Category: Kite Runner

ESSAY PRACTISE

Analyse how language features were used to capture the reader’s imagination.

  • Amir’s narrative point of view 
  • Foreshadowing
  • First Language Words, Festival, and cultural references 
  • Symbolism- kites, lamb to the slaughter, the cleft palate

In this novel, The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini uses numerous effective language features such as foreshadowing, and symbolism to help develop the main character, Amir. This character then goes on to help the reader understand the themes of the book betrayal and redemption. The author uses symbolism to represent

Thorugh out the novel, the author uses the language technique narrative point of view to tell the 

PARAGRAPH ONE: Narrative point of view- first person. Amir talks about cultural, religious, political, social events and issues.

PARAGRAPH TWO:  Foreshadowing- hints at events to come

PARAGRAPH THREE: Symbolism and themes- Kites, Cleft lip, family relationships, guilt, redemption, 

CONCLUSION:

Discuss how the author uses language techniques to develop a main character in the novel, and how this character helps you understand one or more themes/ideas. 

 LANGUAGE TECHNIQUE:

  • Foreshadowing
  • Symbolism

Foreshadowing:

it helps Develop Amir because from the glimpses that we got from the beginning of the book because the write foreshadows that Amir will later on become guilty for not helping Hassan.

As well as hinting that Mair’s life is going to change forever and that he is not as good as he may seem, but still buys into the society buy betraying Hassan since he is his servant.

Symbolism:

On the Day of the kite fishing Hassan had a dream about a monster being in a lake, Amir walk into the lake and Hassan follows, Hassan then goes onto say “Don’t worry there is not a monster waiting for you in the streets of Kabul”. This symbolises Assef as he is the one that raped Hassan, Hassan says that there isn’t a monster waiting for Amir because its instead waiting for him, (Assesf) Like in the dream when Hassan followed Amir into the lake the lake is just like the alleyway but this time Amir doesn’t have the same loyalty for Hassan so, therefore, doesn’t stand up to Assef to help his friend and doesn’t follow Hassan into the ‘lake’.  The symbols of Hassan dream helps the reader understand what kind of friend Amir is to Hassan.

Kite running is another symbol that is used throughout the novel At the beginning of the novel the Amir and Hassan first enter the kite fighting competition it all seems very innocent and fun to both of them, But later on, kites become that constant reminder for Amir on how his betrayal that day in the alley. The kites are also a symbol for Amir to get his father to love him, and make Baba proud of him. At the end of the novel, after Hassan dies and his son becomes an orphan, Amir adopts him and takes him outside to do kite flying. At this point, Amir feels like he has redeemed himself because he couldn’t talk to Hassan and apologies to him instead he did the activity Amir and his best friend once loved with his nephew. Therefore the kites are also a symbol for redemption throughout the novel, as they go through Amir journey of how innocent they both were at the start, how he lost Hassan and become filled with guilt, then at the end when Hassan is going and Amir has once and for all redeemed himself.

The actual Kite its self-symbolizes Amirs life, the

Amir helping reader understands theme:

  • Redemption
  • Betrayal

CHAPTER 1 TO 11

The importance of setting

Explain the importance of the setting (historic, social, cultural, political) and its influence on how the narrator (Amir) tells his story.

Social Castes :

  • Amir (high caste, Pashtun)
  • Hassan (low caste, Hagara)

Historical:

  • Just before the Russian invasion

Cultural:

  • Islamic Country

Political:

  • Baba was a powerful figure in Kabul society

The first three chapters of the novel tell us the basic facts of the story such as who the major characters are, their backgrounds, and what their relationships with each other are like. The section also establishes a context for the information: Amir, our narrator, is an adult living in the United States and looking back on his childhood years in Afghanistan. In fact, history is an important theme in the novel, and looking back on the past is a recurring motif. That’s because, for Amir, the past is not over. He believes it to be a fundamental part of who he is, and no matter how far he is in time or location from his childhood in Afghanistan, the events of that period are always with him, he feels a tremendous sense of guilt about those events, and he believes they shaped him into who he is. This guilt, informs the entire narrative.

“Almost two years had passed since we arrived in the U.S., and I was still marveling at the size of this country, its vastness. Beyond every freeway lay another freeway, beyond every city another city, hills beyond mountains and mountains beyond hills, and, beyond these, more cities and more people.

Long before the Roussi army marched into Afghanistan, long before villages were burned and schools destroyed, long before mines were planted like seeds of death and children buried in rock-piled graves, Kabul had become a city of ghosts for me. A city of harelipped ghosts.

America was different, America was a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past. I could wade into this river, let my sins drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far. Someplace with no ghosts, no memories, and no sins.

If for nothing else, for that, I embraced America.”

What language techniques does Hosseini employ in this passage?

What is the effect of his use of these language techniques?

Explain the importance of the setting and its influence on how the narrator tells his story.

The setting of Kabul, Afghanistan is hugely socially, politically and culturally important in the novel The Kite Runner. The story is told from the point of view of Amir, retelling the years he was growing up in Kabul and events that influenced his life, and his long journey from guilt to redemption.

Because the story is set in Afghanistan and told from the point of view of a local boy, we learn aspects of a different society – Islamic religion, the different classes in Afghani society, local festivals and activities – specifically the sport of kite running. We are also exposed to numerous Farsi (Afghani) and Islamic words and phrases, which add cultural depth and authenticity to Amir’s voice.

We also see life in Kabul disrupted by the overthrow of the monarchy, then the Russian invasion which eventually leads to Baba and Amir having to flee Afghanistan and move to America as refugees. As Amir tells us:

“For me, America was a place to bury my memories. For Baba, a place to mourn his.”

AMIR STITCHES UP HASSAN

Forgive? But theft was the one unforgivable sin, the common denominator of all sins. When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife’s right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness. There is no act more wretched than stealing. Hadn’t Baba sat me on his lap and said those words to me? Then how could he just forgive Hassan? And if Baba could forgive that, then why couldn’t he forgive me for not being the son he’d always wanted? Why –

Amir decides “one of us has to go” – Why?

Amir says this because every-time he sees Hassan he gets reminded of his own guilt and his cowerdness from the day he witnessed Hasan get raped. Amir needs one of them to go so he can get  closure and doesn’t have to put up with the awkwardness looming in the air.

Amir then says “Then I understand: this was Hassan’s final sacrifice for em” -Explain… 

Hassan is so loyal to Amir that he will do anything to protect him. Everyone knows that Hassan would never lie so they believe him

Hassan says that he did steal the watch- Why?

Why was Baba so upset that he cried?