Not worthy of his sacrifice: An overview of The Kite Runner

Here’s a bit from a very detailed article in the Afghan magazine. It tells you about the novel and has theme quotes and an interview link.

The Kite Runner is an Afghan novel that is one of its kind. Like no other, it reads like a confessional, yet laced with thrills and emotion. Or is it an Afghan novel? Many would say that since, it is written in English, and by an Afghan who has spent over 20 years in the United States, it cannot be Afghan. The author is too vulnerable and self-reflective. And, moreover, he is living in America, so what can he write about Afghanistan?

The novel has received great reviews by literary editors around the world. One Afghan says, “As I read it, I thought I was reliving my childhood.” This novel is clearly about Afghanistan and the story of an Afghan who finds his way out of a personal, guilty past, or as the author says, “my past of un-atoned sins”.

 

It should be welcomed by the Afghan people and definitely deserves to be translated into Dari and Pashto. Whether or not the novel is based on true experience – the annual kite-flying contest, on which the entire story is built, is fictional – it is a self-analyzing confession of personal failure. Written in the first person, makes it all the more reflective. At the same time, it is exciting reading, and filled with emotions.

 

In some ways, The Kite Runner is a reversal of Akram Osman’s short story, “The Hero and the Coward”, a standard story where the main character is presented as a hero – as the title itself reflects. In The Kite Runner, Amir, the main character, tells his own story, a story of how he has been a coward all his life. Ironically, he comes from the dominating heroic tribe, but he gradually begins to realize the weaknesses and flaws in himself. In contrast, the hair-lipped, Hazara servant-friend turns out to be not only a courageous hero, but also a true ‘jawanmard’ who dispenses kindness even to those who are not worthy of it.

CHILDHOOD IN KABUL

The first section of the novel reflects Amir’s childhood in Kabul during the 1960’s and 70’s. Although his relationship with Hassan is far from noble, yet the two spend many wonderful days together. Amir’s greatest pain is trying to find approval from his wealthy, patronizing father. These two motifs – his friendship with Hassan and his detached relationship with his father – come to a climax at the annual kite-flying contest in Kabul. This would be his day of salvation, when he could prove to his father that he is worthy of recognition. But it would also be the day when his friendship with Hassan changes forever.

Almost unexpectedly, Amir emerges as the champion in the kite-flying contest, but the victory is bittersweet. He has to produce the fallen kite. If not, his father will not acknowledge him as the champion. Hassan, an expert kite runner, knows how important the kite is and so heedlessly pursues it. He finds it in a lonely alley, but here the villain, Aseef – who is a caricature of crass evil – catches up with Hassan. Aseef hates Hassan because of his background. Also, earlier Hassan had threatened Aseef with his slingshot when Aseef was about to beat up Amir. But rather than running for his life, Hassan clings to the kite for Amir’s sake. When Amir finds Hassan being helplessly abused by Aseef, he remains in hiding less Aseef notices him. He must produce that kite for his father. And here is the terrible irony. As Hassan is sacrificing himself for Amir, Amir secretly betrays his friendship with Hassan simply by ignoring him. It pains him as he does so, and he recalls the helpless lambs on Eid-i Qurban, who have to die “for a higher purpose” (67). Now, he too “hands Hassan over to the slaughter”, so that he can emerge as a hero in his father’s eyes. He rationalizes, “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (68).

But Amir knows he is no champion. He is fully aware of his shameful betrayal but he cannot confess it. He denies it, and he suddenly realizes he will get away with it. “‘I watched Hassan get raped,’ I said to no one. A part of me was hoping that 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” (75). To his horror, he realizes he can sin with impunity, and this is the damning truth that will haunt him for the rest of his life – the curse of un-forgiven sin.

Read the rest here.

Kites in The Kite Runner

We have started to revise The Kite Runner, and one thing I would like you to do, is to think about the importance of kites. How important are they? Well, a hint is in the title – you can tell kites are central to the novel because …  it’s called “The Kite Runner.” But that’s not all there is to kites, here’s what Gradesaver has to say about them:

On a plot level, the grand kite tournament of 1975 sets a circle of betrayal and redemption into motion, around which the story revolves. After Hassan gets raped while running his kite, Amir cannot separate kite fighting and running from his own betrayal and cowardice. Therefore, even after all of his injuries and trials on Sohrab’s behalf, it is the act of kite running that finally makes him feel redeemed. Beyond their significance to the plot, kites have multiple layers of symbolism in the story. One of these layers involves the class difference between Amir and Hassan, which largely dictates and limits their relationship. In kite fighting, one boy controls the kite while the other assists by feeding the string. Just as Hassan makes Amir’s breakfast, folds his clothes, and cleans his room, so does he cater to Amir in kite tournaments. Even though Hassan shares in the excitement of kite fighting, he does not actually have control over the kite. Hassan may help the kite “lift-and-dive,” but Amir is the one who claims a victory. Hassan may catch a cherished rival kite and hold it in his arms, but always to bring it back to Amir, to whom it then belongs. His joy is vicarious, just like his experience of wealth and privilege while living in Baba’s household. In order to free himself of selfishness and cowardice, Amir must go from being merely a kite fighter-someone who seeks glory-to a kite runner, someone who genuinely does things for others.

Not enough? Well, Gradesaver has more to say about kites and you will find this out if you go here.

When anarchy reigns, the sadistic thrive

An interesting discussion of the the novel ‘The Kite Runner’ from Bob Hillman.

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini , uses Afghanistan’s revered pastime to transport the reader to the romantic side of Kabul—a stark contrast to the horrors of the Taliban.

Blows of brutality for many readers, the most engaging part of Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner is the poignant, detailed descriptions of exotic Afghanistan. Amir’s early memories of the outskirts of Kabul offer fascinating snapshots of life in this amazing part of the world. We read of the annual buzkashi in which highly skilled horsemen collect a carcass at full speed and attempt to deposit the dead sheep or goat in a ‘‘scoring circle’’ while the opposition does everything in its power to stop him.

We discover ancient Persian literature, the Shahnamah, and the classic Afghan poets from Amir’s school days. But of course, the kite running that inspired the book’s title grasps our imagination the most. A national sport in Afghanistan, kite running is revered by children and adults alike. The rich description and colours that fill the winter’s sky transport us into Kabul’s romantic world: ‘‘red, blue, and yellow kites glided and spun in the sky’’.

Read the rest here.

The use of the first-person narrator in The Kite Runner

Multi-layered and thematically rich, Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is especially intriguing for its treatment of the first-person narrator.

Towards the end of the novel, the older Amir indulges in some serious navel-gazing: ”You’re gutless. It’s how you were made. And that’s not such a bad thing because your saving grace is that you’ve never lied to yourself about it … But when a coward stops remembering who he is … God help him.’’

Self-flagellation is nothing new to our narrator, who emphasises throughout the course of the story his weakness and unworthiness. This is an unusual approach and readers would do well to raise their antennae. Does the narrator want our sympathy? Are we being manipulated? Is the story skewed?

This also throws up the interesting question about the role of the first-person narrator in general. Does one have to like a narrator to be caught up in a story? In the extreme case, think Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, think Alexander Portnoy in Portnoy’s Complaint — unbeautiful characters actually enhance the success of their narrative through their very unorthodoxy.

So can we trust Amir? As with all narrators, we must tread carefully. Amir is an adult looking back from America on a sweet and sour childhood in Afghanistan — how much can he really remember? He is prone to fantasy, a prolific dreamer and, special care here, a professional writer.

Read more here.

 

Redemption

Redemption

All living creatures’ pain,

The suffering of the lowliest thing that creeps

Or flies a moment ere it sinks and sleeps,

Are too Redemption’s tears and not in vain—

For nothing idly weeps.

Earth is through these fulfilling that it must

As in Christ’s own eternal Passion chain,

And flowering from the dust.

The driven and drudging ass

Crushed by the bondage of its bitter round,

Repeats the Gospel in that narrow bound;

God is reflected in the blade of grass,

And there is Calvary’s ground.

O not an insect or on leaf or sod

But in its measure is a looking-glass,

And shows Salvation’s God.

All thus are carrying on,

And do work out, the one Redemption’s tale;

Each is a little Christ on hill or dale,

The hell where Mercy’s light has never shone

Is with that Mercy pale,

And though flesh turns from agony they dread,

Even as they groan and travail it is gone—

Love riseth from the dead.

Frederick William Ward (5 April 1847 – 1 July 1934) was an Australian journalist, newspaper editor and Methodist minister. Ward was born in New Zealand the fourth son of the Rev. Robert Ward, a Primitive Methodist clergyman and was sent to Brisbane, Australia around 1867 as a Methodist minister. His poem ‘Redemption’ promises that however much pain is suffered in life, the power of redemption will heal it.

What do you understand by the term redemption? Redemption is a major theme in the novel. The idea that, “There is a way to be good again” drives the novel. Amir is desperate to make up for his past sins and although he fears the cost of his redemption this desire to redeem himself fuels his actions and forms the basis of his character.

Amir and Redemption

‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini was written in 2003 and it is an extremely popular novel. The book is an epic tale of friendship and betrayal, and of the need for love and redemption. As our course theme is redemption, ‘The Kite Runner’ is a great book to help us explore it. To start we are going to look at Amir.

Amir is the protagonist of ‘The Kite Runner’. He was born into a privileged Pashtun family, and grows up in Kabul, Afghanistan. Amir was raised by his father Baba as his mother died in childbirth. This loss shapes him in a negative way as Baba and Amir have a conflicted relationship. He feels that Baba is angry at him and perhaps blames him for the death of his mother, “Did he ache for her, the way I ached for the mother I had never met?” As a parallel, Amir aches for his father who is emotionally and metaphorically missing in his life. Amir is also conflicted about his identity, he is interested in books, he is thoughtful but not very athletic. He is quite introverted and he prefers to write stories in his notebook rather than play soccer, much to his father’s dismay. Amir wants to be the sports-orientated, brave man that he believes Baba wants him to be. Amir wants a better relationship with his father and is strongly motivated by the wish to make this fantasy a reality—ultimately with tragic results. Amir is constantly trying to earn his father’s approval but he struggles to get his father’s attention. He becomes jealous when his father pays more attention to Hassan, the son of the family servant Ali. Amir finds that the only way to gain his father’s limited approval is to win the traditional kite-flying contest. Hassan always knows exactly where a kite will drop once its string has been cut. He becomes Amir’s kite runner chasing down fallen kites as Amir works his way to winning the competition. Amir then commits the shocking act that requires redemption. He encounters his best friend being bullied, and then raped by Assef, but does nothing to stop or even acknowledge this act.

Amir is haunted by his childhood betrayal of Hassan, and he eventually travels back to Kabul to put things right . Throughout the novel Amir wants to be a good person and he is constantly upset by his own shortcomings, particularly in his relationship with Hassan. He needs to find redemption.We see how Amir is released from guilt as he negotiates the memories of his betrayal of his childhood friend. We understand what it takes to to be good again.

Who else in the novel is seeking redemption?

The Kite Runner – Chapters 1-5

We have just started our study of ‘The Kite Runner’ and we have looked at the first five chapters. If you would like some extra reading try Gradesaver.

Here is their summary of Chapter One:

The Kite Runner begins with our thus-far nameless protagonist explaining that the past cannot be forgotten. A single moment in time defined him and has been affecting him for the last twenty-six years. This moment was in 1975 when he was twelve years old and hid near a crumbling alleyway in his hometown of Kabul, Afghanistan. When the protagonist’s friend, Rahim Khan, calls him out of the blue, he knows that his past sins are coming back to haunt him even in the new life he has built in San Francisco. He remembers Hassan, whom he calls “the harelipped kite runner,” saying “For you, a thousand times over.” Rahim’s words also echo in his head, “There is a way to be good again.” These two phrases will become focal points for the rest of the novel and our protagonist’s story.

About The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner is Khaled Hosseini’s first novel. He was a practicing physician until shortly after the book’s release and has now devoted himself to being an author and activist. The story of The Kite Runner is fictional, but it is rooted in real political and historical events ranging from the last days of the Afghan monarchy in the 1970s to the post-Taliban near present. It is also based on Hosseini’s memories of growing up in the Wazir Akbar Khan section of Kabul and adapting to life in California. In a 2003 interview with Newsline, Hosseini specified that the most autobiographical parts of The Kite Runner are those about “the difficult task of assimilating into a new culture.” He also revealed, “My father and I did work for a while at the flea market and there really are rows of Afghans working there, some of whom I am related to.” Because Hassan did not return to Kabul until 2003, after The Kite Runner’s publication, much of his portrayal of Afghanistan after the Soviet takeover is based on research. Hosseini’s choice of time period for the book, though corresponding with his own life, also went beyond his personal experiences. He has said that he did not just want to call attention to the devastation in Afghanistan; he set out to remind the world that until the last few decades, before the world’s eye was drawn to it by violence, Afghanistan was a generally peaceful nation.

Structurally, The Kite Runner can be divided into three sections: memories of pre-conflict Afghanistan, adjusting to life in America, and returning to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Thematically, it can be divided into just two: life before the rape and life after the rape. From any angle, The Kite Runner is a tale of love, betrayal, and redemption and it gained an enthusiastic audience from the start. After its 2003 release, The Kite Runner became a New York Times Bestseller and was eventually published in thirty-eight different countries, although not yet Afghanistan. Critics praised the book’s intimate examination of relationships amid the fraught and very topical environment of Afghanistan. Many of them, however, expressed disappointment regarding some coincidences, specifically the way that Amir and Assef reunite. One reviewer called the moment “more suited to a folk tale” and another even deemed it worthy of a “B movie.” Despite such comments, critical and popular response to The Kite Runner was almost universally positive.

Article from  Gradesaver.

Atonement in The Kite Runner

Major characters in novels usually undergo a change of some sort. In a novel you have studied, how is the change in a major character linked to a key theme or themes?

Atonement would be a great theme to discuss in the essay topic above. The Kite Runner suggests that individuals can atone for the the bad things they have done in their past. Hosseini suggests that atonement is possible if the person who seeks redemption first admits their guilt. Hosseini explores the ideas of guilt and atonement through Amir and to a lesser extent through Baba. Rahim Khan explains the positive value of the guilt that has haunted Amir for years by showing him that it can lead to true redemption. In the novel  by exploring the ideas of guilt and atonement through Amir, Hosseini is able to show the debilitating effects on his life. Amir is so haunted by his past that he fears that he and Soraya can’t have a child because he is being punished for his childhood sins. Even though Amir believes this he finds it hard to confess his sins to Rahim Khan and his secret can be compared to Soraya’s openness. Soraya has been able to move on because she has accepted her past and confessed her secrets. When discussing atonement show how Hosseini develops this idea through the development of Amir’s character. We see Amir grow in maturity, partly due to his separation from Baba as he now can accept the opportunity to atone. Rahim Khan as Amir’s mentor and friend helps to support the ideas about redemption and why it is still possible. Through Rahim Khan we see that Amir must complete his journey to achieve redemption. When Amir confronts Assef he also confronts his past cowardice and at last feels healed. By rescuing Sohrab he is not only reliving a past wrong doing he is also correcting it.

Year 12 wiki resources

Some of you may find some useful resources on one of the wikis. On the Year 12 wiki there is useful material on Schindler’s List, The Kite Runner and a few resources for Unfamiliar Texts. Have a look!