ANALYTICAL REPORT
TITLE: The Kite Runner
YEAR OF ORGINAL RELEASE: 2003
AUTHOR: Khaled Hosseini
PLOT AND STRUCTURE:
Amir and Hassan are best of friends living a normal and happy life in Kabul before civil war erupted, causing a fracture in their friendship. Their friendship is characterized by their seeming attraction and obsession with kites. Amir is the master kite fighter, while Hassan is contented with picking downed kites, thus earning him the title "kite runner".
The trouble in their friendship starts when a paranoid named Assef sexually molests Hassan, while Amir does nothing even while seeing the gruesome molestation being done to his friend. This event causes so much guilt on the part of Amir, and eventually decides to leave Hassan. But eventually, it would be Hassan and his father that would be leaving Amir. Though Amir never sees Hassan again, he has always felt guilty over his inactions that led to the molestation of his friend.
Amir later on moved to the United States and pursued a career as a novelist. One day, he receives information from a family friend, Rahim Khan, regarding the death of Hassan under the arms of the Taliban group, but left a survivor Sohrab, his son. Rahim wants Amir to immediately go to Afghanistan to rescue Sohrab from the orphanage, but Amir refuses to do it. However, he learns from Rahim that since Hassan's father was impotent, he and Hassan both have the same father after all. Hassan is Amir's half-brother, and Sohrab is his nephew.
Convinced by this sudden twist of events, Amir returns to Kabul to rescue Sohrab, who was already a sex slave of Assef, now a Taliban leader and the person responsible for the sexual molestation of his friend Hassan. Assef eventually gets killed as they fight over the custody of Sohrab. They eventually settle back in America, with Amir finally being able to put the past behind him and freed from the guilt.
Structurally, the novel can be divided into two distinct parts: the first part of the novel introduces Amir and Khan's typical friendship when they were still kids, and just as importantly, their growing fondness over kites. The second section portrays Amir's struggles to fight the guilt he feels over his betrayal over Hassan, and ultimately the amazing twist of fate that allows him to redeem himself over his mistakes over the past and thus live a normal life.
THEMES:
The movie's general theme has something to do with the moral value of a person. Because of Amir's betrayal over his friend Hassan, he seems to have been inconsistent in his efforts to show respect to himself because of the overwhelming guilt he feels. Yet the novel reminds the readers again and again that Amir is a majestic person despite his shortcomings. The novel proves that majesty can definitely be a ground for moral respect.
SYMBOLISM:
Much of the novel's symbolic imagery is centered on the kite. This representation enables the readers to understand the link between the friendship of Amir and Hassan, and most importantly the kite also is the cause of guilt and eventually liberation of Amir. The kite is the main "architecture" or the "bedrock" of the novel, including its ups and downs.
AUTHOR'S WRITING TECHNIQUES
Khaled Hosseini is able to successfully merge his personality beneath the characters of Amir and Hassan which resulted in another noteworthy novel. The author shows no difficulty reprising the role of Amir as the "kite master", who us stronger intellectually than physically, and Hassan as the "kite runner". Also, Hosseini's depiction of Amir battling his guilt is very convincing. Hassan's role, on the other hand, is very powerful as Amir. Although the novel focuses more on Amir's performance, it is the sacrifice of Hassan, a man with both love and fear for Amir that brings the novel a notch higher. Solid support roles are provided by Assef, Ali, Rahim Khan and Sohrab.
The author does a wonderful job in this novel. His decision to write the majority of the novel from the point of view of Amir turns out to be very effective. Through the efficient editing, the viewers are able to gain knowledge on how Amir goes about fighting the overwhelming feeling of guilt while at the same time experiencing how Amir becomes victorious and liberated from this feeling. The author's choices make Amir's condition appear more realistic.
DIALOGUE:
"For you, a thousand times over" – Hassan's favorite quote, and a line everybody remembers from this novel. This is actually in reference to the final scene of the novel, when Amir at long last feels that he is freed from his lifelong feeling of guilt and betrayal, and has hope towards a bright future with Sohrab.
GENRE AND CULTURAL / HISTORICAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The story of Amir and Hassan is set against the chaotic events from the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan through the Soviet invasion, the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan (and eventually the United States) and the Taliban regime.
PERSONAL REACTION:
This novel definitely is one of the best novels of all time, at least for me. The fact that this novel is a national bestseller is just a testament of how brilliant this novel was made. But more importantly, this movie inspires people how to battle back from extreme adversity, like guilt. Also, as the theme indicates, people may be haunted by mistakes committed in the past, but still they deserve to be treated with utmost respect and appreciation, and a chance for redemption.
REFERENCE
www.khaledhosseini.com. Retrieved April 7, 2006
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