Final Thoughts

Reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini was a moving novel. To be honest with you, when I first heard that we were reading this novel I had little hope for the book, but my views have changed. After reading this novel, I realized that it was a brilliantly written novel that could appeal to everyday life. The story line deals with events that people our age go through every day. The Kite Runner was a story of friendship, betrayal, relationships, and guilt. Certain aspects of the novel, like friendship for example, really appeal to my senses. Everyone has those friends that they know will be with them through think and thin, just like Amir and Hassan. Just as when Hassan states "For you a thousand times over" (Hosseini, 371) he is basically saying that they will be there for each other until the end of time, we all have that one friend that will always be there for us. Along with the idea of friendship, relationships appeal to our everyday lives. Relationships surround us on all sides. Just as Baba and Amir have to find ways to strengthen their relationships, we need to find ways to strengthen the relationship the surround us. The Kite Runner turned out to be an amazing novel with an remarkable story line that appeals to the everyday life of our generation.

Baba the Black Bear

In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Baba is compared to a black bear. "I have imagined Baba's wrestling match countless times, even dreamed about it. And in those dreams I can never tell Baba from a black bear" (Hosseini, 12). Amir talks about how Baba had three parallel scars down his back from bear claws. As I was reading the novel, I came across different lines that made me think that Baba could easily be compared to a black bear. for example, in chapter 3, a description is made talking about how Baba had unruly brown hair and a dark curly beard. The appearance could easily compare to a black bear. Not only does Baba have the physical appearance of a black bear, but many of his characteristics are similar as well. As we looked farther into the novel, two more characteristics of Baba appeared to be very similar to the ones of a black bear. The first part is where Baba and Amir have a real father son relationship. Baba would be the strong father that would protect his child, just as a bear would protect its cub. Another characteristic of a bear that Baba carries is his obnoxious snoring. According to Amir, Baba's snoring could easily be compared to the growling of a bear when he is first waken up from his slumber. During many parts of the novel, the comparison between Baba and the Black Bear are confirmed.

Adoption

When reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, I thought a lot about the adoption scenes of the novel. After trying the conceive a child for quite some time, Amir and Soraya thought about different options in starting a family. When the idea of adoption was brought up, I was very surprised at the response. "This adoption... thing I don't think its for us Afghans" (Hosseini, 187). I thought that since they wanted a family so bad that they would have been open to the idea. As a read more into the novel, I came to the realization as to why they decided that it was not for them. I realized that it does not go along with the traditional way of Afghan life. I realized that Afghans live off of blood relationships and that adopting a child means that they are not blood related. I also believe that this is the reason that they decided to adopt Sohrab later in the novel. I do not agree with the fact that they would not adopt Sohrab just because he wasn't a blood relative. I believe that family is family no matter whether or not they are blood relatives. I am saddened by the fact that it took the fact that they were blood relatives in order for the child to be adopted.

Italics

"Go slowly, my lovely moon, go slowly" (Hosseini, 114).

While reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, I noticed parts of the novel were in italics. The facts that parts of the novel were in italics made me really stop and think as to their importance to the novel. While reading through the rest of the novel, I came to the decision that it was used only when talking with Amir. Amir often uses italics to get his point across. When something in written in italics, one readers the words more distinctly. Reading a line or paragraph in italics allows it to stick in your mind and remember it. Hosseini uses italics when he wants us to remember certain events in the novel. He often uses them to make us remember parts of his past that play a role in the character he is today. Hosseini's use of italics allows for the reader to become mesmerized in the meaning behind the italics.

Flashbacks

     Throughout the course of The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini relies heavily on the use of flashbacks. By using flashbacks throughout the course of the novel, Hosseini is able to maintains suspense. He is also able to show the theme of how past events in a persons life are prevalent in their current life. At the very beginning of the novel, Hosseini flashes back to Amir's childhood. "I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind the crumbling mud wall, peeking into an alley near frozen creek. That was a long time ago..." (Hosseini, 1). Hosseini's use of flashbacks allows for the reader to have a glimpse into the past life of a particular person. Every flashback that takes place throughout the novel has a meaning. It gives a new characteristic to a character, or explains why things are the way they are in a particular person's life. For example, Hosseini's flashbacks continue to show us how Amir is afraid of his past. By always flashing back to the terrifying days of his childhood, it shows why he is the way that he is. If we did not know about his selfish past, we would not know how and why he became the selfless person that he is at the end of the novel. Flashbacks are literary keys into the past life of characters.

"For you a thousand times over"

While reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, a particular line stuck with me throughout the course of the novel. "For you a thousand times over" (Hosseini, 371). At the beginning of the novel when Amir won the local kite runner tournament, Hassan first says "For you a thousand times over". He says this when he talks about running to get the kite for Amir. This line in particular really shows me the friendship between Amir and Hassan. It shows the loyalty that Hassan has for Amir and how he will always be there for him. The fact that Hosseini placed this particular quote toward the beginning and end of the novel both involving Amir, allowed me to see the progress made throughout the novel. At the end of the novel, Amir says this particular quote to Sohrab, Hassan's son. Its very symbolic that Hassan says this to Amir and then Amir says it to Sohrab. It symbolizes the fact that just as Hassan will always be there for Amir, Amir will always be there for Sohrab.

Reoccurring insomnia

     Throughout the course of The Kite Runner by Khalen Hosseini, insomnia has been a reoccurring theme. The insomnia first begins in chapter 8 after Amir witnesses the rape of Hassan but says nothing. The insomnia is caused by guiltiness that eats away at Amir. Insomnia occurs once again following the event where Amir tries to get Hassan kicked out of the house. "I lay awake, an insomniac once more. Awake. And alone with demons of my own" (Hosseini, 358). Hosseini tells us about many of the demons that cause Amir's insomnia. Another one of the events in Amir's life that causes him to be an insomniac is the broken promises that have occurred in recent time. One of these empty promises involves Hassan's son Sohrab. The fact that he broke his promise to him created guilt inside, causing another case of insomnia. Insomnia can be related to everyone's life, not matter who you are. Everyone has some kind of guilt, just as Amir does throughout the course of his life. We all have times in our lives where we think back and ask ourselves "What could we have done differently?" and "If I had done this, what would have been different?" Just as think back on our lives and the choices we have made, Amir spends his nights as an insomniac reliving what should have happened, instead of what did happen. 

Assef

In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, an influential character is Assef. Assef is the main antagonistic character in the novel. Assef spent his childhood as a bully and a sociopath. "Door to door we [Assef] went calling for the men and the boys. We'd shoot them right in front of their families. Let them see. Let them remember who they were, where they belonged" (Hosseini, 277). Assef directly influenced a multitude of people. One of the major characters that Assef influenced was Hassan. For example, Assef was the character who raped Hassan in the alley. Not only did Assef influence people directly, but he also influenced great deals of people indirectly. One character that was influenced indirectly by Hassan is Amir. Because of the fact that Assef raped Hassan and he witnessed the event, Amir suffered from insomnia for much of his life. Assef also caused Amir to live with gut wrenching guilt for most of his life. Even though some people believe Assef to be a minor character, Assef's influence was present throughout the course of the novel and created a lasting impact.

Growing throughout the Novel

     In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, one particular character, Amir, stuck out to me as a main character throughout the course of the novel. As we start to read the novel, we learn about the personality of Amir. Amir spends his upbringing as a privileged Afghan citizen. He grows up receiving almost everything that he pleases, but if he doesn't receive what he wants, he performs acts of jealousy. We learned that Amir is very selfish and that no one can have anything that he doesn't have. Throughout the course of the novel, we see him transform from a selfish child to a selfless adult. We learn of different acts that he performs in his later years in life that show that he truly has changed from his selfish ways. Amir begins to develop quite a guilty conscience. "That was when I understood the depth of pain I caused, the blackness of the grief that I have caused everyone" (Hosseini, 107). He begins to see the things that he has done wrong in his life, and tries to make up for them. For example, Amir had felt that he needed to make up for the fact that he tried to get Hassan  kicked out of the house, so he spends his time trying to save Hassan's son. Even though Amir knew that trying to save Hassan's son could mean the end of his life because he had to face Assef, he did it anyways. Through acts like that, we learn to truly see the transformation from a selfish kid to a selfless adult.

Baba and Amir

     In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the relationship between Baba and Amir goes through an emotional roller coaster. At the beginning of the novel, the relationship between Baba and Amir was not a very strong relationship. Amir spent most of his life thinking that Baba was wishing that Amir could be more like him. He also believed that Baba blamed him for the death of his mother due to the fact that she died while giving birth to him. The relationship got to a certain point where Baba stated to Hassan "If I hadn't seen the doctor pull him our of my wife with my own eyes, I'd never believe he's my son" (Hosseini, 98). They communicated civilly, but never had the father son relationship greatly desired by Amir. Through the act of kite flying and kite running, Baba and Amir finally achieved the father and son relationship Amir had always wanted. Baba and Amir finally began to live life as a family. They went from civil communication to bonding like no one else. The core of the relationship was all based on winning Kite Running tournaments. Even though Amir tried greatly to sustain the relationship that they had regained, it was not enough. Slowly their relationship began to diminish throughout the rest of the novel. Their relationship truly was challenged throughout the course of the novel, but in the end, they ended up right back where they had begun.

Praise at Last

In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir finally receives the praise that he deserves. After years of being a kite flyer, Amir finally wins a local tournament. Winning that tournament brought many sought after items to Amir. Amir was able to advance to the next round in the kite running competition. The win also brought along the greatly sought praise from his father Baba. We learn throughout the course of the novel that Amir has spent a majority of his life flying kites, along with Hassan as his kite runner, hoping to revive the relationship between his father and himself. Even though he has always loved this great activity, he had never had the satisfaction and praise that he believed he greatly deserved. The relationship between him and his father was never concrete, but he believed that the idea of kite flying would bring them closer together. After Amir finally got the praise he believed he deserved, the relationship between him and his father strengthened greatly. But as they say, all good things must come to an end. As time went on, the relationship between Baba and Amir slowly diminished back to its original relationship. Amir states "We'd actually deceived ourselves into thinking that a toy made of tissue paper, glue, and bamboo could somehow close the chasm between us" (Hosseini, 87). Even though the relationship returned to its previous state, I believe that Amir's view of his father was changed after the praise he finally received.

Guilty Conscience

     While reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, I began to notice the amount of guilt that Amir is feeling. The amount of guilt placed on him comes from his lack of action during the alley scene. During this scene, he watches his friend get raped and does nothing to stop it. The novel goes on to talk about how Amir spends time avoiding Hassan while he tries to forget what he saw. Through this avoidance, the guilt in Amir begins to build rapidly. As the novel continued, Amir reveals the story of how he once purposely framed Hassan by placing money in his mattress to try and get him kicked out of the house. In chapter 22 of the novel, the past begins to be revealed. The guilt in Amir from trying to get Hassan kicked out of the house causes him to want to protect the son of Hassan, Sohrab, from Assef. In chapter 22, Amir is faced with Assef in order to save Sohrab. In the process of saving Sohrab, Amir was severely beaten including a dislodged kidney stone which caused him pain. Ironically, while he in pain he was laughing. Amir stated "I laughed because I saw that, in some hidden nook in the corner of my mind, I'd been looking forward to this" (Hosseini, 289)." Following this, I believe that Amir forgave himself both for what happened in the alley and in the housing situation with Hassan.

Foreshadowing

     Foreshadowing is a literary device used throughout the course The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Hosseini uses foreshadowing throughout the course of the novel to create Amir as a memorable character. As I look back on the novel, I notice that Hosseini uses many literary devices to make Amir stand out. Foreshadowing is just one of them. Hosseini uses foreshadowing to show how Amir is going to betray Hassan as the end of the novel. Through the use of foreshadowing, Hosseini was able to create suspense. He left the readers pondering how, when, and why Amir was going to betray Hassan. For example, when Amir states, "The next time I would see Hassan smiling unabashedly like that would be twenty-six years later in a Polaroid photograph," (Hosseini, 67) it poses a thought to the reader. It creates the suspense as to why Amir would not see Hassan  smile ever again. Hosseini's use of foreshadowing throughout the course of the novel is key in allowing the reader to really connect the dots in the life of Amir.

Women in Afghanistan

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini gives the reader a glimpse into the Afghan way of life. Hosseini does an excellent job in describing the lifestyle of the people in Afghanistan, especially the women. Through the characters of Soraya and Jamila, the reader has a glimpse into the Afghan way of life. The novel shows that women in Afghan are greatly controlled by the decisions that they make. Women in Afghan are often perceived as weak. Throughout the course of the novel, there are different forms of weaknesses shown. At the beginning of the novel, it describes the moral weakness in women. When Hassan's mother ran off with another man, it gave off the impression that women are morally weak. According to Amir "She ran off with the clan of singers and travelling dancers" (Hosseini, 6). It makes them look like they have no control over their morals. Not only are their negative representations of women in The Kite Runner, there are also some positive representations throughout the course of the novel. Many of the positive representations are shown through women's actions. During the scene when Sanaubar returns and regains to her son, she shows how Afghan women are strong and willing to make up for their mistakes. She shows how, even though Afghan women make mistakes, they are determined to fix the problems they cause in life.

I Feel Like a Tourist In My Own Country

     In chapter 19 of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir is faced with a cultural shock. While riding in the back of a taxi cab, Amir begins to see the changes that have been made to the country that he grew up in. Through the use of imagery, Hosseini allows us to visualize what Amir is seeing as he sees the town that he has grown up in. The streets that were once filled with food vendors are now destroyed beyond recognition. Amir soon begins to realize that Afghan is no longer the place that held all of his childhood memories. Amir states, "I feel like a tourist in my own country," (Hosseini, 231). Even though he was dressed in his traditional Afghan clothing and had the long fake beard that should have allowed him to blend in with his surroundings, he knew that he was not home anymore. While riding in the back of the taxi cab with Farid, Amir soon comes to the realization that even though he grew up in the country of Afghanistan, he was not a true Afghan because of his lavish lifestyle. Amir grew up with privileges that most people were never offered.  He discovers that the true Afghan people are the ones that stayed behind in order to protect and defend their country, not the ones who fled to America in the country's time of need. He now believes that even though Afghanistan was an enormous part of his childhood, he is no longer part of the country of Afghanistan, but he has transformed himself into an American.