recollecting memories of the past, reminiscing on childhood events, isn’t as different. Running away is the one thing Amir tends to be best at. Running from his problems, people, past etc, As for Walt, Walt Kowalski is the main character of the film Gran Torino. ...
Baba is first depicted as an unreachable man who was well respected in the community. Amir recalls his birthday party where he was “scanning over the invitation list a week before my birthday party and not recognizing at least three-quarters of the four hundred [. . .] Then I realized they weren’t really coming for me. It was my birthday, but I knew who the real star of the show was” (94). Amir did not know it at the time, but Baba had sins he was trying to absolve. Through his actions toward redemption, Baba touched the lives of many. Regardless of their social status, Baba would lend a he Amir recalls how Baba “always carried an extra handful of Afghani bills in his pocket just for them; I’d never seen him deny a peddler” (245). Baba would offer his wealth to every beggar he came across. Along with this, he also built an orphanage with his own money, planning, and time. Baba did everything in his power to redeem himself and eradicate himself of the guilt in his heart. Some say he was redeemed; others disagree. Rahim Khan tells Amir of Baba’s dilemma:
The movie The Kite Runner is based on the book and it contains both subtle and explicit differences as all books and movies do. Both the book and the movie have very compelling and moralistic themes though at times the movie’s themes seem limited. The themes presented throughout the movie and the book are penance, loyalty, prejudice, religion and growing up. The characterization, overall plot of the movie and the setting of the book seem to be consistent with each other though at times they both may vary both slightly and drastically.
Who among us has been so fortunate as to have a childhood mentor that has transcended from childhood into adulthood? In the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir, the novel’s protagonist, was privileged with several luxuries during his childhood in Kabul, one of which was a lifetime mentor, Rahim Khan. After suffering the loss of a mother, Rahim stepped in providing a balance to the parental figures in Amirs life. Rahim Khan serves as the book’s moral center with Hassan, the good humble innocent, at one end of the spectrum and Amir, the selfish weak culprit at the other extreme. This sets the stage for a sensational story of sin, guilt and redemption in this thrilling novel. Rahim Khan serves as the primary voice of reason that greatly influences the character development of Amir; providing a sense of support during times of strain in his relationship with Baba, encouraging Amir to develop his love of writing, and ultimately offering Amir a chance at redemption.
“The curious thing was, I never thought of Hassan and me as friends either.”(hosseini 30) There are many cultures around the world that could be described like precious animal species. They could go extinct if not preserved, and they need to be respected. In the kite runner it gives several perfect ways of how we can respect culture. It shows culture can be respected through everyday life, treating them like they were your own culture, and how we can value culture through the belief someone else puts into it.
The hardships that life reveals can either affect a person in a negative or positive way. They can strengthen or weaken the development of one’s character. Khaled Hosseni’s The Kite Runner is a novel that tells the story of two boys – Amir and Hassan, his childhood friend and servant– who spend their lives attempting to overcome their obstacles. These obstacles create experiences that will shape them for the rest of their lives. Firstly, Hassan and Amir share similar hardships, however Hassan learns and grows from them, and Amir lingers over the negativity, allowing it to destroy his life instead of moving forward. Secondly, Amir is always rescued, which allows him to feel a sense of entitlement, while Hassan fights his own battles, resulting in a greater amount of inner strength. Lastly, as Amir and Hassan become adults in opposite ends of the world, they battle hardships that are very different. The differences within their adulthood continue to show who is the more honourable character. Ultimately, in Khaled Hosseni's The Kite Runner, Hassan is a stronger character than Amir, despite the fact that they both battle similar hardships.
Literary Essay To quote Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, “There is a way to be good again” (Hosseini 2).In the Kite Runner, there is a very clear message of redemption, as the main character, Amir, tries to redeem himself from the mistake he made many years ago. The author uses literary tools in his story to support this. Irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism were used by Hosseini, to convey a tragic yet beautiful story of redemption in The Kite Runner.
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.
Human memory has been used by human as a tool to learn and think which includes social interactions, life management as well as problem solving (Loftus and Palmer 1974). Memory can be defined as the retention of information over time. Although memory is an instrument human use everyday, contemporary psychological scrutiny displayed that human memory is not a visionary reconstruction of earlier occasions making it less reliable compared to what an individual would alleged at the first place. In this paper it will be argued that human memory for past events are often influenced by other factors which can lead to inaccurate informations received. This argument is supported from studies made by Loftus and Palmer (1974), who found that human memory is not perfect since false memories can be constructed and manipulated using misleading particulars which subsequently produced deformity of memory and promote to wrong reminiscence. Evidence for this argument also can be seen from studies made by Levinger and Clark (1961), who found that human memory is not reliably accurate since false memory can be formed due to repression that may happen to an individual.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a heart breaking novel. It features events that bring tears to the eyes of its readers, as well as a look into the world outside our own. This book deals with tragic adult themes such as racism and child rape. The story takes place in two different countries, Afghanistan, and later the United States. The novel is in the point of view of the main character Amir and it begins as he recalls events from his childhood in Kabul, Afghanistan in a time on the brink of civil war, when the Afghanistan king is overthrown.