"The Kite Runner"

1. Topics in The Kite Runner

Role of Women - Women are submissive to all males whether it be husband, father, or friend of theirs. Women wear veils and serve their husbands. Their is also a double standard for men and women. Men have indescretions and nothing is said but a women has an indescretion and she lives the gossip and looks forever.

Betrayal - The first betrayal is not evident until the end of the book when it is told Baba is Hassans father....Baba has betrayed Ali by sleeping with his wife and producing a son, Hassan. Amir betrayes Hassan first by not stopping the rape or telling anyone about the rape but he also betrayes himself with the same incident and lives with the guilt for many years. Hassan is also betrayed by Amir when Amir hides his watch and money under Hassan's mattress and acusses Hassan of stealing.

Brothers - Brothers are mentioned throughout this novel as Baba considering Ali a brother, Amir and Hassan being considered brothers since they fed from the same breast and Wahid and Farid who are brothers that help Amir on his trip back to Afghanastan to retreive Sohrab. Along with the mention of brothers there is an underlying respect for brotherhood as much as the importance of being actual brothers by blood.

Guilt - hidden guilt - hidden guilt is with several characters, Baba for never telling Amir and Hassan they were half brothers and Amir for not helpng Hassan during the rape and not telling anyone he new about it. Open guilt - This came from Ali and Hassan after Amir set up things to look like Hassan had stolen the watch and money he got for his birthday and Ali and Hassan decided to leave. Open guilt was also evident for Amir at the end as he told Sohrab and Sorya, his wife, about the rape. Open guilt was evident with Amir when he had to tell Sohrab he would have to go back to an orphanage and Sohrab tried to commit suicide.

Redemption - Redemption came 1st when Khan told Amir that Hassan was his half brother, this was redemption for Baba and Ali and Khan that the secret was out. Secondly it came when Amir decided to go save Hassan's son, Sohrab from Kabul after the soviet war and during the taliban rule. He was redeming himself from the guilt he carried with him for betraying Hassan with the keeping of the secret about the rape and for the lies he told when Ali and Hassan left.

Exodus/Journey - There was two exits/journeys that stand out the first being when Baba and Amir leave Kabul for Peshawar for safty when the Soviets come into Kabul and when Amir has gone back to Kabul at the request of Khan and he goes to save Sohrab, Hassan's son, from were he thought was an orphanage but actually the taliban had him and he and Sohrab left Kabul again for safty.

Father and sons - patriarchal society - Fathers and sons society is of pride and honor. Sons want to follow in their fathers footsteps and be like their fathers looking for acceptance and pride of the son from the father.

Class distinction - The Pashtun is the higher classed race of Afghanastan and are respected and looked up to, the Hazara are the lower class, servant, race and are ridiculed and shuned.

2. Style

Parallelism - I find one parallelism to be Hassans harlip, having surgery and having the small scar on his lip to Amir being beaten by Assef, taliban, and ending up having the same scar on his lip. Another parallelism is found with Hassan and Sohrab - Hassan and Sohrab are both honest, good with a sling shot, protective of and Save Amir and they are both abused by the same person, Assef.

Character foils - Amir and Hassan are the main character foil in this novel. Amir is honest, brave, loyal and protective of Amir. Amir is not brave and does not protect Hassan, he lies and sets Hassan up, for his own guilty feelings, as a theif but Hassan still protects Amir by lying and saying he did steal. Baba and Khan are also character foils, Baba is not affectionate toward Amir and is often ashamed of him and thinks he will turn out as nothing when Khan is affectionate and carring and encourages Amir with his writting. Amir and his wife Soraya are also character foils in that Soraya helped people to learn to read and write when Amir made fun of Hassan for not knowing what some hard words meant and by changing the story in books while he was reading to Hassan.

Foreshadowing - Foreshadowing is used several times throughout this novel beginning with the first chapter and knowing Amir will have guilt of some kind when he talks about how his life changed forever because of his actions in 1975. Also when Khan called Amir to return to Kabul 20 years later and says "Come, there is a way to be good again."

Flashback - During the first part of the novel it is a complete flashback as Amir is a man now living in America telling the story from his childhood. During the second part of the novel there are many times he is a man back in Kabul and he has flashbacks of his childhood with Hassan and Baba.

Positives and Negative aspects of the writing - Although there are many negative and sad events during this novel the author had to use these negatives to give the readers a true feeling and picture of how things were for this I believe the positive undertones he used showed that in life negative and positive is unavoidable.

3. Settings - time and place and culture -

Hazara vs Pashtun
Peshawar vs Kabul
Kabul before war and Kabul after or during war
America vs Afghanastan
Kite running before the war and kite running after the war

4. Five minor characters and their roles -

General Taheri and his wife - Amir's wife's parents.
Sanaubar - Hassans mother.
Farid - Cab driver when Amir returns to Kabul for Sohrab.
Wahid - Farid's brother were Amir stays the night when he returned to Kabul.
Farzana - Hassan's wife.

5. Five symbols and significance of each -

Kites - sign of inocence and freedom in the beginning and the end of the novel but also the kite fighting was significant to show fighting and war. The kite running was also significant in that the last kite cut would send many young boys chasing the kite...all of the kites were chased/run but the last one cut was most important it was a sign of pride and boasting rights.

Pomagranate tree - was significant to Amir and Hassan. This is were the two young boys would go and be together, Amir would read to Hassan and Amir carved the tree "Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul." They would eat from the pomagranates that the tree beared. Many years later the tree did not bear fruit any longer.

Slingshot - significant for bravery and freedom. The slingshot saved Amir and Hassan several times and then in the end it saved Amir and Sohrab from Assef and the taliban.

Crumpled money under a mattress - Significant in that when first used it was a show of betrayal to Hassan and the second time it was to show care and help to someone while Amir was trying to save Hassan's son.

Brass knuckles - significant in showing fear. Whenever the brass knuckles were exposed fear always came. A show of bullying significant to show Assef as what he was. When he was confronted with someone standing up to him the brass knuckles was proven to be a tool to scare his oponent first which he thought would help him defeat the oponent.