The Kite Runner Themes

History of Afghanistan-

“Never mind that to me, the face of Afghanistan is that of a boy with a thin-boned frame, a shaved head, and low-set ears, a boy with a Chinese doll face perpetually lit by a harelipped smile. Never mind any of those things. Because history isn’t easy to overcome. Neither is religion. In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi’a, and nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing.”

–pg. 27

“Your father was a man torn between two halves, Rahim Khan had said in his letter. I had been the entitled half, the society-approved, legitimate half, the unwitting embodiment of Baba’s guilt. I looked at Hassan, showing those two missing front teeth, sunlight slanting on his face. Baba’s other half. The unentitled, unprivileged half. The half who had inherited what had been pure and noble in Baba. The half that... Baba had thought of as his true son.”

-pg. 378

(Also relates to influence of Baba's past)

Dreams-

“I let myself dream: I imagined conversation and laughter over dinner instead of silence broken only by the clinking of silverware and the occasional grunt. I envisioned us taking a Friday drive in Baba’s car to Paghman, stopping on the way at Ghargha Lake for some fried trout and potatoes. We’d go to the zoo to see Marjan the lion, and maybe Baba wouldn’t yawn and steal looks at his wristwatch all the time. Maybe Baba would even read one of my stories.”

–pg. 60

Sohrab

“Perspective was a luxury when your head was constantly buzzing with a swarm of demons.”

–pg. 375

"'You're not dirty, and you're not full of sin.' I touched his arm again and he drew away. I reached again, gently, and pulled him towards me. 'I won't hurt you, I promise." He resisted a little."

-pg. 335, Amir

Hassan rape scene-

"Sohrab's silence wasn't self-imposed silence of those with convictions, of protestors who seek to speak their cause by not speaking at all. It was the silence of one who has taken cover in a dark place, curled up all the edges and tucked them under... He walked like he was afraid to leave behind footprints. He moved as if not to stir the air around him."

-pg. 381

"It was a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb."

-pg. 81

Dream-

First memory-

"Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Soraya watching us from the tent...Unlike me, she'd gradually abandoned her attempts at engaging him. The unanswered questions, the blank stares, the silence, it was all too painful."

-pg. 387

"They say there is a brotherhood between people who've fed from the same breast. Did you know that?"

-pg. 78

I am lost in a snowstorm... I take the hand and suddenly the snow is gone. We're standing in a field of apple green grass with soft wisps of clouds drifting above. I look up and see the clear sky is filling with kites, green, yellow, red, orange." -pg. 79

Second memory-

(Escapism)

"The old man takes Hassan's hand and puts the rupia back in Hassan's palm."

-pg. 79

Third memory-

Stories-

“But despite his illiteracy, or maybe because of it, Hassan was drawn to the mystery of words, seduced by a secret world forbidden to him."

-pg. 30

"Just a second before he slices the throat in one expert motion, I see the sheep's eyes. It is the look that will haunt my dreams for weeks. I don't know why I watch this yearly ritual in our backyard; my nightmares persist long after the bloodstains on the grass have faded. But I always watch." -pg. 82

“The previous year, Baba had surprised Hassan with a leather cowboy hat just like the one Clint Eastwood wore in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly—which had unseated The Magnificent Seven as our favourite Western. That whole winter, Hassan and I took turns wearing the hat, and belted out the film’s famous music as we climbed mounds of snow and shot each other dead.”

–pg. 48

"I read him poems and stories, sometimes riddles… We sat for hours under that tree, sat there until the sun faded in the west, and still Hassan insisted we had enough daylight for one more story, one more chapter.”

–pg. 30

Influence of the Past Quotes-

Amir

"Come. There is a way to be good again."

-Rahim Khan, pg. 202

Memory Quotes-

Baba and Hassan-

“I became what I am today at the age of twelve...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 always claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.”

–pg. 1

Escapism Quotes-

Kites-

“And besides, one time at Ghargha Lake, Hassan and I were skimming some stones and Hassan made his stone skip eight times. The most I managed was five. Baba was there, watching, and he patted Hassan on the back. Even put his arm around his shoulder.”

–pg. 15

“I looked up at those twin kites. I thought of Hassan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul. I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today.”

–pg. 2

“That was the thing about kite flying: Your mind drifted with the kite.” –pg. 67

“A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.”

–pg. 24, Baba

“I loved wintertime in Kabul... mostly because, as the trees froze and ice sheathed the roads, the chill between Baba and me thawed a little. And the reason for that was the kites. Baba and I lived in the same house, but in different spheres of existence. Kites were the one paper-thin slice of intersection between those spheres.”

–pg 52

“I cried all the way back home. I remember how Baba’s hands clenched around the steering wheel. Clenched and unclenched. Mostly, I will never forget Baba’s valiant efforts to conceal the disgusted look on his face as he drove in silence.”

–pg. 23

“It was only a smile, nothing more...But I’ll take it with open arms. Because when the spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the first flake melting. I ran. A grown man running with a swarm of screaming children. But I didn’t care. I ran with the wind blowing in my face, and a smile as wide as the Valley of Panjsher on my lips.”

–pg. 391

The Kite Runner Themes

The Kite Runner

By: Khaled Hosseini

Escapism, Memory, and Influence of the Past

Influence of the Past-

Escapism-

• could refer to the history of Afghanistan

What is escapism?

• events in the characters' pasts that influence their decisions and continue to direct their live
• most seen through the characters of Amir and Sohrab

• escapism: the tendency to seek distraction and relief from reality, especially in the arts or through fantasy. -The Canadian Oxford Dictionary
• people of Afghanistan have a lot to want to escape from

Examples-

• Amir's writing

• At the beginning of the novel, Amir tells the story after experiencing everything and learning many lessons along the way

• dreams and fantasies

• Flying kites

• Sohrab has difficulties adjusting to life in America and living with strangers after everything he's seen and experienced

• Amir and Hassan's love for stories and literature (passed down to Sohrab)

Memory-

• Amir uses memories to tell the story, jumps timelines and generations (Baba's life and Rahim Khan's)
• flashbacks and memories fill in gaps or give information to readers
• Amir picks most important or most memorable times in his past or childhood

Examples-

• Baba, Ali and Rahim Khan back stories
• alley scene flashbacks
• hurtful memories of Baba and Hassan