The Kite Runner Symbolism

Introduction The kite is an important symbol in the novel; it symbolizes the friendship between Hassan and Amir. They are both interested in flying and running kites. Together, Hassan and Amir are a perfect team as each is an expert in fighting kites: “Every kite fighter has an assistant-in my case, Hassan-who held up the spool and fed the line”( Hosseini, 6,54), “But Hassan was by far the greatest kite runner I'd ever seen”( Hosseini, 6,56). For many people to launch a kite is not easy. A windy day could be a perfect day for those to practice launching kites. Amir and Hassan grow up together. In fact, they are fed from the same breast. That is the wind that wings up their kite of friendship. Their friendship is beautiful and pure like the kite beautifully flies in the sky of Kabul. In Kabul, there is a major event that takes place every winter, kite fighting: “Every winter, districts in Kabul held a kite-fighting tournament.”( Hosseini, 6,52).

Analysis

Life is about love, and love is about you. Love is a major theme in The Kite Runner. Throughout the novel, Khaled Hosseini, the author, demonstrates the complexity of various types of love and the vastness of the emotion. In the novel, many symbols present these different types of love. Symbolism is the practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships (Answer).

First of all, the kite is a major symbol in the novel; it symbolizes the friendship between the two boys and also the intricate relationship between Baba and Amir. Furthermore, the slingshot, the scar and Hassan's son-Sohrab- are symbolic of Amir and Hassan's brotherhood. Beside the kite, the pomegranate tree is a significant symbol of the friendship between the two boys. Finally, the car and the wedding represent the greatness of paternal love. The author, Khaled Hosseini successfully uses the symbolism to reveal the theme of love in the novel, The Kite Runner.

The three symbols that represent Amir and Hassan's brotherhood are the slingshot, the scar and Hassan's son, Sohrab. In Afghanistan, the slingshot is the common weapon of every kid. Hassan uses the slingshot to defend Amir in an alley when they are attacked by Amir's friends: “I turned came face to face with Hassan's slingshot... Hassan held the slingshot pointed directly at Assef's face”(5,45). It shows Hassan's selfless love and his devotion towards his master, Amir. Before the tournament, on Hassan's birthday, Baba arranges a plastic surgeon, whose job is: “to fix things on people's bodies. Sometimes their faces”( Hosseini, 5,49), for Hassan to fix his harelip. The following winter, Hassan's harelip turns out to be a faint scar; that was the time he stops smiling. In the end, after a fight Amir has with Assef in his journey finding Sohrab, Amir now has a scar on his upper lip which looks like his half brother, thus it represents their brotherhood. Sohrab symbolizes ...