The Kite Runner Chases Once More

The conclusion to Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner reflects earlier themes and avoids the typical fairytale happily ever after. Assef upon confrontation with Amir in their early childhood explains that "Nothing is free in this world" (34). This important theme is related to throughout Amir's journey, suffering greatly in order to fix his previous mistakes.
Everything seems to be working itself out. Amir has fought and nearly died to retrieve his nephew from Afghanistan, and the only thing left is to make his way back to America. Fate is not so kind. Because he does not have the required papers, it seems almost impossible for him to legally adopt Sohrab and bring him to America. Sohrab being a severely sad and damaged child rejects the thought of returning to an orphanage until Amir can find a home for him. In protest he slits his wrists in a suicidal attempt. Sohrab ends up alive in the end, however. At first glance this seemed almost pointless because he was almost dead but then found to be alive within a few pages. When being further examined this event is Hosseini's way of redirecting us back to the theme: Nothing is free. His intent with Sohrab's stunt is to prove to the reader that you can achieve what you wish to achieve, but it will certainly come with some consequences.
The very end of the novel, like Sohrab's attempt at suicide, reflects the same theme. Sohrab is still a damaged child, and the very small smile he gives Amir shows a spark of hope. A small piece of happiness. We do not need to see a happy ending where they are playing happily or where Sohrab is excited about his new room. Amir and Sohrab have paid the price for freedom, and only over time will life begin to get better. At first reading I hated Hosseini's ending. It seemed like it went nowhere, and that Amir was right back where he started. This was not the case however. It was not some fake happy ending that we all wish for, it was real, believable.

'Theft' Quotation Examination

“Now, no matter what the Mullah teaches, there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft.” (Hosseini, 19)

In this scene, Amir and his father are in a rare circumstance, Amir sitting on his lap and a direct and unbroken conversation is had between the two. 'Baba' is explaining to Amir what he thinks of sin. This passage proves that Baba has a greater understanding of what is right and what is wrong than most of the world, and is an advancement in his character because it shows how insightful and intelligent he really is. Theft is not usually seen as one of the worse sins to commit, however when you pry apart the ten commandments Baba's statement makes much more sense. Everyone subconsciously ranks each of these sins, murder usually being one of the top. What Amir's father is telling him is that they are all equally wrong, and none shall be taken lightly or be unpunished. If you take from another person, no matter the way you have done it, you have committed a theft. Do what you want to yourself, but harm another in a negative way and you have stolen something from them, may it be an item, opportunity, or even their life.

This quotation proves how far off Amir is from following in his father's footsteps. He wants to be just like him, however he has stolen the innocence, friendship, and home of Hassan simply because he was too great a coward to stand up for him. He tells us that he is growing closer and closer to his father, but really they are becoming further and further apart. This statement by Baba is presented early in the text, giving us an understanding of where he stands on morals and belief, and contrasting to the hatred his son has cast upon their servants.

Baba shows the depth of his character in this quote, and contrasts his morals to that of Amir. Amir thought that ridding his life of Hassan would bring him closer to his father, when reality is has brought him further than ever.  

Blog #1 (First Impressions of Amir)

In the novel, Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, we early on learn much about our main character Amir. Amir starts us off with a flashback, but without giving us any full details he shows us that he is hiding something, something from his past. He has been trying to hide this from himself and everyone else for the last 26 years. He gives us no more information than this, foreshadowing that we will later find out. Jumping back even further, we begin to learn about his childhood in Afghanistan. The way Amir talks seems to be reflective of where he has grown up, showing a certain prejudice against those who are not of Pashtun descent. Amir is very selective with his relationships it seems, because he tends to neglect his best friend many times. His best friend Hassan, also his servant, is a young boy that Amir had grown up with all his life, and they have come to be very close. Hassan would do anything for Amir, yet Amir appears not to be fulfilling his half of the friendship. Although they have know each other for their entire lives, Amir somehow still sees Hassan as an “illiterate Hazara” (Hosseini, 37) and the voice inside his head tells him that he is nothing but a filthy peasant who will never become more than that. This prejudice must come from the hours listening to his father, a man who feels great distaste for most of the country. Amir describes his Baba as a towering figure with tree trunk legs, and constantly talks of the great things he has done such as building the orphanage. At the same time, he feels neglect. When he has a talk alone with his father, sitting on his lap he admits that “it wasn't often Baba talked to [him], let alone on his lap-and [he'd] been a fool to waste it” (Hosseini, 19). It's as if Amir is struggling to live in the shadow of such a great man as his father, being much smaller and apparently much less intelligent than he. Amir is somewhat lost, and needs to find a way to his own happiness rather than trying to imitate that of his Baba's. I think Amir needs to get his priorities straight, stop neglecting his friend and become his own person. If his father chooses not to talk to him or make him feel important, than he he should do the same back. If Amir doesn't do something about this soon, I feel as if something bad is going to happen to Hassan, the event implied in the flashback, and it might just be at his fault or choosing.