ipl-logo

Archetypes In The Kite Runner

454 Words2 Pages

In the historical fiction novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, Amir, the main protagonist, is a Pashtun with traumatic childhood experiences and tense relations with his father. Hassan, who Amir is acquainted with since birth, is a fiercely loyal Hazara. Ethnic conflicts materializes between the two boys due to the fact that the novel takes place in Afghanistan, where Hazaras are vehemently discriminated against. When a tragic event occurs to Hassan, Amir attempts to atone for his sins and to redeem himself. The three key elements that cause the novel to be considered a highly recommended piece of literature is the use of symbolism, archetypes, and situational irony. For instance, symbolism is a literary device authors utilize to represent an underlying, abstract idea. In the novel, a pomegranate tree is used to illustrate Amir and Hassan’s friendship. The two continuously return to the tree, bond, and even carve their names into the trunk; after Hassan’s passing, the tree is withered yet remains standing. Thus, the importance of symbolism for readers is that the technique conveys a deeper meaning. Symbolism can also be used to foreshadow. Readers are enabled to …show more content…

In this case, archetypical characters are used, for Amir is portraying the tragic hero archetype. Throughout the narrative, Amir fluctuates between compassionate and selfish; one instant he offers solace to Hassan when a soldier insults him and the next he utilizes Hassan’s illiteracy to his advantage by supplying him false information. Archetypes are significant for readers to understand, as archetypes are universal patterns that are embedded in the human psyche. Archetypes allow readers to unlock truths about a matter and to gain insight. Readers are more than often familiar with archetypes; therefore, readers are able to connect with the

Show More
Related

  • Kite Runner Redemption

    510 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a moving novel which chronicles the treachery and atonement of its protagonist, Amir. Amir travels to San Francisco, California away from Afghanistan only to be brought back by his web of guilt of shame. Hosseini illustrates the theme of sins and redemption through Amir’s experiences in dealing with Hassan’s rape, the Taliban overtaking, and Amir’s life with Sohrab. In his early years, Amir betrays Hassan by watching him be raped by Assef.

    Read More

  • Loss Of Innocence In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

    388 Words  | 2 Pages

    By experiencing cruelty and the obstacles of ethnic differences, Amir’s closest and most loyal companion, Hassan, must deal with the issues that uncover the negative side of society causing Hassan’s loss of innocence throughout The Kite Runner. The foremost goal of Hosseini describing Hassan’s transformation from an ingenuous child to an individual warped by humanity’s imposed malevolence is to accentuate the character’s loss of innocence. As immorality shatters the purity within his life, Hassan encounters spite that is forced upon him, which contributes to the demise of his childhood naivety; for example, Amir views Hassan being sexually assaulted and threatened due to his ethnicity: “Hassan didn’t struggle. Didn’t even whimper. He moved

    Read More

  • Loyalty And Blood In The Kite Runner

    112 Words  | 1 Pages

    “The Kite Runner" tells a heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between Amir, the son of a wealthy Afghan businessman, and Hassan, the son of his father 's servant. Amir is Sunni; Hassan is Shi 'a. One is born to a privileged class; the other to a loathed minority. One to a father of enormous presence; the other to a crippled man. One is a voracious reader; the other illiterate. This unusually eloquent story is also about the fragile relationship fathers and sons, humans and their gods, men and their countries.

    Read More

  • Amir Selfish In The Kite Runner

    77 Words  | 1 Pages

    “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini is a novel about a young boy and his hazara or servant, Hassan. Amir, the protagonist, is a young boy who craves for his father’s love and attention. His desperation and need or his father’s affection can often alter his values and steer him into making very selfish and unethical decisions. Amir’s selfish acts puts the story as a whole into a whole new perspective in many positive and negative ways.

    Read More

  • Who Is Amir Redeeed In The Kite Runner

    1171 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, is a famous novel that explores the devastating and painfully honest depiction of identity, betrayal, deception and atonement. This novel portrays the journey of a boy escaping from his haunted childhood while trying to seek redemption as an adult. Amir, the protagonist, has an overwhelming need to be punished and to be redeemed from his sin, so that he does not have to cope with this lingering guilt. Amir’s feeling of guilt and his vital need for redemption are always a part of his life as he is growing up. His journey of redemption is both a mental and physical one, including him going back to Kabul, the city of his childhood, to rescue Sohrab, thus redeeming himself for not helping Hassan during

    Read More

  • How Does Amir Create Tension In The Kite Runner

    956 Words  | 4 Pages

    Guilt, fear and anxiety flow through the pages of The Kite Runner smoothly, tainting every word and phrase as they cascade down the pages. This essay explores these three ideas personified through Amir or his immediate surroundings, as they are all both linked and widely represented in the static character, that he represents, since before the novel even began. Ever tormented and unable to break free, Amir personifies the conflict that is between all on earth. Good and bad, black and white, beauty and crudeness. Beginning and end can both be found in what Amir first says.

    Read More

  • Betrayal And Redemption In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

    172 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a bildungsroman about a young privileged Afghan boy who betrays his best friend and servant as a result of cowardice and ingrained social prejudices. Cursed by constant guilt, protagonist Amir flees to the United States where he hopes to bury the tragedies of his childhood. However, in order to regain his honor, Amir must return to the country of his birth to rescue his best friend Hassan’s son in now war-ravaged Afghanistan. The essay explores themes of friendship, betrayal, and redemption using the image of the kite.

    Read More

  • Khaled Hosseini's 'The Kite Runner'

    932 Words  | 4 Pages

    Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner tracks the journey of a young boy named Amir through his adult life, while having Afghanistan’s history set as a backdrop to his story. Throughout the novel Afghanistan’s history plays an important part of the stories development, and allows for the characters to develop in a effortless way. The main character in the story Amir, parallels Afghanistan’s history throughout the course of the novel. Although there are many similarities between the too, their are also many differences, the book also helps develop Amir as the main symbol for Afghan history as well as Afghan beliefs.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Guilt In The Kite Runner

    1175 Words  | 5 Pages

    The author characterizes Amir as self-centered to embody that Pashtuns, the majority ethnic group, treat Hazara as slaves even now. Amir starts to feel guilt and remorse towards Hassan, so he chose redemption as the gateway to the freedom of his guilt. The Kite Runner illustrates a relationship of guilt and betrayal through the relationship of Amir and Hassan. The series of betrayal, guilt, and remorse keeps on being cyclical in The Kite Runner throughout characters of different era and will connect to next generations until Amir chooses redemption, the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil, and decides to break the cycle of contrition and guilt.

    Read More

  • A Thousand Splendid Sunss: The Kite Runner

    585 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel gives many literacy criticisms which the author expresses the characters like Amir and Hassan to have this point of view from having the same interpretation as living in Afghanistan. Since the novel is written in a realistic fiction which shows important events in Afghanistan like the Soviets invaded the country and the rise of the Taliban, gives the potential to Amir and Hassan for the people in Afghanistan and the world to know the unforgettable story like their relationship of getting involved from their behaviors, social class, ethnics, and more ideas. Since the author wrote A Thousand Splendid Suns, it relates to The Kite Runner but it explores and focuses more on the lives of Afghan women. The Kite Runner is more like the

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Redemption Essay

    652 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Kite Runner is a novel written by Khaled Hosseini that revolves around the friendship of Amir, the son of a rich Pashtun, and Hassan, the son of a poor Hazara. The story also focuses on Amir’s guilt after witnessing an act of violence against Hassan that he does nothing about and his path to redemption following this event. Though the novel covers many themes, the most prevalent one is that searching for redemption plays a major role in the rest of one’s life. This is shown multiple times throughout the story, both in the narrative and in literary devices such as irony and metaphors.

    Read More

  • Persecution In The Kite Runner

    1283 Words  | 6 Pages

    Genocide and Persecution Although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that each individual has the right to life, liberty and security, there have been numerous occasions where this has been disregarded. One repeated offense that defies this natural right is the act of genocide. Genocide, or the systematic killing of a people, is an action taken to attempt to mass murder a specific ethnic or national group. Since the 1990’s, the Kurds in Iraq have undergone the Al-Anfal Campaign-

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Redemption Analysis

    827 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the 1970’s, Afghanistan was not the country we now know it as today, many people’s lives were extravagant and wonderful, though still many lived in poverty as well. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, depicts Amir’s life is completely flipped on its head when his friendship with Hassan, his loyal servant, is torn apart when a young Amir witnesses a devastating scene and does nothing to help Hassan. After years of running away from his thoughts and guilt, Amir finally musters up the courage to face his demons and become good again. Along with these themes of guilt, friendship, and race, one more prominent and most important is redemption. Many may believe that full redemption is unattainable, but with the right mindset and motives, it is possible to redeem oneself.

    Read More

  • Culture In The Kite Runner

    488 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “The Kite Runner” a narrative told through the eyes of a young boy, the reader may stray from the true culture and moral beliefs of Afghanistan. Throughout, the narrative the reader needs/should pick up symbols and cultural meanings to fully understand the differences between their culture and culture here in America. Therefore, without understanding the diversity of social class and how the religion relates to the Afghan culture the reader will not fully comprehend “The Kite Runner”. The reader needs to understand the social classes in Afghanistan such as the Hazaras and Pashtuns and how the Hazaras are treated poorly and the Pashtuns overpowering them, which is essential to the overall narrative.

    Read More

  • Conflicted Character In The Kite Runner

    630 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Conflicted Character of an Anti- Hero In literary writing, a protagonist is often the one who captures the hearts of readers through their heroic traits and acts. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, the protagonist, Amir, lacks these conventional heroic traits and more often displays characteristics that line with a villain. Through his acts of betrayal and redemption, he is often found hurting those who are most loyal to him. Despite Amir committing immoral acts against those who care the most about him, he cannot be named a true literary villain as he consequently experiences overwhelming feelings of guilt. As Amir is found as a conflicted character through this becoming of age novel, he finds the weakness and strengths within

    Read More

More about Archetypes In The Kite Runner

Open Document