The Kite Runner - Quotations

“I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in winter 1975”

• The opening sentence introduces the use of first person narrative and hints at the key scene which is central to the novel through the use of foreshadowing and pathetic fallacy

• The description “overcast” insanity conveys the ominous nature of the event that Amir will reveal. It is unquestionably a powerful statement to make - to suggest that your life was shaped at the young age of twelve

“Looking back now, I realise I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years”

• The use of foreshadowing and repetition builds dramatic tension

• The word choice of “peeking” suggests it is something that Amir still fears deeply

• Amir’s reflection at this early stage also hints at the theme of atonement and the desire to redeem hisself

“It’s wrong what they say about the past I’ve learned, about how you can bury is. Because the past claws its way out”

• Hosseini’s use of language evokes the sense of something dead rising from the grave

• The image of the past clawing its way out suggests something monstrous and hideous

“There is a way to be good again”

• Throughout the opening of the novel there are repeated suggestions that events of the past include something from which the narrator needs to atone

“I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into the alley, stand up for Hassan - the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past - and accept whatever would happen to me. OR I could run. In the end, I ran”

• The repetition of the word “one” is illustrative of Amir’s recognition of the importance and potential impact of his decision

• The use of short sentences demonstrated the panic he experienced in making his decision

“Hassan was standing at the blind end of the alley in a defiant stance: fists curled, legs slightly apart. Behind him, sitting on a pile of scrap and rubble, was the blue kite. By key to Baba’s heart”

• This is essentially the turning pint in the novel; Amir’s decision is made clear

• The use of the kite to represent his father’s love allows the reader to recognise the motivation behind his selfish decision

• We are allowed to fully consider the theme of ‘sacrifice’ as Amir sacrifices Hassan in order to win Baba’s favour

“Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba. Was it a fair price? The answer floated to my conscious mind before I could thwart it: he was just a Hazara wasn’t he?”

• Hosseini uses imagery to compare the senseless rape of Hassan to that of an innocent lamb making the incident more demeaning

• From Amir’s perspective, he believes in the possibility that in order to win Baba’s love he must do anything to win the blue kite

• The last question emphasises the discrimination between the Pashtun and the Hazara people that bubbles beneath the surface of Amir’s mind

“Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard. And under the same roof, we spoke out first words. Mine was baba. His was Amir. My name”

• The fact that Hassan and Amir were raised by the same nurse is repeated throughout the novel as if to highlight the strength of the connection between them. We are led to perceive their relationship as similar to that of brothers

• The fact that Hassan’s first word was “Amir” again highlights the extent to which he looked up to Amir and was loyal to him, much in the same way that Amir looks up to Baba

“Then I understood. This was Hassan’s final sacrifice for me. If he’d said no, Baba would have believed him because we all knew Hassan never lied… I would have to explain and I would be revealed for what I really was”

• Hassan’s pure and selfless nature is further highlighted as his true love and unparalleled loyalty for Amir is reinforced

• There is no question that Hassan’s decision to lie for Amir would result in his life altering entirely, however he chooses to put Amir before himself - sacrificing himself once more

“Kabul had become a city of ghosts for me. A city of harelipped ghosts. America was different…”

• Kabul symbolises Amir’s shameful past - the repetition of ‘ghosts’ emphasises how haunted he is by what he did to Hassan

• ‘America was different’ is a simplified statement; he is certain of how different his life is - he recognises the impact of change in setting

“I was afraid the appeal of my life in America would draw be back, that I would wade back into that general, big river and let myself forget, let the things I had learned in these last few days sink to the bottom.”

• The use of extended metaphor describes America as a place to be cleansed from sins - religious connotations

• We learn that because Amir failed to right his wrongdoings as a child, Afghanistan has never truly left him

• He recognises his return to Afghanistan as an opportunity for redemption

“Afghanistan is the land of the Pashtuns. It always will be. We are true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here”

• Assef’s use of word choice “true” and “pure” to represent the PAshtuns contrasts with the derogatory word choice “flat-nose” to describe Hazaras

• This is representative of the ethnic divide that exists between the two groups and the discriminatory conflict that exists in Afghanistan

“There is only one sin. And that is theft… When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right the the truth… I was learning that Baba had been a thief”

• Amir’s memory of his father’s lesson allows him to develop the character of Baba in a new light - as a hypocrite

• He realises that he not only has to atone for his own sins, but for those of his fathers too

• A key turning moral point for the reader also who previously only seen Baba in a noble and moral light

“I looked down at Sohrab… A smile. Lopsided. Hardly there. But there… A smile”

• The repetition of ‘smile’ is relevant here for several reasons: it represents a breakthrough moment in the relationship between Amir and Sohrab in the closing pages of the novel, and the importance of Sohrab’s smile echoes the repetition of Hassan’s smiling face thus offering Amir hope for the future

• Previously, Hassan’s smile was representative of their close friendship; this suggests that at the end of the book his relationship with Sohrab is flourishing

““For you a thousand times over” I heard myself say. Then I turned and ran. It was only a smile, nothing more… I ran… I ran.”

• The conclusion of the novel is emotional while being quietly joyful which acts as a welcome contrast to the previous suffering

• Amir repeats Hassan’s words to Sohrab as he runs the kite for him symbolising his further attempts to redeem himself and repay the debt he owed to Hassan, Sohrab’s father

• The final words of the novel ‘I ran’ are also a repetition from earlier in the novel where Amir ran away from Hassan during his attack and how Amir runs to repay the loyalty of his childhood friend