That was what I was coming in the bathroom to tell you. I laughed because I saw that, in some hidden nook in the corner of my mind, I’d even been looking forward to this… My body was broken – just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later – but I felt healed. Kites are what finally bring Sohrab and Amir together back in … As a reoccurring symbol in The Kite Runner, the slingshot represents loyalty in the hands of those who use it to defend the innocent. All rights reserved. Amir recognizes his selfishness and feels some guilt for betraying Hassan, but not enough to keep from making a bad situation worse. '', Create an account to start this course today. The kites are banned shortly after the Taliban take over. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.”, LitCharts uses cookies to personalize our services. In the novel, The Kite Runner, Hosseini uses symbols that parallel events in childhood and adulthood to emphasize the themes of consequences of betrayal and loss of friendship. He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time. How Long Does IT Take To Get a PhD in Law? When Hassan returns, 'He had the blue kite in his hands; that was the first thing I saw. After Baba betrayed Ali by sleeping with his wife, Hassan was born. STUDY. In “The Kite Runner”, the kite symbolizes the worthiness Amir desires from his dad, the guilt and self hate Amir has for the rest of his life due to the betrayal of his loyal friend, and the sense of… When he tries to remember something happy in the fuel truck, Amir immediately thinks of his carefree days flying kites with Hassan. Hosseini’s repeated use of the pomegranate tree serves as a useful symbol to understand the evolving relationship of Amir and Hassan. Anyone can earn Please don't picture us on a street corner, whispering to passersby, "C'mon, try reading this as an allegory. That is why he still cringes every time Hassan's name is mentioned. He is a coward who is afraid of being hurt, but when he is completely honest with himself, he realizes that what really led him to run is the fact that 'Nothing was free in this world. The central betrayal comes when Amir watches and does nothing as Hassan, who has always stood up for Amir in the past, gets raped by Assef. He had always known. The Monster in the Lake Kites are obviously an important image in The Kite Runner, and for Amir they act as symbols of both his childhood happiness and his betrayal of Hassan. Finally, during this tournament, Amir wins, sending a blue kite into the sky. Amir spends his childhood trying to figure out why his dad seems to prefer the Hazara servant's son over him. That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. But Baba had found a way to create good out of his remorse. That way, Amir won't have to face his shame by seeing Hassan every day. 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The answer floated to my conscious mind before I could thwart it: He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he? Test. The Kite Runner Themes, Symbols, and Motifs EXAMPLES KITES THE STORY OF ROSTAM AND SOHRAB SOHRAB THE BRASS KNUCKLES Image Attributions:Preparing the Kites . Spell. An important symbol in the novel The Kite Runner is the kites. Flashcards. Kites are the only things that Emir and Baby have in common. But I can take you with me. How Long Does IT Take to Get a PhD in Business? Symbols in literature can represent a multitude ideas and there is no shortage of important symbols in The Kite Runner. For most of the novel, Amir attempts to deal with his guilt by avoiding it. The blue kite in The Kite Runner is the symbol of Baba’s attention. Is better for Hassan to be good again, Rahim Khan had.... Runner betrayal of Hassan hurt than himself in the lake… I was,. Fighting contest for any rips. ' a way to create good out of the novel is finding redemption those! 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