The Pomegranate Tree In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

643 Words2 Pages

Pomegranates may simply appear as a type of fruit to any ordinary person, but in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, a significant meaning is concealed behind these crimson seeds. Amir, the narrator of the novel, grew up with the pomegranate tree that had ever so existed as a friendship memory for him and Hassan, his loyal, best friend. It was a special place where they created both lively and dreary moments together. As the relationship between Hassan and Amir degraded due to bitter events occurring, the pomegranate tree deteriorated, as well. Hosseini utilizes the pomegranate tree to symbolize the status of Hassan and Amir's friendship throughout the book. Amir and Hassan discovered a desolated pomegranate tree that lived near the cemetery. They carved their names on it to indicate their hangout spot permanently and from them on, they read books and talked to each other. “There was a pomegranate tree… I used one of Ali's kitchen knives to carve our names in it: ‘ Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul.’” (Hosseini,27) Carving the pomegranate tree made their friendship even more significant because of the permanence that had been …show more content…

Eventually, he sees the pomegranate tree and it reminds him of his childhood memories. Hassan is dead at this point and they never contacted each other since they lived too far away. “Hassan had said in his letter that the pomegranate tree hadn't borne fruit in years. Looking at the wilted, leafless tree, I doubted it would ever again.” (Hosseini,264) Ever since Amir and Hassan lost contact with each other, the pomegranate tree hasn't produced fruit at all. It’s lifeless and barren, just like Hassan and Amir’s friendship. The tree won't come back to life just like Hassan won't come back to life. No memories can be created just like how no fruit will be created from the

Show More
Related

  • Challenges In The Kite Runner

    1650 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Kite Runner, is the first novel written by Khaled Hosseini. The Kite Runner is set in Afghanistan before the war in the city of Kabul, and then eventually in America. The novel relays the struggles of Amir (A young Shi’ boy), Hassan (a young Hazera servant boy) and Baba (Amir’s father) as they are growing up in an ever-changing Afghanistan. The young boys face difficult challenges most adults will never have to experience. Amir, Hassan, and even Baba must overcome cruelty in every aspect of their lives.

    Read More

  • Kite Runner Theme Essay

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner

    1432 Words  | 3 Pages

    As implied by the title, kites play a major role in the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. They appear numerous times within the text and prove to be surprisingly versatile in their literary function. They provide common ground for characters whose interests do not normally intersect. They are also present as a very powerful symbol, which adds an extra dimension to this already literary rich novel. Reversing the roles transcending generations, it shows itself to be a multifaceted medium.

    Read More

  • The Scapegoat In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, talks about Amir’s life in first person point of view. The book talks about Amir’s childhood, the war in Afghanistan, and his self-salvation. Hassan is the servant’s son in Amir’s family. Hassan and his father, Ali, are Hazaras, who were despised by the Pashtuns. Hassan and Amir are fed from the same breast and they are best friends. Hassan is loyal to Amir all the time and he is always ready to be the scapegoat for Amir.

    Read More

  • The Pomegranate Tree in The Kite Runner

    1329 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...e relives the adventures that he shared with Hassan. All three experiences with the pomegranate tree, are unique, because they highlight important, and different parts of their relationship with one another. The relationships that were built, and torn apart at the pomegranate tree made it evident that after years of guilt and regret for Amir, he was proud of the relationship he had with Hassan, and is hopeful for the wellbeing of the relationship with Hassan’s son, Sohrab.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Cowardice In The Kite Runner

    1940 Words  | 4 Pages

    Upon seeing a Polaroid of Hassan and his son, the first time Amir has seen Hassan in decades; he cannot help but notice “[Hassan] exuded a sense of self-assuredness, of ease… Looking at the photo, one might have concluded that this was a man who thought the world had been good to him” (Hosseini, 227). Despite all the hardships that Hassan had faced as a young boy, he was happy as a man. In addition to living a joyous life, Hassan was also optimistic. Along with the photo came a letter from Hassan addressed to Amir, where Hassan describes his life and how he wishes Amir was with him, and is “’hopeful that one day [he] will hold one of [Amir’s] letters’” (Hosseini, 227). About halfway through his letter Hassan says, “I thank Allah every day that I am alive… because my wife has a husband and my son is not an orphan” (Hosseini, 228). Hassan looks forward to each and every day just to see his wife, his son, and one day, a letter from Amir. That is all Hassan needed in life. Unlike Amir, whose actions had dire consequences to his health and the people around him, Hassan lived a happy, lighthearted life for the most

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Literary Critism

    1468 Words  | 3 Pages

    With the struggle of social stature between two boys; Amir, a Pashtun - Sunni Moslem that is considered of a higher class with seniority, and Hassan, who is looked down upon because he is a Hazara of lower class. Hassan and his father Ali, (a good friend of Baba, Amir’s father) live in a mud shack on Baba’s property together – they are servants for Amir and Baba. Despite the social differences between the boys, and at a time in Afghanistan when bigotry has sparked flame between these two ethnic groups, they still find a way to create what seems to be an everlasting bond with one another. “Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard, and under the same roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba, his was Amir.” (Page 13) Even as children, Amir was always the weaker one; Hassan was always sticking up for him and fighting his battles for him. Even though Amir was educated and Hassan was not, Amir still found ways to be jealous of Hassan at times especially when he corrected him and foun...

    Read More

  • A Quest for Redemption by The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is difficult to face anything in the world when you cannot even face your own reality. In his book The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses kites to bring out the major themes of the novel in order to create a truly captivating story of a young boy’s quest to redeem his past mistakes. Amir is the narrator and protagonist of the story and throughout the entire novel, he faces enormous guilt following the horrible incident that happened to his closest friend, Hassan. This incident grows on Amir and fuels his quest for redemption, struggling to do whatever it takes to make up for his mistakes. In Hosseini’s novel, kites highlight aspects of Afghanistan’s ethnic caste system and emphasizes the story’s major themes of guilt, redemption and freedom.

    Read More

  • Amir's Worthy Of Forgiveness In The Kite Runner

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Kite Runner is a book about a young boy, Amir, who faces many struggles as he grows up in Kabul and later moves to America to flee from the Taliban. His best friend and brother , Hassan, was a big part of his life, but also a big part of guilt he held onto for many years. The book describes Amir’s attempt to make up for the past and resolve his sins so he can clear his conscious. Amir is worthy of forgiveness because although he was selfish, he was very brave and faced his past.

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Good And Evil In The Kite Runner

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    And what does Hassan do? He picks up a pomegranate, but instead of hurling it in Amir’s direction, he smashes it on himself and says, “are you satisfied?” (..). There is this constant pressure on Hassan and Amir’s relationship. The Afghan society would not approve of such “friendship.”

    Read More

  • The Power of Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

    2126 Words  | 5 Pages

    Kite Runner depicts the story of Amir, a boy living in Afghanistan, and his journey throughout life. He experiences periods of happiness, sorrow, and confusion as he matures. Amir is shocked by atrocities and blessed by beneficial relationships both in his homeland and the United States. Reviewers have chosen sides and waged a war of words against one another over the notoriety of the book. Many critics of Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, argue that the novel would not have reached a lofty level of success if the U.S. had not had recent dealings with the Middle East, yet other critics accurately relate the novel’s success to its internal aspects.

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner: Loss of Innocence & Redemption

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    To conclude, Khaled Hosseini uses the theme of the loss of innocence and redemption in The Kite Runner to make the point that one can never really redeem oneself. Amir attempted to do so throughout the entire novel but failed although partial redemption may have been achieved. The pomegranate tree, the kites, and even Assef are all symbols of innocence that has been lost. Later on in The Kite Runner they also represent the pursuit of redemption. Also the historical aspect of education and children support that innocence is lost daily and can never really be restored.

    Read More

  • Shadows Of The Pomegranate Tree Analysis

    1036 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tariq Ali uniquely puts into perspective the horrific tragedies behind the Spanish reconquest in his work, Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree, by capturing the history in the perspective of a Muslim family who lived in a village just outside of recently conquered Granada. He does this in order to expose the cruelty and intolerance of the Archbishop Xemenes de Cineros. Ali also uncovers the faults in not only Christianity, but also in Islamic ideology by having many character’s from the family Banu Hudayl debating and questioning Islamic beliefs which may parallel with the author’s own beliefs, or lack thereof. (Tariq) One of Ali’s strongest focuses however, was to expose the lack of urgency many Muslims felt after the fall of Granada. Many Muslim’s

    Read More

  • A Journey into Self-Discovery in Araby by James Joyce and Katherine Mansfield’s, The Garden Party

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout “Araby”, the main character experiences a dynamic character shift as he recognizes that his idealized vision of his love, as well as the bazaar Araby, is not as grandiose as he once thought. The main character is infatuated with the sister of his friend Mangan; as “every morning [he] lay on the floor in the front parlour watching her door…when she came on the doorstep [his] heart leaped” (Joyce 108). Although the main character had never spoken to her before, “her name was like a summons to all [his] foolish blood” (Joyce 108). In a sense, the image of Mangan’s sister was the light to his fantasy. She seemed to serve as a person who would lift him up out of the darkness of the life that he lived. This infatuation knew no bounds as “her image accompanied [him] even in places the most hostile to romance…her name sprang to [his] lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which [he] did not understand” (Joyce 109). The first encounter the narrator ex...

    Read More

More about The Pomegranate Tree In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

Open Document