Kite Runner Assignment

Topics-
Role of Women: The women mentioned in this book are looked at like they are good for nothing and unworthy.

Betrayal: Amir betrays hassan by always tricking him and asking him hard questions, never acting like a real friend, and not helping him in the alley that night.

Brothers: Though we find out in the end that Hassan and Amir and actually brothers, through the whole book it seemed as though they were brothers anyway.

Guilt: Amir struggles with the hidden guilt of not helping Hassan when he needed him and sometimes he wished people did know soo he wouldn't have to hide it anymore.

Redemption: Amir finally starts to feel a little redemption at the end when he is able to save Sohrab and finally do something for Hassan that a real friend, or brother would do.

Exodus/Journey: Amir does leave Afghanistan with his father and part of his journey is in America and he does find out a lot about his family after they are gone.

Fathers and Sons: We find out towards the end, why Baba always treated Hassan like a son because he really was, sometimes even better than he treated Amir.

Class Distinction: In this book: where you live, what your job was, what religion you were, and what your culture was influenced very much what your class distinction was.

Style-
Parallelism:

Character Foils: Amir and Hassan are alike and different in many ways. They both like to do the same things, they live nearby each other, and their fathers are friends. They are also different because Hassan and his father work for Amir and his father and Hassan exibits loyalty and bravery, traits which take Amir a while to acquire.
Ali and Baba also could be compared. They are both hard workers and care for their sons, but Ali is more patient and understanding than Baba.

Foreshadowing: The author uses foreshadowing in the very first chapter to let readers know that there are somethings in the narrators past that are painful, but he will have to face them to find redemption and finally learn loyalty.

Flashback: Amir has flashbacks a couple times of him and Hassan and of the night in the alley. These will always haunt Amir because of the guilt he feels and what he owes to Hassan.

Positive and Negative Aspects of Writing: Amir loves to write and read stories and Hassan loved to hear his stories, but Baba on the other hand wasn't so fond of Amir's stories and his habit of reading all the time.

Settings-
Amir was Pashtun and Hassan was Hazara(culture), this demonstrates some of the cultural differences between the people in Afghanistan and sometimes this was why Amir treated Hassan the way he did. Also the Sunni Muslims and the Shi'a Muslims(religion), Prestige and honor, the differences in where Baba and Amir lived and where Ali and Hassan lived, and the differences in their attitudes.

Minor Characters-
Hassan- taught Amir about friendship and loyalty.
Assef- taught both Amir and Hassan about the bad things of the world and that everything was not always going to turn out good.
Rahim Khan- taught Amir the things that Baba couldn't.
Soraya- teaches Amir and helps him and helps him through tough situations.
Sohrab- a way that Amir can finally help Hassan and be a real friend.

Symbols-
Pomegranate tree- Amir and Hassan carve their names in it and this shows their bond, but when amir visits it later and there are no pomegranates this shows their separation.
Slingshot- both Hassan and his son use the slingshot on Assef to show that they will stand up for themselves, this also connects Hassan and Sohrab.
Kite Running- first represents what Hassan would do after Amir fights the kites, bu tin the end Amir becomes the kite runner for Hassan's son.
Reading/Storytelling- Hassan loved to hear Amir's stories and this symbolized how Hassan looked up to and believed in Amir even when Amir didn't stand up for him.