The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.). Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
- The Kite Runner begins with a phone call from Rahim Khan. Rahim wants Amir to visit him in Afghanistan, but Amir doesn't want to due to the events that occurred in his past. Both Amir and Hassan were raised by Baba and Ali. Trying to please his father the way Hassan pleased him, Amir made it his goal to win a kite competition. After Hassan and Amir won the competition, Hassan was raped by Assef, while fetching the kite for Amir. Amir watched the entire thing and could not find a way to put a stop to it. Amir felt extremely guilty and the bond between Hassan and Amir had been broken forever. After a while, both Ali and Hassan moved away, and Amir and Baba soon moved to San Francisco. In San Francisco, Amir married Soraya, became a writer, and Baba died from cancer. When Amir went back to Afghanistan, Rahim informed Amir that Hassan was his half brother and told him to go find Sohrab, his nephew. Amir then began a search to go and find Sohrab. While on his search, Amir got into a fight with Assef, the master of the Taliban, and was saved by Sohrab. Amir took Sohrab to go live in San Francisco with him and his wife. We then learn that Sohrab is very timid and the first time he smiled f was when he and Amir flew a kite together.
Exposition: Amir, born in Kabul, Afghanistan, begins the novel by talking about his past and all the guilt he has dealt with due to the lack of courage he faced when he watched Hassan get raped.
Rising Action: Amir and Baba leave Afghanistan and go live in the United States.
Climax: Amir goes to Afghanistan, where he finds Sohrab and gets into a fight with Assef.
Falling Action: Sohrab goes to live with Amir in San Francisco.
Resolution: After being depressed for such a long time, Sohrab finally smiles when he and Amir fly a kite together.
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
- The theme of The Kite Runner is guilt. Throughout the entire novel, Amir is in search of redemption due to the fact that he feels extremely guilty for allowing Hassan to be raped.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
- The author's tone is remorse. In the novel, Amir reflects on all of the occurrences that changed his life forever.
“I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost. The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn't. I just watched. Paralyzed.” (page 73)
"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 a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.” (page 1)
“I didn't remember what month that was, or what year even. I only knew the memory lived in me, a perfectly encapsulated morsel of a good past, a brushstroke of color on the gray, barren canvas that our lives had become. ” (page 123)
4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)
- Flashback: Throughout the novel Amir has a series of flashbacks. In the book, Amir remembers exactly what Baba said about Pashtuns. "We may be hardheaded and I know we're far too proud, but, in the hour of need, believe me that there's no one you'd rather have at your side than a Pashtun." (page 160)
- Point of View: The novel is told in first person point of view. Amir tells the novel through his eyes and shares all the events that have changed his life forever. First person point of view allows readers to somehow experience all the guilt that Amir has dealt with. "I sat on a park bench near a willow tree. I thought about something Rahim Khan said just before he hug up, almost as an afterthought. There is a way to be good again. I looked at those twin kites. I thought about Hassan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul." (page 2)
- Imagery: Imagery is used in The Kite Runner in order to portray life in Afghanistan. Through the use of imagery Hosseini describes characters and events that Amir has experienced throughout his life. "I ran. A grown man running with a swarm of screaming children. But I didn't care. I ran with the wind blowing in my face, and a smile as wide as the Valley of Panjsher on my lips. I ran." (page 371)
- Symbolism: Symbolism plays a huge factor in the novel. Kite fighting symbolizes happiness. "I looked down at Sohrab. One corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile" (page 370)
- Allusion: There are biblical allusions in the novel. "The snake in the grass," alludes to the snake who deceived Eve into eating the apple in the Garden of Eden. "He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time. I loved him in that moment, loved him more than I'd ever loved anyone, and I wanted to tell them all that I was the snake in the grass, the monster in the lake." (page 105)
- Setting: The kite runner takes place mostly in Afghanistan, but the setting soon shifts to California. "Just one month after we arrived in the U.S., Baba found a job off Washington Boulevard..." (page 130)
- Foreshadowing: Foreshadowing is used at the beginning of The Kite Runner. The author foreshadows that he going to speak regarding his past in the beginning of the novel. "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 a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.” (page 1)
- Simile: "The question hit me like a hammer between the eyes. I felt the color drain from my face. My legs went cold. Numb." (page 281)
- Metaphor: "Children aren't like coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors." (page 21)
- Rhetorical Question: Rhetorical questions are used throughout the entire novel. Amir mainly asks himself rhetorical questions regarding his past. "What did you think? That you'd put on a fake beard and I wouldn't recognize you? (page 281)
CHARACTERIZATION
1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
- Khaled Hosseini uses both direct and indirect characterization in order for readers to not only learn about character's through their physical appearances, but also for readers to learn about characters through their inner thoughts and actions.
Examples of direct characterization:
"He had greasy hair and a square-shaped little mustache speckled with gray. He smelled vaguely of some tropical fruit I couldn't quite recognize." (page 313) Amir gives a description of the hotel manager's appearance, when he talks to him regarding Sohrab.
"I can still see Hassan up on that tree, sunlight flickering through the leaves on his almost perfectly round face, a face like a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood: his flat, broad nose and slanting, narrow eyes like bamboo leaves, eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green, even sapphire. I can still see his tiny low-set ears and that pointed stub of a chin, a meaty appendage that looked like it was added as a mere afterthought. And the cleft lip, just left of midline, where the Chinese doll maker's instrument may have slipped, or perhaps he had simply grown tired and careless." (page 3) Amir describes Hassan's physical appearance.
Examples of indirect characterization:
"You promised you'd never put me in one of those places, Amir agha," he said. His voice was breaking, tears pooling in his eyes." (page 341) When Amir tells Sohrab that he may be put into an orphanage, we learn that Sohrab is a very emotional individual.
"After that kite tournament, he came home a little bloodied and his shirt was torn. I asked him what had happened and he said it was nothing, that he'd gotten into a little scuffle with some kids over the kite." (page 81) Hassan is the type of person who keeps things to himself and Ali is a very caring individual.
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
- Hosseini's syntax and diction does change when he focuses on different character's throughout the novel. Hosseini uses very descriptive language when he speaks of certain characters, however, when speaking regarding other characters his language isn't as descriptive.
"Your father, like you, was a tortured soul, Amir jan." (page 301)
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
- The protagonist, Amir, is a dynamic character because of his changing personality throughout the entire novel. During his childhood, he remained to be self-indulgent and treated Hassan differently when he was with others and when they were alone. As Amir grew up, he changed his views on things, regretting his actions towards Hassan. Once Amir became an adult and settled down, he changed from being cowardly, to courageous as he took up the offer to take in Sohrab as a foster child to make up for his mistakes during his childhood. His feelings were altered towards Hassan when he found out that he was actually his half-brother, which ultimately helped contribute to Amir's dynamic characterization.
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
- After reading the book, I came away feeling like I had actually gotten to know Amir as a person. Reading about his past and his journey for redemption gave me the opportunity to connect with Amir, and somehow feel all the guilt he had experienced.
“A part of me was hoping someone would wake up and hear, so I wouldn't have to live with this lie anymore. But no one woke up and in the silence that followed, I understood the nature of my new curse: I was going to get away with it.” (page 86)
