Ryan C's Final Post

Overall, I enjoyed The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini the novel was engaging and Hosseini creates an intense plot with complex characters. The most intriguing character of the novel happens to be the main character, Amir. Amir is an interesting character and is hard to understand the reasons for Amir’s actions.

 Hosseini often leaves the reader wondering whether Amir’s personality is a result of his situation or his natural behavior. Most notable is Amir’s decision to not bring up Assef abusing Hassan and pretend as if it never happened. One could justify Amir’s actions by saying that at the time Amir is still a child and after being ignored by Baba and not living up to his expectations, it is hard to blame Amir for doing whatever was necessary to gain his father’s love. At the same time, Amir that what happened to Hassan was wrong and clearly affected Hassan in a negative way. Furthermore, Hassan was nothing but loyal to Amir and nothing can justify Amir’s lack of action. Hosseini depicts Amir almost as cruel, especially when Amir attempted to frame Hassan for stealing from Amir and again when Amir is reluctant to save Hassan’s son in Afghanistan, even though it is Amir’s opportunity to somewhat make things right with Hassan. Baba is also an interesting character with a debatable parenting style. I think Baba liked consistency and balance as a father. The reader cannot help but sympathize with Amir as Baba rarely shows Amir any signs of approval, while showing Hassan seemingly endless love, even though through Amir’s eyes, Hassan did nothing to earn Baba’s approval. Furthermore, as the reader learns, Baba employed a tough love style with the hope of making Amir a stronger person, however, I think this negatively impacted Amir’s development and Baba did not show enough love. One of the only times Baba shows extreme approval of Amir is when he wins the kite tournament, no child should be forced to win a competition to earn the love of their parents. In the end, my perception of Amir changes as he acts selflessly once he is in Afghanistan to rescue Sohrab. Amir’s journey comes full circle, as he has to face Assef one last time to rescue Sohrab and ends up risking his life.

Most of the novel centers on irony in Amir’s life and the consequences of his actions. In the beginning, Baba worries that Amir will grow up a coward who depends on someone else to defend himself, seen when Baba says, “A boy who can't stand up for himself becomes a man who can't stand up for anything”. The irony lies with Amir’s decision not to say anything about Hassan’s rape because by keeping silence, Amir becomes the coward Baba feared he would become. The most prominent symbol of the novel is the kite. Kites in the novel represent both the key to Baba’s love and Amir’s guilt. Returning with the kite means that Amir is a champion and deserving of baba’s love, however, consequently, the kite simultaneously represents Amir’s guilty because if not for the kite, Hassan would not have been raped. Fittingly, Amir does not fly another kite until he has amended ties with Sohrab, and Hassan by association. Once the kite no longer represents Amir’s guilt, he is able to fly them again and go back to a time of bliss.

In addition, Hosseini provides great insight into the atmosphere of Afghanistan before the attacks on the world trade center. Most people, including myself knew little about the history of Afghanistan before the country forced itself into the international spotlight. Hosseini clearly demonstrates the impact of international politics on the lives of normal people living in Afghanistan who had no option but to flee their home country. One part I especially enjoyed was when Amir wrote his first story about a man who’s tears would turn into pearls and ended up killing his wife to make himself cry. Firstly, the story itself is interesting and as mentioned in the novel the short story is ironic. However, Hassan’s reaction was revealing and rather comical. Hassan’s reaction of asking why the man didn't just smell an onion shows the difference in nature between Amir and Hassan. Hassan views the world from a more simplistic point of view, while Amir sees the need for complicated situations, which speaks lengths to mostly Amir’s actions later in the novel. All in all, The Kite Runner was a great book that I enjoyed reading and would definitely recommend it to anyone to read.