The Kite Runner: Like Father, Like (Actual) Son

In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Baba and Amir seem to come from two different worlds. Baba is tough and strong, and Amir is weak and timid. In actuality though, they are the same: " 'Your father, like you was a tortured soul, Amir jan" (Hosseini, 301). Both Amir and Baba contained secrets that, if revealed, would completely change the world they lived in. Amir's secret is the winter of 1975. Hassan revealed to Ali and Rahim Khan what had happened then. Baba also held a devastating secret: he was Hassan's real father. Ali happened to be infertile and Baba cheated on his wife, giving Ali, Hassan. All those years, Baba held onto that terrible secret, driving a wedge between him and Amir. He took his frustration out on Amir, creating a gap between them. In return, Amir became angry at his father for this gap and created a cycle of anger. In the end, they became angry at themselves too. To the end, they were much the same.

The Kite Runner: Like Father, Like (Adopted) Son

In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir, Hassan, and Sohrab are connected in a more abstract and parallel way. The friendship between Hassan and Amir was, at first, great. Hassan loved Amir greatly while Amir slowly grew to dislike and hate Hassan because of jealousy and hatred for what he (Amir) failed to do.When Hassan left, it was essentially the end of their friendship. Fast forward several years, Amir and Sohrab have a similar relationship except, Amir is like Hassan and Sohrab is like Amir. Amir is given a chance to make up for his past by taking care of Sohrab. He wants to adopt the child and at first, the child agrees. Then, their relationship shatters and almost end completely because Sohrab attempted suicide. Sohrab wishes that " 'you [Amir] had left me in the water' " (Hosseini, 355). Amir decides to not let this relationship end like it did between Hassan and him. Amir does everything he can and eventually Sohrab begins to accept him again, like Amir eventually realized that he still wanted to be with Hassan.

The Kite Runner: The Kite Runner

Parallelism defines the last fourth of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Amir has several encounters that resemble his past incidents, that give him a chance to prove himself. One such encounter, was the last scene involving kites. In the beginning, kite running was a fun pastime for Amir and Hassan. They became stronger friends through this activity until the winter of 1975. That destroyed the relationship they had, and they ended up never seeing each other again. Now, Amir had another chance to redeem himself. He introduces kite flying and kite running to Sohrab, who is reluctant to try it. Amir is able to draw a quick-lopsided smile from him, the first in about a year. With that, Amir pieced his past back together and made things right again. "I ran with the wind blowing in my face, and a smile as wide as the Valley of Panjsher on my lips. I ran" (Hosseini, 371).

The Kite Runner: For Redemption and Honor

In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the central ideas of honor and redemption are prevalent. These themes come to light especially in Amir's encounter with Assef in Wazir Akbar Khan. Assef, to no surprise, has become a high ranking member of the Taliban. He has Sohrab under his control, and Amir seeks to free Sohrab of Assef's control. Amir confronts Assef, paralleling their encounter at the beginning of the novel. Amir and Assef finally have the fights that was supposed to happen when they were children. The fight ends in the same way that Hassan ended the scuffle all those years ago: with a readied slingshot. In the end, Amir was glad that he fought Assef: "For the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace" (Hosseini, 289). Amir's past tormented him until this day. He choose the path to redemption and honor. Rather than running away during the first fight, this fight was ended with a brass ball in Assef''s eye.

The Kite Runner: Afghanistan Life

In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, many aspects of Afghanistan life are mentioned. Many Arabic words are given, along with their English equivalents, in the text. The Koran is alluded to several times with rites, prayers, and passages that must be read of followed  Some Afghan customs are included, such as an Islamic wedding. This immersion of Afghan culture helps to explain and further the plot. Understanding their culture explains many features of the plots, such as General Sahib and honor that Afghans have: "and suddenly everyone is talking nang and namoos" (Hosseini, 179). It explains why so many Pashtuns showed up to Baba's hospitalization and funeral. The numerous allusions to Afghan life help to clarify and advance the plot.

The Kite Runner: Past Guilt

In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir cannot forget his past. The central theme of how the past claws its way out of your repressed memories still holds true. Amir recalls the night in the alley, Hassan, and his unatoned sins. He connects this with his wife's infertility. He believes that "Maybe this was my punishment" (Hosseini, 188). His wife's infertility was retribution for abandoning Hassan. The thought of adoption comes up and sirs some emotions in the family. Soraya wants to adopt. Her father advises against it. Amir decides, for the moment, to not adopt because he believes that he is being denied his fatherhood. It all comes back to his past and his abandonment of Hassan.

The Kite Runner: Foil Relationship

In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Baba and Amir act as foils. Baba is tough and strong. A story of him tells how he wrestled a bear and won. Amir is weak and timid. He writes stories instead of going outside and playing sports. The only part of culture that Baba and Amir share a passion for is the annual Kite Flying Tournament. While they are on the refugee truck, Baba defends the helpless woman and threatens the Russian soldier, while Amir tries to calm his father down and save his life: " 'Baba, sit down please,' I said, tugging at his sleeve. 'I think he really means to shoot you.' Baba slapped my hand away. 'Haven't I taught you anything?' " (Hosseini, 116). This difference between father and son further contributes to Amir's struggle for confidence. In the end, Baba becomes proud of Amir when he marries Soraya. Amir has gained Baba's acceptance, so now he has to renew his friendship with Hassan.

The Kite Runner: Hassan vs Baba

In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir has an inner conflict between Hassan's friendship and Baba's acceptance. Amir always like Hassan, yet he never once called him his friend. Amir was always jealous of Baba's approval of Hassan. Whenever Amir had the choice to choose between being alone with Baba during an outing or bringing Hassan along, he would choose to be alone with Baba. Furthermore, Amir feels guilty for the way he treated Hassan. He feels guilty for treating him like dirt. Now, Hassan and Ali are moving away fro some "unexplained reason". Baba is upset and Amir feels even more guilt. "This was the part where I'd run outside, my bare feet splashing rain water. I'd chase the car, screaming for it to stop. . . . But this was no Hindi movie." (Hosseini, 109). Amir now has Baba to himself, but is unhappy and is still without his acceptance.

The Clashing of Sight and Sound

In Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold, the imagery between sight and sound clash. Sight is described as calm, full, glimmering, and vast. It is described pleasantly and creates a peaceful and relaxing scene. The sound, however, paints a different picture. The sea has a grating roar, perpetual sadness, and an unpleasant harshness. This sea is then compared to a sea of faith and ultimately the world. "Faith/Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore" (Arnold, 892). Faith has become like other seas, becoming harsh and sad. The world is a harsh and "stinko" place. The fourth stanza indicates that love is the only solution to surviving this harsh world. It only appears to be good and awesome because of our eyes, but our ears reveal the truth that this world is harsh.

Love and Laundry

In Sorting Laundry by Elisavietta Ritchie, the speaker makes metaphors comparing her love to doing laundry. The speaker wants to bring this person into her life, like she folds clothes.She goes through the rest of their lives like she folds the rest of the laundry. They have dinner, they share and chase their dreams, and they develop a respectability for themselves. The poem then shifts from a light-heartened and lovely tone to a more sad and depressed tone. They cannot throw away bad habits and features about themselves. They start to fight and grow apart. Eventually, the speaker discovers an affair: "the strangely tailored shirt left by a former lover" (Ritchie, 842). The speaker does not want to left alone and would be forced to fold her own clothes. The mountains of unsorted laundry or the joys and adventures to come would not be able to fill the emptiness that she would feel.