Literature Analysis

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

1. The novel takes place in Kabul and is about a boy named Amir and his friend who he grew up with, Hassan. Amir feels as though his wise father Baba prefers Hassan over him. He thinks his father blames him for his mother dying in delivery. Amir frames Hassan as a thief and loses his friend. Amir and his father eventually escape to Pakistan due to the Russians invading. Ten years later they are living in California and Amir graduates college, making his father proud. Years later, Amir gets married and his father dies. His old friend Hassan still lives in Kabul and he needs help finding his son. Amir,out of guilt from his childhood, travels there to provide assistance and redeems his relationship he once had with Hassan.

2. The central theme in this novel is redemption. Throughout the novel Amir is searching for the redemption of his father for his mothers death. Also he wants to redeem himself in Hassan's eyes.

3. The novel has a tone which Amir expresses through the theme of redemption. He is constantly expressing a confessional tone in order to gain the acceptance from his father and mostly his long lost friend Hassan.

4. Symbolism was a primary literary element presented in the novel. The pomegranate tree represents Amir and Hassan's friendship and the quality of their friendship. In the beginning of the novel when the two boys are best of friends, the tree is lively and full of pomegranates. Near the end of the novel, when Amir returns to Kabul, the tree is shriveled and nearly dead.