...Loyalty defines a person’s great devotion to another. These two works of literature integrated this theme of loyalty in both The Kite Runner and Beowulf. Beowulf from the epic poem Beowulf emphasizes the importance of loyalty. Beowulf is extremely loyal, as perceived in his commitment to his king Hygelac, to his entertainer Hrothgar, to his own loyal men, such as Wiglaf, and to his people. In contrast, Hassan from the “Kite Runner” shows loyalty for his friend Amir. It is in Hassan’s letter, years after their separation, that puts Amir on the way to redemption. And so, Hassan saves Amir twice, previously as a boy and later in the future, even after his own death. In both The Kite Runner and Beowulf, the authors express loyalty from friendship and from commitment....
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...The Kite Runner focuses on the relationship between two Afghan boys Amir and Hassan. Amir is a Pashtun and Sunni Muslim, while Hassan is a Hazara and a Shi’a. Despite their ethnic and religious differences, Amir and Hassan grow to be friends, although Amir is troubled by Hassan, and his relationship with his companion, one year his junior, is complex. Amir and Hassan seem to have a "best friend" type relationship. The two boys, Hassan and Amir, are main characters in the book titled, The Kite Runner. The two boys have a relationship that is significantly different compared to most. There are many different facets that distinguish the relationship the boys possess. The boys do write their names in a pomegranate tree as the "sultans of Kabul" (Kite Runner 27) but, their friendship is not strong and it is one sided. Hassan has love for Amir. He loves him like a brother. Hassan is exceedingly loyal to Amir. The relationship between the two boys is emotionally wearing and rather gloomy for the most part. The main reason for their complicated relationship is the fact that Amir is Pashtun, and Hassan is Hazara. The Afghan society places Hassan lower than Amir. Hassan is Amir's servant. The placement of Hassan in the Afghan society disenables Amir from becoming Hassan's true friend. Amir sees Hassan as lower than human. Amir ruins the chance for friendship between himself and Hassan because he is jealous of Hassan, he thinks of Hassan as a lower human, and because Amir possesses such...
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...up for what they believe and for the people they love, their parents abandon them because people would talk and they will lose their respect and their name, the characters were betrayed by...
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...“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime...” (Hosseini). Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner was a book that truly helped me develop intellectually and caused me to feel more “mentally alive” through changing my thought process, and opening my eyes to different ways of thinking. The first time I read Hosseini's The Kite Runner, I was only in the sixth grade. Although I did not know it at the time, this book would have a great impact on my life. Growing up in a small town in Minnesota, I had not been exposed to many other cultures or ways of life. I remember being shocked that there was such a great divide in other countries between religion and economic status....
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...The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a beautifully written story about the life of one Afghani boy's struggle from riches to rags and finding the truth about people in general. The story is about two boys growing up in pre- Soviet and Taliban Afghanistan. Amir is a Sunni or the privileged class; Hassan is Shi'a, which is the lowest minority. Even still the two boys, grow up together as brothers. Until one horrible incident changes everything. The Kite Runner is a story about love, guilt, truth, and redemption. Amir grows up as the only son of a WEALTHY MAN in Kabul where life is rich and full of possibilities prior to the Soviet invasion. His father Baba is disappointed in the bookish, non-athletic child he must raise. Amirs' playmate Hassan, a Hazara servant seems to have more of Baba's respect than Amir. Baba's love for Hassan and his disappointment in his own son drive Amir to taunt and abandon Hassan, even though he loves him more deeply than even he himself knows. Amir, burdened by jealousy, can't come to his friend's aid when he brutally raped, not even on the most glorious day of their childhood when together they claim the kite-fighting title. When the Russian army invades, Amir and his father flee to the United States. Amir grows up poor and in a different land, but with the same Afghanistan culture. He marries, goes to college, while wondering what happened to his childhood friend, the one he betrayed. As time marches on, Amir loses his father and is summoned to Pakistan...
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...Khaled Hosseini uses the kite symbol in The Kite Runner as a description of Amir and Baba’s relationship, Amir’s guilt, and Amir’s rejuvenation. The kite is one of the only things that connect Baba and Amir. Amir is not good at the things most children in Afghanistan are, like soccer, and he exceeds in school. Amir always feels as though Baba never respected or thought he is a good son. Amir feels guilty when he thinks about kite flying. It reminds him of his childhood memories with Hassan, the friend he betrayes for a kite, letting him get raped. After this, his recollections drift to betrayal and guilt. Rahim Khan, a lifelong friend, Baba and Amir are connected through the flying of kites. Kite flying is an essential aspect of Afghani culture. Amir and Baba both have extensive experience with flying kites. Amir says that...
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...The Kite Runner Final Essay AG Novel A literary work conveys a compelling story specific to its time and place. Additionally, a memorable one explores issues and themes (universal truths) that are important, and timeless, for all readers. Keep this in mind as you think about each essay prompt. A convincing essay will include direct citations from the novel, commentary and use of scholarly analysis. Visit the Gale Digital Library, accessible from the Venture website (password: venture) to search for support. Additionally, use MLA format for your essay and utilize correct citations. Questions taken, in part, from the Khaled Hosseini Foundation curriculum. 1. Writer and human rights activist Isabel Allende writes of The Kite Runner: “This is one of those unforgettable stories that stays with you for years. All the great themes of literature and of life are the fabric of this extraordinary novel: love, honor, guilt, fear, redemption.” Which of these major themes resonates the most with you? Choose one to focus on and show how author Khaled Hosseini communicates this universal truth through characters, plot development and use of symbols. 2. In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. In a wellorganized essay, explain how a violent scene in The Kite Runner contributes to the meaning of the complete work. Apply the concept of an extended metaphor to discuss the political and social portrait of Afghanistan. 3. Leo Tolstoy once wrote...
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...Kite Runner: Redemption Amir’s Atonement When you do wrong, you are plagued with guilt. Guilt can be sinful; it stains your conscience and ruins your morals. Although these actions are wrongful, they can be atoned to through sacrifice or purification. People find piece of mind in doing something that makes up for the cause of guilt and this is especially eminent in Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner. Although there are many ways to advocate to wrongful doing, through the main character Amir’s actions sacrifice was proven to be the most liberating act. Throughout the book, the main character, Amir, seeks redemption for his “…past of unatoned sins” (Hosseini, p. 1). These feelings of guilt arise at the beginning of his life, when his mother, Baba’s love, dies giving birth to him. From that point on, Amir strives to redeem himself because he feels he is responsible for her death: “Because truth of it was, I always felt like Baba hated me a little. And why not? After all, I had killed his beloved wife, his beautiful princess, hadn’t I?” (p.20). It is this guilt that Amir carries throughout most of his childhood and for which he tries to atone to with Baba’s love and affection: “Maybe he’d call me Amir Jan like Rahim Khan did. And maybe, just maybe, I would finally be pardoned for killing my mother” (p. 60). Amir competes against Hassan for the approval...
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...in one's lifetime end up being the same people who become disloyal and betray those whom they love. This event leads to two paths, one in which a person tries anything to redeem themselves and another where selfishness takes over. Likewise, Macbeth by William Shakespeare and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini use the main characters from their works to demonstrate that sometimes without a second thought, betrayal takes place. They also show how some characters use betrayal to their advantage while others redeem themselves, as well, how even those who stay loyal end up having to pay the same price. At the end however, how people react to the guilt that they encounter in the past is what makes them who they are in the future. Macbeth and The Kite Runner both show how the main characters betray those who respect as well as trust them. Macbeth's eyes are blinded by the power of the throne and he will do anything just to obtain it. Since no one expects Macbeth to betray anyone close to him, he takes this as an advantage and says to himself “a false face must hide what a false heart doth know.”(I, vii, 94-95) With this in mind, it is evident that Macbeth betrays Duncan, Banquo and the whole of Scotland. He uses his innocence and trust that he gained from others to hide what his true intentions are and ends up betraying many people just for the good of himself. Similarly, in The Kite Runner the main character Amir is troubled by the guilt that builds inside of him after he betrays...
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...The author of ‘The Kite Runner' Hosseini employs a variety of symbols and motifs to create a deeper meaning throughout the book. Symbolism is the practice of representing a theme or idea by using symbols to create a deeper meaning, this is evident with cleft lip which is a symbol of Amir's and Hassan's social disparity, kites a symbol of happiness and guilt and the slingshot which a direct reference to David and Goliath. While irony is a motif because it is a recurring theme presented throughout the novel. The story revolves around two loyal friends Amir and Hassan, who are desperate to win the local kite flying competition. But both boys’ lives change for good that same afternoon when something devastating happens to Hassan. After the Russians invade, Amir and his father are forced to flee to America and amidst the turmoil Amir’s knows he will return to Afghanistan to redeem himself. Hosseini uses the cleft lip as a symbol to create a deeper meaning in the Kite Runner because it symbolizes Hassan’s status in society. This is evident because Amir and...
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...immorality. He presents Amir and Hassan as representatives of the Afghan children through these characters Hosseini identifies thousands of Afghan children’s terrible sufferings. Amir, the narrator of The Kite Runner, is the son of a rich businessperson in Kabul. He is a Poshtun boy as well as Sunni Muslim and his best friend is of their servant’s son Hassan who is a Hazara from an ethnic minority. The novel reveals the cruelty and violence prevalent in the society against the weaker. The sadistic neighborhood bully Assef who raped Hassan because he was born in the Hazara community while Amir was present behind the wall but he failed to save Hassan because he was afraid of getting hurt. Actually, Amir behaved cowardly. Having revealed the inhuman activity Khaled Hosseini tries to pick up the grassroots power combat of Afghans to light. Amir did it because the history and traditional beliefs were more important than friendship. Amir says, “I actually aspired to cowardice, because the real reason I was running, was that Asseff was right. Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay to win Baba. Was it a fair price? The answer floated to my conscious mind before I could thwart it: He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?”(The kite runner 77) Amir who is a motherless young boy did it because he wants to win the heart of his father also that...
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...THE POWER OF LOVE Life is beautiful but not always easy since it contains problems and challenges that are placed in order for us to face them with courage. We are usually caught up in these situations through ambition or may not understand the value of what we’re given. Humans were made for a purpose and to experience the most powerful feeling in this world. The best of creatures in absolute terms is our Prophet Muhammad (SAWS), who set a perfect example of showing love and affection toward every other creation in this world. The Kite Runner is a complicated maze from beginning to end, therefore showing multiple examples of various types of love. This ideology has a starting point to it for everyone and in The Kite Runner this began from the interaction between Amir and Baba. This is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. 1 1 The first phase of love would be the on the basis of the parent to child relationship and this is the purest example of love where one must be the observable attention for another. Characters in The Kite Runner revolve around this belief of paternal love and they all have expectations of their surroundings. Amir is the sole character who experiences this phase of love at its peak. He has a very mystifying relationship with Baba where he feels the love is not complete. Amir believes that his father rarely shows affection toward him and that Hassan is being replaced for Amir at times. Amir experienced this with...
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...Book Review of ‘The Kite Runner’ “For you, a thousand times over”, this sentence said by Hassan to Amir has been on my mind since I finished reading the novel. The story took place in the 70s in Afghanistan. Amir was a child of a wealthy family and Hassan was the son of Amir family`s servant, Ali. They played and grew up together; the strong friendship bonded them like brothers. As can be seen from the novel and the sentence at the beginning, Hassan was willing to do anything for Amir whenever Amir encountered any troubles. Nevertheless, Amir made a terrible mistake when he watched and stood by, while Hassan was raped by Assef after winning the unprecedented grand kite game. In order to drive Hassan out of the house, Amir put his watch under Hassan`s pillow, implying that Hassan had stolen it. When Russia invaded Afghanistan, Amir left his hometown with his father and fled to Pakistan. In 1988, Amir and his family/father had a nice life when Amir graduated, having attended a public college in California. Afterwards Amir became a famous novelist. However, Amir suffered agonies of remorse as he could not forgive himself for his unatoned sin for betraying Hassan. At the end, Amir started his journey of redemption and came back to his home town and saved Sohrab (son of Hassan) from the Taliban after he received a phone call from Rahim Khan. The characters of this novel feel real because it is a biography of the author. The destiny of Hassan was miserable, not only was he born...
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...Khaled Hosseini – Biography Khaled Hosseini is an American novelist and physician of Afghan origin. He has lived in the United States since he was fifteen years old and is an American citizen. His 2003 debut novel, The Kite Runner, was an international bestseller, selling more than 12 million copies worldwide.[2] His second, A Thousand Splendid Suns, was released on May 22, 2007.[3] In 2008, the book was the bestselling novel in Britain (as of April 11, 2008), with more than 700,000 copies sold.[4] Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. His father was a diplomat with the Afghan Foreign Ministry and his mother taught Farsi and History at a large high school in Kabul. In 1970, Hosseini and his family moved to Iran where his father worked for the Embassy of Afghanistan in Tehran. In 1973, Hosseini's family returned to Kabul, and Hosseini's youngest brother was born in July of that year. In 1976, the Afghan Foreign Ministry relocated the Hosseini family to Paris. They were ready to return to Kabul in 1980, but by then Afghanistan had already witnessed a bloody communist coup and the invasion of the Soviet army. The Hosseinis sought and were granted political asylum in the United States. In September of 1980, Hosseini's family moved to San Jose, California. Hosseini graduated from high school in 1984 and enrolled at Santa Clara University where he earned a bachelor's degree in Biology in 1988. The following year, he entered the University of California-San Diego's...
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...Research Paper on “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini Introduction: The international best-selling novel, The Kite Runner was first published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, written by the Afghan-born American novelist and physician, Khaled Hosseini. He was born into a Shia family in Kabul, and later on in his life when the family moved to Paris because of his father’s occupation, Hosseini’s family was unable to return to Kabul due to the bloody Saur Revolution; hence they had to seek political asylum in the United States. Being as young as he was, roughly 11 years of age, the actions of his home country must have left an impression on him. It is such a great read because among many other themes such as betrayal, redemption, bullying, inhumanities of revolution, discrimination, loyalty, hypocrisy, horrors of rapes etc. the main focus of this story is of a man who is haunted by his past demons. We see in some of the opening lines of the novel, “I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975… 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. Because the past claws its way out.” These opening lines gets the ball rolling on what is to come and to be expected from the story, of possibly an aged man who is looking back at the past and justifying how it has made him the way that he is to date. The setting vividly takes place in the disorderly country of Kabul, Afghanistan...
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