Kite Runner Flashcards
What year did the Taliban gain power?
1996
What does Sohrab symbolise?
The awful things that happened to Afghanistan and its people because of the war
What two contrasting things do kites symbolise in the novel?
- The happiness of childhood
- The betrayal of Hassan and the memory of guilt
Who could the monster in Amir’s dreams represent
- Assef because of what he did to Hassan
- Himself because he betrays Hassan
What could Hassan’s cleft lip symbolise?
The social and economic disparity between Amir and Hassan
What could Assef’s splitting of Amir’s lip symbolise?
That he has finally become like Hassan - brave enough to stand up for himself and others
Why does Hosseini repeat the phrase “a thousand times over”?
To prove that Amir’s redemption arc is complete - he has become like Hassan
The theme of rape runs through the novel, what is it symbolic of?
The continued ‘rape of Afghanistan’ and its people. The ethnic divide, the Soviet invasion and the Taliban rule consistently lead to the mistreatment of the people of Afghanistan
How might ‘nothing that you remember has survived’ (Chapter 21) be symbolic?
It doesn’t just mean the literal places of Afghanistan. It means Hassan too. It means the happiness that was once here
Analyse the use of pathetic fallacy that ends the novel: ‘Because when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I’ve just witnessed the first flake melting.’ (Chapter 25)
The melting of the ice around Sohrab presents us with a hopeful future, also shown through the arrival of spring. In terms of protest writing, it perhaps suggests hope that one day these authoritarian governments will be a distant memory
Fathers and Sons
Redemption
Religion and Ethnicity
Guilt and memory
Storytelling
Fathers and Sons - summary
Novel explores parental relationships that take place in the absence of women. No relationship in the novel is perfect or completely happy, could be symbolic of the unrest that takes place in Afghanistan throughout the novel - the intertwining of the personal and political
Fathers and sons - Baba and Amir
Chapter 2 - “read one of those books of yours.” Amir’s quest for his father’s approval and his attitude towards Amir’s intellectual abilities.
Chapter 3. “I can never tell Baba from the bear.” Reinforces the image that Baba is a strong, powerful man which highlights the pride Amir feels for his father. Amir paints his father as an almost mythological creature, “force of nature.”
Chapter 6. “One paper thin slice of intersection.” Kite running is so important to Amir because it is the one thing him and his father have in common
Chapter 10. Amir’s car sickness on the route out of Kabul contrasts with his father’s display of strength against the Russian soldier. Could symbolise how Amir will never live up to his fathers expectations.
Fathers and sons - Baba and Hassan
Fractured relationship because it was born out of the sin adultery
Chapter 5. “This present will last you forever.” The gift reinforces the love Baba feels for Hassan, the procedure is symbolic of restitution and healing.
Fathers and sons - Rahim Khan and Amir
Khan often acted as a surrogate father to Amir in his childhood - chapter 4, “I sat on my bed and wished Rahim Khan had been my father.”
Chapter 9. “The only gift I didn’t toss on the mound was Rahim Khan’s notebook.” Rahim Khan recognised the one thing that made Amir special, his ability to write
Narrative shifts to Rahim Khan’s in chapter 16, only time this happens. Symbolises his importance to Amir
