The Kite Runner Symbolism Essay

One of the primary symbols in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner are kites. What kites symbolize for the protagonist changes throughout the book and has multiple meanings at once. At the start of the novel kites symbolize good things for Amir, but it drastically changes after the winter of 1975, where the kite becomes a reminder of guilt and shame. In the concluding pages, the kite returns to a positive symbol. In Amir’s childhood the kite symbolizes a few things; it symbolizes some of the best times of his life, the key to Baba’s heart and Hassan’s loyalty. The kite embodies the best times of Amir’s life because it is the first thing that pops into Amir’s head when he tries to think of a happy thought. It reminds him of the Kabul that he grew up
He is defiant enough on this point for Amir that he is abused for it. After Amir watches Hassan get raped for the kite and does not do anything to stop it, the kite becomes a reminder of his betrayal of Hassan and his guilt for not helping Hassan. Though there are multiple times after Hassan’s rape that Amir wrongs Hassan, that instant is the beginning point and leads to the others. Whenever Amir thinks of kites or Hassan, that is the poignant memory that jumps out at him. At the end of The Kite Runner, the kite becomes a symbol of hope for Sohrab and Amir as well as redemption for Amir. The kite Amir buys for Sohrab is the only thing that coaxes him to talk or have an interest in anything. The kite therefore appears as hope to Amir and Soraya for Sohrab that he might find purpose and meaning in life. It also symbolizes redemption for Amir as he teaches Sohrab to fight kites and then starts to run the last kite for Sohrab as Hassan did for him. Amir is trying to make it up to Hassan and Sohrab, for betraying both of them. Amir tells Sohrab “for you a thousand times over,” just as Hassan said to