Symbols In The Kite Runner

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Question 4 The Kite Runner is the first novel authored by Afghan-American Khaled Hosseini. The story follows the life of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul. Amir’s closest friend is Hassan, his fathers youngest servant. The story is set between the fall of the Afghan monarchy and the soviet intervention. Hosseini is emphasising that the novel is more of a father son relationship. Themes of guilt and redemption are also featured predominantly throughout the the novel with a pivotal scene depicting an act of violence against Hassan that Amir did not stop, only witnessed. The latter half of the book shows Amir’s life in America trying to reach and save Hassan's son Sohrab who is a slave boy for Taliban ruled Afghanistan. The most important themes and motifs of the novel are the significance of the kites, the search for redemption, the lamb sacrifice and Hassan’s cleft lip. The kites are the most significant and important symbols of the novel, they drive the entire backbone of the story. The kites serve as symbol of happiness for Amir but also as guilt. Kite flying is the activity that Amir relished the most as a…show more content…
In Islam the lamb sacrifice shows the loss of innocence. Amir believes that Sohrab and Hassan are just simply lambs awaiting their slaughter. Amir states that while Hassan was raped he noticed he resembled the lamb they killed during the celebrations at Eid Al-Adha. This is also seen when Amir ventures back to Afghanistan to save Hassan’s son. Amir noted that mascara had been placed on Sobrabs eyes just as they would typically place mascara on a lambs eyes before killing it. This signifies that both Hassan and Sohrab are lambs waiting to be killed. However they both take on different meanings. In Hassan’s case Amir sacrifices him for the blue kite while in Sohrab’s case Amir potentially sacrifices his own life to save him from

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