Symbolism - At the beginning of the book, Amir wins a kite fighting tournament held in his neighborhood. To many it seems insignificant but, "In Kabul, fighting kites [is] a little like going to war" (Hosseini 50). The kite represents more than just the war between the people in Afghanistan and Russia; it represents the war within Amir. He battles his thoughts about how to please Baba, whether to confront Hassan and later in his life the decision to adopt Hassan's son Sohrab. By the end of the book, Amir has forgiven himself and confronted all of his battles. He fights kites once more with Sohrab and is now on a new journey.
The kite symbolizes the resurgence of a relationship between Amir and Hassan as well as Amir and Sohrab. With a twist of irony the roles are reversed as Amir asks, "Do you want me to run that kite for you?" (Hosseini 371). Amir is the care taker of Sohrab son of Hassan, in the same way Hassan cared for him.
Symbolism is inherit in the title of the The Kite Runner, the kite is symbolic of the relationship of Hassan and Amir. At the start of the novel their relationship is like an ascending kite; it has wind behind it and even though the wind is not steady it will eventually, on a good day, raise the kite to a peak. This peak is the at the Kite fighting tournament when Amir downs the last Kite "I was throwing my free arm around Hassan and we were hopping up and down, both of us laughing, both of us weeping. "You won, Amir agah! You won! "We won! We won! was all I could say. (Hosseini 66) Amir and Hassan are drawn together and Amir refutes his usual master position over Hassan reviling a true friendship.
Hassan was born with a cleft lip, which meant that he would have it his whole life, a symbol of his poverty and the prejudice he would face. Baba, Amir's and Hassan's father, gives Hassan a beautiful gift for his birthday one year, paying for a surgery to fix his deformity. When Amir fights Assef for Hassan's son, Sohrab, he is punched hard in the face with the same brass knuckles that Assef threatened Hassan and Amir with when they were children. When Amir is in the hospital to heal, he finds out that he now has a scar in the same place that Hassan did. This is a beautifully done example of irony, as Amir and Hassan are now similar not only by blood, but by the fact that they were both changed so much by the tyrant Assef.
The pomegranate tree that Hassan and Amir sit under to share stories is a symbol of peace and paradise that they encounter in their time there. When Amir returns his tree is dead and "hasn't borne fruit in years" which shows that the peace is gone and his old life vanished. (Hosseini 217)
Allusion - Amir's name in modern terms means prince. This is an allusion to his status from the outset of the book, however it is also ironic due to Amir's cowardly nature.
Amir Traditionally, a military commander, leader, governor, or prince. Historically used in the title for caliphs, amir al-muminin (commander of the faithful). In modern times, the title denotes membership in the ruling families of the monarchs governing Muslim countries (i.e., Saudi Arabia, the Gulf countries, Brunei) and means “prince.”"Amir" Oxford Dictionary of Islam. John L. Esposito, ed. Oxford University Press Inc. 2003. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Heritage High School. 18 August 2011 <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t125.e151>
The most prominent of all allusions in the book is that of Rostam and Sohrab. Not only is this story of the glorious king Rostam killing his unknown son Rostam the favorite story of Amir and Hassan as children, but its plot aligns with the lives of both boys. The most obvious of similarities is in the unknown relation of Amir and Hassan as half-brothers, only revealed after their father's death and that Hassan names his child Sohrab in memory of his favorite story. The deeper relations to the story are found in both the structure and commentary of the novel. Similar to how Rostam hosted a royal burial for Sohrab, Amir narrates a novel for his late friend Hassan, in a sense glorifying his life. The entire novel is a reflection of Rostam and Sohrab, the symbol of Hassan and Amir's connection. Throughout the novel Amir describes various scenes in connection with this story. On impressing his father with the losing kite from his winning competition, Amir compares is scene to "Rostam and Sohrab sizing each other up" (Hosseini 67). Amir also compares the beauty of Soraya to "that of Tahmineh, Rostam's wife and Sorab's mother from the Shahnamah" (Hosseini 140). The relevance of Rostam and Sohrab is apparent during all of The Kite Runner as the important relation of Hassan and Amir's childhood into their adult lives.
When Amir plants money and a watch in Hassan's mattress to frame him of theft, Amir was thinking, "I wanted to tell them all that I was the snake in the grass..." (Hosseini 105). This is a connection to the biblical story of how Adam and Eve tried to deceive God, prompted by a snake in the grass. Amir was deceiving his father into thinking Hassan and Ali were crooks, becoming the force that prompted them to leave Baba's property.
Imagery - "RUBBLE AND BEGGARS...they squatted at every street corner, dressed in burlap rags, mud-caked hands held out for a coin" (Hosseini 245) This example of imagery clearly portrays the filth and squabble that Afghanistan had become while Amir was gone. The description is short but provides a very memorable image of the condition that the people of Afghanistan are now living in.
Irony - The one piece of advice that Baba always bestowed upon Amir was the sin of theft. Once Amir reaches adulthood and Baba is gone, it is revealed that Baba himself was indeed a thief. Through his affair with Ali's wife, the stealing of Ali's pride and manhood, Baba became father to Hassan, stealing his knowledge of his true father. He was also responsible for not telling Amir of his lies for his entire life, leaving the truth to be told shamefully by another person. When Amir was a child, and Baba says of thieves, "I spit on such a man. If I ever cross paths with him, God help him" (Hosseini 18). The irony of Baba's treatment of thieves while knowing he himself is guilty of such actions reveals the complexity of his character and how Baba is not as philanthropic as he seems. This hatred of thievery Baba exhibits also seems to be his "way to be good again", or redemption, to ease his guilt over Hassan's complicated situation.
Hassan had always been a light and happy child, his smile seemingly permanent on his face even through torment. However, once Baba granted him the gift of surgery to fix his harelip, he is no longer happy. Amir reflects, "By the following winter, it was only a faint scar. Which is ironic. Because that was the winter that Hassan stopped smiling" (Hosseini 47). When Hassan's lip was fixed did he was supposed to show his new, visibly perfect smile. However, after the surgery came a traumatizing winter that would retain him from smiling so genuinely thereafter.
The kite symbolizes the resurgence of a relationship between Amir and Hassan as well as Amir and Sohrab. With a twist of irony the roles are reversed as Amir asks, "Do you want me to run that kite for you?" (Hosseini 371). Amir is the care taker of Sohrab son of Hassan, in the same way Hassan cared for him.
Symbolism is inherit in the title of the The Kite Runner, the kite is symbolic of the relationship of Hassan and Amir. At the start of the novel their relationship is like an ascending kite; it has wind behind it and even though the wind is not steady it will eventually, on a good day, raise the kite to a peak. This peak is the at the Kite fighting tournament when Amir downs the last Kite "I was throwing my free arm around Hassan and we were hopping up and down, both of us laughing, both of us weeping. "You won, Amir agah! You won! "We won! We won! was all I could say. (Hosseini 66) Amir and Hassan are drawn together and Amir refutes his usual master position over Hassan reviling a true friendship.
Hassan was born with a cleft lip, which meant that he would have it his whole life, a symbol of his poverty and the prejudice he would face. Baba, Amir's and Hassan's father, gives Hassan a beautiful gift for his birthday one year, paying for a surgery to fix his deformity. When Amir fights Assef for Hassan's son, Sohrab, he is punched hard in the face with the same brass knuckles that Assef threatened Hassan and Amir with when they were children. When Amir is in the hospital to heal, he finds out that he now has a scar in the same place that Hassan did. This is a beautifully done example of irony, as Amir and Hassan are now similar not only by blood, but by the fact that they were both changed so much by the tyrant Assef.
The pomegranate tree that Hassan and Amir sit under to share stories is a symbol of peace and paradise that they encounter in their time there. When Amir returns his tree is dead and "hasn't borne fruit in years" which shows that the peace is gone and his old life vanished. (Hosseini 217)
Allusion - Amir's name in modern terms means prince. This is an allusion to his status from the outset of the book, however it is also ironic due to Amir's cowardly nature.
The most prominent of all allusions in the book is that of Rostam and Sohrab. Not only is this story of the glorious king Rostam killing his unknown son Rostam the favorite story of Amir and Hassan as children, but its plot aligns with the lives of both boys. The most obvious of similarities is in the unknown relation of Amir and Hassan as half-brothers, only revealed after their father's death and that Hassan names his child Sohrab in memory of his favorite story. The deeper relations to the story are found in both the structure and commentary of the novel. Similar to how Rostam hosted a royal burial for Sohrab, Amir narrates a novel for his late friend Hassan, in a sense glorifying his life. The entire novel is a reflection of Rostam and Sohrab, the symbol of Hassan and Amir's connection. Throughout the novel Amir describes various scenes in connection with this story. On impressing his father with the losing kite from his winning competition, Amir compares is scene to "Rostam and Sohrab sizing each other up" (Hosseini 67). Amir also compares the beauty of Soraya to "that of Tahmineh, Rostam's wife and Sorab's mother from the Shahnamah" (Hosseini 140). The relevance of Rostam and Sohrab is apparent during all of The Kite Runner as the important relation of Hassan and Amir's childhood into their adult lives.
When Amir plants money and a watch in Hassan's mattress to frame him of theft, Amir was thinking, "I wanted to tell them all that I was the snake in the grass..." (Hosseini 105). This is a connection to the biblical story of how Adam and Eve tried to deceive God, prompted by a snake in the grass. Amir was deceiving his father into thinking Hassan and Ali were crooks, becoming the force that prompted them to leave Baba's property.
Imagery - "RUBBLE AND BEGGARS...they squatted at every street corner, dressed in burlap rags, mud-caked hands held out for a coin" (Hosseini 245) This example of imagery clearly portrays the filth and squabble that Afghanistan had become while Amir was gone. The description is short but provides a very memorable image of the condition that the people of Afghanistan are now living in.
Irony - The one piece of advice that Baba always bestowed upon Amir was the sin of theft. Once Amir reaches adulthood and Baba is gone, it is revealed that Baba himself was indeed a thief. Through his affair with Ali's wife, the stealing of Ali's pride and manhood, Baba became father to Hassan, stealing his knowledge of his true father. He was also responsible for not telling Amir of his lies for his entire life, leaving the truth to be told shamefully by another person. When Amir was a child, and Baba says of thieves, "I spit on such a man. If I ever cross paths with him, God help him" (Hosseini 18). The irony of Baba's treatment of thieves while knowing he himself is guilty of such actions reveals the complexity of his character and how Baba is not as philanthropic as he seems. This hatred of thievery Baba exhibits also seems to be his "way to be good again", or redemption, to ease his guilt over Hassan's complicated situation.
Hassan had always been a light and happy child, his smile seemingly permanent on his face even through torment. However, once Baba granted him the gift of surgery to fix his harelip, he is no longer happy. Amir reflects, "By the following winter, it was only a faint scar. Which is ironic. Because that was the winter that Hassan stopped smiling" (Hosseini 47). When Hassan's lip was fixed did he was supposed to show his new, visibly perfect smile. However, after the surgery came a traumatizing winter that would retain him from smiling so genuinely thereafter.