2. THEMES AND ISSUES IN THE KITE RUNNER KHALED HOSSEINI

3. Theme : Brotherhood, Kinship and Friendship

4. Brotherhood, Kinship and Friendship Amir & Hassan’s Kinship The novel’s central theme is brotherhood. This is closely examined through Amir and Hassan’s relationship The central narrative concerns a brother who betrays his sibling and then redeems himself with love. Brotherhood and the core values of loyalty and trust underpin our social and personal relationships

5. Brotherhood, Kinship and Friendship Responsibility of Brotherhood Hassan and Amir share the same childhood Their friendship is seen in the words on the pomegranate tree: ‘ Amir & Hassan, the Sultans of Kabul.’ Theirs is not a true brotherhood as their values are radically different…

6. Brotherhood, Kinship and Friendship Amir’s condescension and jealousy contrasts sharply with Hassan’s absolute loyalty When Hassan is raped, deserted by Amir and accused of theft he still remains loyal to Amir. His unwavering love and loyalty transcends the ordinary bounds of friendship Amir, by contrast, is disloyal, a coward and a liar.

7. Brotherhood, Kinship and Friendship Real Brothers Amir and Hassan’s brotherhood also rises from their shared parentage and from feeding ‘from the same breast’ This blood bond forges and deeper connection when Amir is told about it by Rahin Khan.

8. Brotherhood, Kinship and Friendship However blood ties cannot be seen to override the deeper bond of love between Hassan and Amir Blood ties serve to strengthen the brotherhood that already existed It is brotherhood that finally compels Amir to sacrifice himself for Hassan

9. Brotherhood, Kinship and Friendship Atonement Amir begins to atone for his sins by going to Afghanistan to rescue Sohrab, by admitting to Fadrid and finally to General Taheri about his brotherhood with Hassan Racial Divisions The author explores the theme of brotherhood and with it universal brotherhood. Tribal divisions and racial hatred divide people and are condemned by the author; the damage relationships and divide communities. Tolerance of others is a key and timeless theme to the novel

10. Theme : Betrayal and Redemption

11. ‘I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan… Or I could run. In the end I ran. My body was broken…but I felt healed. Healed at last. I laughed.’ Brotherhood and betrayal are closely linked in the novel Amir and Baba both betray childhood friends and both have terrible consequences. Baba cannot acknowledge his son and Amir’s guilty secret gnaws at his conscience, invades his dreams and prevents him becoming a man Theme : Betrayal and Redemption

12. Baba’s constant reminder of Hassan’s illegitimacy and makes his relationship with Amir, when younger, an unsatisfying one for both father and son Baba also betrayed Amir who finds out at 38 ‘his whole life has been one big fucking lie’ Sohrab is also betrayed. His innocence is destroyed by the corruption of the adult world. He is brutally orphaned, betrayed by Zaman and initially betrayed by Amir Theme : Betrayal and Redemption

13. If betrayal causes terrible damage, there is hope in redemption. Amir’s difficult journey towards moral salvation is honestly told and there is no attempt to gloss over his cowardness or self-centeredness. His relationship with Soraya and Baba in America reveals he can make emotional connections with others His real challenge is to come to terms with his past Theme : Betrayal and Redemption

14. Visiting Rahim shows him facing up to his guilty past He accepts Sohrab must be rescued He confronts physical danger He overcomes his own cowardness Assef’s physical punishment of Amir is part of the redemption process Sohrab’s forgiveness is the final stage in the process Theme : Betrayal and Redemption

15. Theme : Father / Son Relationships

16. Paternal Expectations Baba is driven by a need to outshine his father, a respected judge. He gains wealth and power and builds an orphanage. He is also physically dominating. And is a ‘towering physical presence.’ Amir craves for his father’s approval and finally and fleetingly achieves this through kite flying and later by story writing Theme : Father / Son Relationships

17. Juxtaposed to this relationship is that of Ali and Hassan. Ali is a gentle and loving father, despite knowing that the disfigured boy is not his son and Hassan’s mother deserted him. Baba does however acknowledge is responsibilities towards his son Hassan. He never forgets his birthday and after Ali and Hassan leave he sacrifices his own happiness by taking Amir to safety in America Theme : Father / Son Relationships

18. It is the wise council of Rahim Khan that allows Amir with a way ‘to be good again’ The novel contains: A ‘bad’ father (Baba) Two ‘good’ fathers (Ali and Rahim – a surrogate father) A father with the potential to be good (Amir) Theme : Father / Son Relationships

19. The novel takes a dim view of organised religion (Islam) Baba…’self righteous monkeys (the mullahs) Ali makes jokes with Farid about the mullahs Religious extremism is presented as shocking (Assef & the stadium stoning) The Taliban and Sharia law is seen as being evil Theme : Religious Faith

20. After Sohrab’s attempted suicide Amir seeks comfort ( and hope) in his faith Amir grows as a person and in his faith The yearning for God, for forgiveness, for a clear conscience is all linked in the novel Amir turns to religion in his hour of need. Religion has its place, but not the lunatic extremes seen in the novel Theme : Religion

21. Now learn these themes…they are from Cambridge Wizard Student Notes