HOST:
Welcome to the show Khaled. Before we begin the interview proper I would like the listeners to hear an excerpt from the novel. When it is finished, could you explain how this scene sets up some of the characters and themes of the novel?
KHALED:
Good morning and thank you. These particular few pages of my novel, The Kite Runner, hold some of the most important parts regarding character and theme set up. One of the first apparent themes is the book is the tension and delicate relationship that exists between father and son. In the excerpt I show the reader that Baba is unimpressed with Amir. He feels that there is something wrong with Amir; he infers that Amir is a coward. This is revealed when Amir overhears the conversation between Rahim Khan and Baba. They are discussing Baba’s disillusion with his son, Baba says “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who won’t stand up to anything.” At this moment Baba is keeping his true feelings hidden, which only serves to heighten Amir’s feeling of inadequacy. This theme runs throughout the book and causes a lot of complication.
The reader also learns of the Loyalty and Devotion to Hassan to Amir. This is shown by Baba’s comment, “You know what always happens when the neighbourhood boys …show more content…
Amir’s journey through guilt, atonement and finally redemption shows the reader a prevalent idea, Amir’s strength of character. He commits terrible sins against his friend and half-brother, Hassan. The story of what Amir does and how he seeks and finds atonement is a lesson for everyone who wants to find a way to be good again. Amir’s journey is very difficult, both emotionally and physically, yet he manages to see it through and achieves his objective. The reader can relate to Amir’s experience because he is ‘everyman’. What he experiences, the reader con relate to either specifically or