The Kite Runner Theme Essay

Harmeen Ghotra
ENG3U0J
The Kite Runner – Theme Analysis
Grade 11
Mr. Saini

1. Friendship, guilt, redemption
“He knew about Assef, the kite, the money, the watch with the lightning bolt hands. He had always known. ‘Come. There is a way to be good again,’ Rahim Khan had said on the phone just before hanging up. Said it in passing, almost as an afterthought.” (Chapter 14, pg 202).
This quote symbolizes how Amir strived to do everything to forget, all he needed to do was to fly to Pakistan and see what Rahim Khan wanted him to do. So that's exactly what Amir did. Rahim Khan tells Amir that "there is a way to be good again". Amir knew straightaway what he was talking about. He realizes, that all of those years, Rahim Khan had known
Baba's father sets an example for Amir of being kind to Hazara people, even though they are historically not appreciated and persecuted. Baba could have easily sent Ali to an orphanage after his parents' death, but he chose not to and picked the decision of raising him in his household. Baba does the same with Hassan, although this is because of the fact that Hassan is actually his son after all. Even in Baba's house, the house of best intentions, the class barrier between the Pashtuns and Hazaras endures. Ali is as dear to Baba as a brother. Baba calls him "family." But Ali still lives in a hut and sleeps on a mattress on the floor. He tends the garden, cooks, and cleans up after Baba, and raises Hassan to do the same. So strong is Hassan's identity as a servant that even as an adult, when Baba is gone, he has no sense of entitlement. He insists on staying in the hut and doing housework. When Hassan dies defending Baba's house, he does so not because he feels it belongs to him, but because he is being loyal to Baba and Amir. Discrimination is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Assef tells Amir, "Afghanistan is like a beautiful mansion littered with garbage, and someone has to take out the garbage." Like his idol, Hitler, he feels entitled to killing those he deems unworthy of living in his land. He even relishes the term "ethnic
The biggest shocker to Amir was that Hassan was really his half brother. After Amir's mother died, Baba had slept with Hassan's mother and got her pregnant. All along Baba knew that Hassan was his son and Ali covered as his father and the two of them were servants in Baba's house. Amir thought about the reason why Baba was so worked up over Amir's mentioning of getting new servants was because he would be losing his son that way. There were so many signs he realizes like the plastic surgery and always inviting Hassan to events. Amir was filled with anger and he felt betrayed by Rahim and especially Baba. The regret is even greater in his life that he had driven out his own half brother and did not even know it, and now there is no way to make things right because Hassan is dead. Amir is shocked, taken back, and deeply hurt. Even before Amir betrays him, Hassan makes him feel guilty simply by being such a righteous person. Amir is constantly trying to measure up to Baba, because he does not realize that Baba is so hard on him because of his guilt over his own sin. Amir feels as though his entire life has been a cycle of betrayal, even before he betrayed Hassan. But having a taste of betrayal himself does little towards redeeming Amir. In Ghazi Stadium, the Taliban skews the words of Muhammad in order to justify murdering the alleged adulterers. The mullah announces that