Structural Elements In The Kite Runner

Structural Elements

Narration

This story is mainly written in first person from the point of view of Amir. There is only one chapter where Rahim Khan narrates, instead of Amir, to show the events that took place in Afghanistan when Amir was in America. This point of view enhances the book because it shows the reader exactly what is going on inside of his mind as the story progresses. The story feels more personal because the reader is able to experience the events and witness the emotional trauma that Amir goes through. If it was written in third person instead, the book would not be as powerful because the reader would not be able to fully pick up the greatness of Amir’s guilt after witnessing Hassan’s rape. This would have, then, affected

One symbol is the kite. The kite represented happiness. When it was up in the air during the kite fighting competition, Amir was more cheerful and unburdened by guilt. After the last kite fell, however, Amir became overwhelmed by the guilt he experienced from witnessing Hassan’s rape, and Hassan stopped smiling. Later, kite-fighting was banned in Afghanistan to show the unhappiness spreading throughout the country. However, at the end of the book, Amir flies a kite once more to show that happiness has finally returned to his life after he managed to redeem himself by adopting Sohrab. Another symbol is the pomegranate tree, which represented the friendship of Amir and Hassan. It was a place where the two of them would often play when they were children. However, it was also the place where Amir mistreated Hassan after the rape. Amir pelted Hassan with pomegranates, which symbolized that their friendship was falling apart, and Hassan just accepts it. In the end, when Amir visited the pomegranate tree, he finds it nearly dead to show their friendship has almost fallen apart completely. However, the tree was not dead yet because there was still a chance for Amir to redeem himself. A third symbol could be the monster in the lake from Hassan’s dream. The monster could represent the guilt Amir faced after doing nothing about Hassan’s rape. Amir and Hassan were the first two people to enter that lake, so the guilt monster dragged them down and

Daoud Khan took over the government in a bloodless coup and reformed the government. However, the Russians overthrew Khan, and life in Afghanistan became more difficult because of the curfews and tanks. After the Russians left, a war occurred as different factions tried to take over Afghanistan, and eventually the Taliban won. Although it was a joyous time when the fighting stopped, life became even worse as the culture was destroyed by the restrictions the Taliban placed on the people, such as banning music and dancing. The Taliban also started to massacre the Hazaras. This history was important to the book because it gives the reader insight to the state of the country as the story progresses. The book also gives the reader insight to the culture of Afghans. It showed traditions such as kite fighting and gave readers a glimpse at their marriage