Literature Analysis Questions

THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini

1. The Kite Runner is a story about making mistakes, and redemption. As a child, Amir made some pretty big mistakes, especially a big one towards his best friend, and as we later find out, blood brother, Hassan. The story tells of Amir's struggle with coming to terms that, everything he did, is over now and that he cannot change the past, but he can try to make up for it in his future. The Kite Runner is the story of Amir going back to his homeland to find and save his nephew Sohrab, and ammend the sins he commited against his late brother.

2. The theme of the novel can be summed up by a character by the name of, Rahim Khan. "There is a way to be good again."

3. The tone of The Kite Runner is ironic, emotional, and cruel.
                  -irony, because of things like, Assef actually losing an eye ( "If you make a move, they'll have to change your nickname from Assef 'The Ear Eater' to'One-Eyed Assef,' because I have this rock pointed straight at your left eye." pg 42) Baba scolding Amir for not treating Hassan correctly ("But in none of his did Baba ever refer to Ali as a friend" pg 25) and Amir getting a scar on his lip, just like his little brother Hassan. ("The impact had cut your lip in two, he had said, clean down the middle. Clean down the middle. Like a harelip." pg 297)
                  -emotional because of storyline where Amir wants to make amends for hurting Hassan like he did and taking in his son Sohrab. ("Sohrab, I can't give you your old life back, I wish to God I could. But I can take you with me. That was what I was coming in the bathroom to tell you. You have a visa to go to America, to live with me and my wife. It's true. I promise." pg 355)
                  -cruel, because of the raw scenes that are included, such as the rape scene. "Asself knelt behind Hassan, put his hands on Hassan's hips and lifted his bare buttocks. He kept one hand on Hassan's back and undid his own belt buckle with his free hand. He unzipped his jeans. Dropped his underwear. He positioned himself behind Hassan. Hassan didn't struggle. Didn't even whimper. He moved his head slightly and I caught a glimpse of his face. Saw the recognition in it. It was a look I've seen before. It was the look of the lamb." pg 76)

4.Symbolysim- pomergrante tree: the tree thrived with the friendship of Hassan and Amir, and once their friendship started deterioating, so did the tree. ( "There was a pomergranate tree near the entrance to the cemetery. One summer day, I used one of Ali's kitchen knives to carve our names in it: 'Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul.' Those words made it formal: the tree was ours." pg 27)

Foreshawdoing to open up the book ( "I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975." pg 1)

Imagery- to describe the kite store ( "But he was also the city's most famous kite maker, working out of a tiny hovel on Jadeh Maywand,  the crowded street south of the muddy banks of the Kabul River. I remember you had to couch to enter the prison cell-sized store, and then had to lift a trap door to creep down a set of wooden stepsto the dank basement where Safio stored his coveted kites." pg 51)