Thorough analysis of a variety of quotes from The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Includes complete examination of character arcs, the treatment of women in the novel, as well as an examination of thematic ideas that perpetuate itself throughout the book.
Kite Runner
Key Quotes
Personal is Political
Hassan has a ‘face like a Chinese doll’ -> personal description here matches political of the heritage of
the Hazaras.
o Hassan has ‘a cleft lip, just left of midline where the Chinese doll maker’s instrument may have
slipped.’
Hassan was a mistake in the eyes of Amir.
‘Hassan never denied me anything.’
o Exploration of Amir’s privilege as a microcosm of the Hazara-Pashtun dynamic.
o ‘As mad as someone as gentle as Ali could get.’
Implies Hazaras are inherently gentle, or that Ali has been socially conditioned to be
subservient.
o ‘Hassan never told on me.’
The two characters we’ve been introduced two are inherently subservient to the men.
o ‘Never told that the mirror, like shooting walnuts at the neighbour’s dog, was always my idea.’
Pashtuns said to have crushed the Hazaras with ‘” unspeakable violence.”’
o After showing the book to the teacher, ‘he wrinkled his nose’ at the word ‘Shi’a.’
o Said they were good at ‘” passing themselves as martyrs.”’
Hosseini makes comment on how ingrained these social prejudices have become in
society.
The teacher becomes a symbol of institutionalised racism within society, helping
characterise the pace of the story and almost justify why Amir is as he is.
Where Amir lived in relative wealth with a ‘sprawling house of marble floors and wide windows,’
Hassan lived in a ‘mud hut.’
o ‘Gold-stitched tapestries’ that ‘Baba had bought in Calcutta.’ = wealth and affluence.
Contrasts heavily with Hassan’s ‘two mattresses on opposite sides of the room.’
Microcosm of the wealth disparity of the two ethnic groups, indicative of a visible
attempt to keep Hazaras down in society economically.
‘Never mind that we taught each other to ride a bicycle with no hands, or to build a fully functional
homemade camera.’
o ‘Never mind that we spent entire winters flying kites, running kites.’
o Motif of the kite used to contrast of their friendship with the harsh class divide.
They may be friends, nay brothers, but they live in denial (social conditioning).
o ‘I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara […] nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing.’
Use of retrospective narration brings bitter tone here – regret?
Fatalistic = sets up Amir’s journey from bigoted, naïve child to redeemed man.
WE are Hassan – flawed characters, so we can relate to his youth.
o Older Amir recognises his privilege – ‘dragged myself out of bed and lumbered to the bathroom’
contrasts with Hassan who ‘washed up, prayed the morning namaz […] and prepared my
breakfast.’
o Amir ate and ‘complained about homework’ while Hassan ‘packed my books and pencils.’
Hassan is denied education due to his social status as a Hazara.
Amir is privileged and does not appreciate his fortune = spoilt prince.
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