THEME
Winn, Kyaw Kyaw. Innocent. 2007. Photograph. N.p.
I stopped watching, turned away from the alley. Something
warm was running down my wrist. I blinked, saw I was still biting down on my
fist, hard enough to draw blood from the knuckles. I realized something else. I
was weeping. From just around the corner, I could hear Assef's quick, rhythmic
grunts.
I had one last chance to make a decision. One final
opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley,
stand up for Hassan – the way he'd stood up for me all those times in the past
– and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run.
In the end, I ran. (7.137-139)
Mnj7th. Children Linking Arms. 2009. Photograph. N.p. Comp. Dreamstime Stock Photos.
"I know," he said, breaking our embrace.
"Inshallah, we'll celebrate later. Right now, I'm going to run that blue
kite for you," he said. He dropped the spool and took off running, the hem
of his green chapan dragging in the snow behind him.
"Hassan!" I called. "Come back with it!"
He was already turning the street corner, his rubber boots
kicking up snow. He stopped, turned. He cupped his hands around his mouth.
"For you a thousand times over!" he said. Then he smiled his Hassan
smile and disappeared around the corner. The next time I saw him smile
unabashedly like that was twenty-six years later, in a faded Polaroid
photograph. (7.52-54)
Tilton, Rachel. Father Son. 2007. Photograph. N.p.
Upstairs was my bedroom, Baba's room, and his study, also
known as "the smoking room," which perpetually smelled of tobacco and
cinnamon. Baba and his friends reclined on black leather chairs there after Ali
had served dinner. They stuffed their pipes – except Baba always called it
"fattening the pipe" – and discussed their favorite three topics:
politics, business, soccer. Sometimes I asked Baba if I could sit with them,
but Baba would stand in the doorway. "Go on, now," he'd say.
"This is grown-ups' time. Why don't you go read one of those books of
yours?" He'd close the door, leave me to wonder why it was always
grown-ups' time with him. I'd sit by the door, knees drawn to my chest.
Sometimes I sat there for an hour, sometimes two, listening to their laughter,
their chatter. (2.6)
The Kite Runner has multiple themes running through the
story. The most compelling themes are
betrayal, father/son relationships and friendship.
In this novel, betrayal and the subsequent search for
atonement play a prominent role throughout the story. The major betrayal of Hassan by Amir is
foreshadowed by smaller events such as when Hassan says he "would rather
eat dirt than lie" to Amir. At that
point, Amir almost asks Hassan to eat dirt to test his loyalty but then he
would have shown his pettiness and jealousy and Hassan would have found him
lacking in integrity. This event is minor compared to Amir's cowardice when
Hassan is confronted by Assef and his thugs.
Amir's lack of action in a moment when it would have counted most is the
ultimate example of betrayal in the story, as well as being the pivotal
point. Ironically, Amir's earlier
concern that Hassan would doubt his integrity if he asked him to eat dirt,
pales in comparison with his monumental failure to defend his friend. Then, Amir compounds his mistakes by framing
Hassan for theft in order to avoid the enormous guilt he feels. Baba confronts and then forgives Hassan for
his "theft", however, much to his surprise Ali informs Baba that they
must leave. For the first time in Amir's
young life, he sees Baba break down and cry.
In this moment, Amir has not only betrayed Hassan and Ali but also Baba
who loses his "brother" and, as we find out later, his biological
son.
Another strong theme in the story is friendship and the
eternal bond formed at birth.
"Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in
the same yard. And, under the same roof
we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba.
His was Amir. My name." This foreshadows the lopsided nature of the
friendship between Hassan and Amir, with Amir always taking priority. Despite Amir's pettiness in playing tricks
on Hassan, Hassan's love and admiration for Amir cannot be corrupted. This demonstrates just how dedicated Hassan
was to Amir and in the face of Amir's betrayals, Hassan steadfastly remains loyal to the
end. When Ali and Hassan are forced to
move away, Amir gradually realizes that he has lost his most faithful friend
and supporter. When Rahim Khan calls
Amir in San Francisco with an opportunity to atone for his sins, Amir realizes
that he needs to do this for his old friend.
"There is a way to be good again."
Relationships between parents and their children are
complicated especially when, in this case, there are undercurrents which are
not understood by the characters. Amir
longs for Baba's love, attention and approval.
But the harder he tries to obtain these things, the less Baba thinks of
him. Hassan, on the other hand, has all
the traits that Baba admires and that Amir lacks. Hassan is constantly standing up for Amir
even though Amir belittles him. Amir
envies Hassan's bravery, loyalty and above all the attention paid to him by
Baba. Until Rahim Khan's revelation,
Amir is unsure as to why Baba desired such a stronger relationship with Hassan
but when he finds out that they are both Baba's sons it finally becomes clear.
While it may not be clear at first, a number of themes
evident in Khaled Hosseini's book are often intertwined. Amir's desire for a strong and satisfying
relationship with his father leads him to sacrifice his friendship with Hassan
through several misdeeds, culminating in the betrayal of his one and only true
friend.
