Motifs in Kite Runner Essay Example
Joshua Morse
Per 2
Motif Essay Final Draft
11/9/12
We All Have Our Scars Every person in the world carries scars. These scars can be physical or emotional and come from events in a person’s past. Most of these events are very traumatic, injuries, emotional or physical, that a person would want to forget, but the scar always reminds them of it. In the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Hosseini demonstrates the idea that everyone has their own story through the reoccurrence of scars and wounds.
Amir and Hassan carry the same scars from the traumatic events of their childhood. They are set apart by many physical characteristics, one being a scar on Hassan’s lip, which Amir describes as: “a pink jagged line running up from his lip” (Hosseini 47). Later in life Amir always describes Hassan as the hare-lipped boy because of this scar. When Amir is beaten by Assef he receives a similar scar on his lip and Amir’s thoughts go straight to the fact that: “The impact had cut [Amir’s] upper lip in two, he had said, clean down the middle. Clean down the middle. Like a harelip” (Hosseini 297). This wound brings him closer to Hassan. He has finally taken onto himself what Hassan had taken for him and can finally relate to Hassan. Their scars have more tightly woven their stories together because they each got their scars for each other. Along with that, Hassan’s rape was a scar that they both carry for different reasons. Hassan has emotional scars from it, like any other rape victim, and Amir holds onto his shame of what he allowed to happen and he talks about his cowardice by explaining how: “[He] [runs] because I [am] a coward. I [am] afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I [am] afraid of getting hurt” (Hosseini 77). He does not allow himself to be brave which ruins Hassan and his relationship. It is just like a scar. The boys’ stories are held together by this moment. Amir’s scar from this event drives him to do many of the things he does later in life. He
Per 2
Motif Essay Final Draft
11/9/12
We All Have Our Scars Every person in the world carries scars. These scars can be physical or emotional and come from events in a person’s past. Most of these events are very traumatic, injuries, emotional or physical, that a person would want to forget, but the scar always reminds them of it. In the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Hosseini demonstrates the idea that everyone has their own story through the reoccurrence of scars and wounds.
Amir and Hassan carry the same scars from the traumatic events of their childhood. They are set apart by many physical characteristics, one being a scar on Hassan’s lip, which Amir describes as: “a pink jagged line running up from his lip” (Hosseini 47). Later in life Amir always describes Hassan as the hare-lipped boy because of this scar. When Amir is beaten by Assef he receives a similar scar on his lip and Amir’s thoughts go straight to the fact that: “The impact had cut [Amir’s] upper lip in two, he had said, clean down the middle. Clean down the middle. Like a harelip” (Hosseini 297). This wound brings him closer to Hassan. He has finally taken onto himself what Hassan had taken for him and can finally relate to Hassan. Their scars have more tightly woven their stories together because they each got their scars for each other. Along with that, Hassan’s rape was a scar that they both carry for different reasons. Hassan has emotional scars from it, like any other rape victim, and Amir holds onto his shame of what he allowed to happen and he talks about his cowardice by explaining how: “[He] [runs] because I [am] a coward. I [am] afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I [am] afraid of getting hurt” (Hosseini 77). He does not allow himself to be brave which ruins Hassan and his relationship. It is just like a scar. The boys’ stories are held together by this moment. Amir’s scar from this event drives him to do many of the things he does later in life. He