The Kite Runner

“For you a thousand times over”

“For you a thousand times over”

• Cyclical structure

• Prominent line representing relationships

“Mr Hurricane”

• Baba’s strength and power

• Destructive

“Ethnic cleansing”

• Taliban’s racism

• Imposed superiority

“A way to be good again”

• Motivation

• Redemption

• Cathartic

“Children aren’t colouring books”

• Rahim Khan’s support

• Amir’s hurt and disappointment

“Nobody would risk it for a couple of Hazaras”

• Racial prejudice

• Brutality of the Taliban

• Unfair living standards

• Lack of humanity and neighbourhood support

“I work always. In Afghanistan I work, in America, I work”

• Baba’s pride

• Comparison between Baba and General Tahari

“I have to deal with the community's perception of our family. People will ask”

• General Taheri’s focus on pride = selfishness

• Status symbol

• Seen as a weakness to adopt

“Load-carrying donkeys”

• Racism

• Both strength and criticism

“Are you satisfied? Do you feel better?”

• Hassan still prioritising Amir despite knowing what he did(n’t) do

• Hierarchy of rich and poor

• Hassan’s innate goodness and respect for Amir

“I had killed his beloved wife”

• Selfishness of Baba for allowing his child to take blame

• Amir did not kill his mother, she died from childbirth as a result but not actively killed her

“I’d been looking forward to this”

• Amir can repent for his sins whilst being beaten by Assef how he deemed it should have been originally

• Cathartic

• Redemption release

“‘I won’t ever get tired of you, Sohrab,’ I said. ‘Not ever. That’s a promise”

• Amir is able to provide goodness in the world

• Appeals for redemption as he does what is right of him

• Last gift from Hassan - providing Amir a child

“This is his home and we’re his family”

• Baba defending Ali and Hassan after Amir questions him from guilt

• Baba humanising Hazaras

“War doesn’t negate decency”

• Baba still being a pillar of integrity and strength even in war

• Standing up for a young woman when crossing the border

• Draws attention to the idea of people losing humanity in war and blaming authority figures as they displace blame

“Maybe Hassan was the price to pay, the lamb I had to slay”

• Rhyming scheme

• Lamb - symbolism

“For me America was a place to bury memories”

• Evidence of regret

• Relevance of location in emotions and escape

• Symbolic of freedom

“Because the past claws its way out”

• Foreshadows events of the past will have effect in the future

• Metaphor of claws suggests violent inner turmoil

“I just watched. Paralysed”

• Reminder of he himself being a child

• Unwilling participant

“A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.”

• Insulting to Amir as his arguable cowardice and meekness is taken for weakness

• Shows the development of Amir and Baba’s relationship

• Shows Baba’s priorities with his son

“Afghans cherish custom but abhor rules”

• Culture differences between Afghanistan and American people

• Explains the traditionalism of Baba as he is representative of Afghan culture ans symbolic of their customs in America

“In Kabul, fighting kites was a little like going to war”

• Ironic as was the day Amir’s internal war started

• Hassan had to fight for survival during this event

“I envied her. Her secret was out”

• Amir years later still choosing to run and be a coward and not take responsibility

• A child’s selfishness is still apparent at this stage in Amir’s life

“There is only one sin. And that is theft”

• Universally recognised as a crime

• Evidence of Baba’s pride and morality

• Baba both following and rejecting the ideologies of religion