Symbols

The Pomegranate Tree

"Hassan had said in his letter that the pomegranate tree hadn't borne
 fruit in years.Looking at the wilted, leafless tree, I doubted it would ever again."

There is an abandoned cemetery with a single pomegranate tree that has somehow managed to thrive in the dirt and rubble. This tree strongly depicts Amir and Hassan’s relationship. Despite belonging to classes on the opposite ends of the spectrum, Amir and Hassan grew up like brothers. Similar to the unlikely event of a luscious tree booming in infertile land, Amir and Hassan overcome the set rules about these different classes coming together. They made each other’s childhoods regardless of society’s disposition. This tree is a symbol of their childhood where Amir would read Hassan stories, where they carved their names, where they spent the hours of daylight under. While this tree symbolizes a unifying force, it also is a basis of division between Amir and Hassan. This is established through various incidents surrounding the tree. Even though Amir and Hassan enjoy hearing stories in each other’s company, Amir, always trying to outdo Hassan, takes pride in the fact he is able to read where as Hassan doesn’t have that same education. Amir seeks satisfaction by ridiculing Hassan and finding anything he is better at him in. Furthermore, there is the incident where Amir wants Hassan to hit him back with the pomegranate to get a sense of relief by lessening the weight of guilt he carries for letting Hassan get raped by Assef, instead of fighting for him; the same way Hassan arguably would have given his devotion to his friend. In response to this Hassan breaks the fruit over his own head. This is an accurate depiction of how their relationship works. No matter what Amir says or does, Hassan still never wishes bad upon Amir. He rather take the suffering than hurt Amir, showcasing his devotion and loyalty. Up until this incident, Amir has always attacked Hassan being the dominant one of the two in this relationship. After Amir leaves Hassan forever, he returns to a foreign land where terror runs the streets of Afghanistan. He goes back to the place where the tree once bloomed, now just ancient remains of a friendship that once thrived.

The Slingshot

"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."

The slingshot represents bravery associated with standing against wrong. It is found in two generations; first with Hassan and then with his son, Sohrab. Both Hassan and Sohrab use it against Assef. The first time it's used is when Hassan threatens to use it against Assef to protect Amir and himself. The slingshot reappears when Sohrab actually ends up using it to defend Amir when Assef is thrashing him. If he hadn't blinded Assef with a shot to the eye, Amir could have very well died. The slingshot is a symbol of courage as it’s used to stand up for what’s right when others won’t. It represents the kind of person Hassan is. He never wishes bad upon anyone even if the other person wrongs him. Hassan would never hurt anyone or let anyone he loves go through any sort of pain. When it comes down to the person he loves, his brother, in trouble with Assef and his crew, he doesn’t hesitate to pull out the slingshot showcasing his heroism. The slingshot is also a symbol of what Baba wishes Amir to be. Throughout the book we get the sense Baba loves and cares about Hassan just as much as he does for Amir. However, Baba, being the strong and righteous man he is, expects his son to have inherited his desirable characteristics. Time after time Amir proves to be a coward when he always let’s Hassan fight his battles for him, disappointing Baba and leaving himself to find ways to outdo Hassan and gain the respect of his father. Although Baba’s courageousness isn’t reflected in his son when it should be, Hassan’s heroism is found in Sohrab.

Kites

"For you, a thousand times over."

Afghans kites, with their glass strings that dig into the palms of the flyer and draw blood, are a re-occurrence throughout the story that represent the discrepancy between beauty and violence. This disparity represents Afghanistan. Like the kite itself, it is a beautiful country but at the same time it harbours discrimination within the class system and violence, especially once it is taken over. Respectively, aside from the fact that flying kites has been a part of their childhoods as something they always have been a team for, kites also symbolize the relationship between Amir and Hassan. They've come over all odds since society looks down on masters befriending their servants, therefore, their friendship is a beautiful thing. At the same time, there is still a darker side to this friendship given the way Amir treats Hassan. They are friends, basically brothers who love and care for each other but other times Hassan is attacked by Amir’s words and actions which prove to be damaging to their relationship. Not only do kites represent the beauty and viciousness between the friendship but it also symbolizes redemption. Amir knows he ruined his relationship with Hassan so after all these years he goes back to mend what’s been broken only to find that Hassan is no more. But his legacy remains through the son he left behind. Amir saves Sohrab and takes him back to America where Amir becomes his kite runner, finally fulfilling all that he owed to Hassan but never gave.

Motifs

Rape

I've changed my mind," Assef said. "I'm letting you keep
the kite, Hazara. I'll let you keep it so it will always remind
 you of what I'm about to do."

Rape is a very big motif because it occurs throughout the story. Rape is complete and utter control over another person that doesn't have power by someone that does. It is the most disrespectful act and harms a person not just physically but mentally as well, and this effect will last their entire life. Sohrab is traumatized by what Assef did to him although it hasn't been proven that he raped him, it seems as though he might have. Something that could imply that Assef raped Sohrab would be due to the instance where Assef made him dance in a dress when he turned the music on otherwise he would physically abuse him and maybe even sexually. He also did the same with Hassan, and making someone dance in woman’s clothing is also very controlling, demeaning, and it affects someone emotionally.

Irony

“I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative,
the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right:
Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price
I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba.” 

Irony is very prevalent in the story because of how much it occurs, and even so that a character from the story (Amir) even realizes it's existence in his life. Rahim Khan told Amir that he had grasped irony in his writing unlike most authors. There was also one of the biggest instances of irony in the story that occurred when Amir failed to stop the rape of Hassan. Amir wanted to be like his father and make him proud which is why he chased the kite with the intention of giving the cut kite back to Baba and show him what he has done. Little did Amir know that, what Baba would have wanted would have been for Amir to drop the kite idea and help Hassan during his time of need. Now Amir lives his life in regret of that decision and spends every last moment trying to make up for his terrible mistake. This ironic because he did the total opposite of what Baba would have wanted which determines what Amir would have wanted as well. Another example of irony in the story is when Amir finds out that Hassan is his half brother and that Baba slept with Ali's wife, thus betraying his friend. This causes Amir to realize how much he is like his father because they both let their friends down. The last ironic situation that happens in the story is when Assef gives Amir a beating, and this causes him to relieve all the stress and guilt that has been put on him this entire time. It serves as a relief and is ironic because the person that has caused all his guilt and torment is the same person that relieves him from it.

Harelip Scar

"Because history isn't easy to overcome.
 Neither is religion. In the end, I was a Pashtun
 and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi'a,
and nothing was ever going to change that.
 Nothing."

The harelip scar is a motif in the story "The Kite Runner" because it has a very deep meaning underneath what other people might first see, and its recurrence in the story shows that it has been put there for a reason and should be truly appreciated by its explanation. The harelip scar was originally brought up when Hassan was born with it. Baba treated Hassan with great respect even though he had the scar, and that might have given Amir the impression that Baba was treating him with even more respect due to that defect. The harelip scar represented the poverty of the Hazara because they didn't have enough money to provide for surgery. Baba then pays for his surgery that shows his fatherly love in a way that isn't too obvious. Later on in life, Amir got beat up by Assef and then ended up having a scar on his lip as well. This in a way, shows that his personality has merged with Hassan and now he is that figure for Sohrab in life. This shows that the scar means a lot more than just a defect and it represents Hassan and what he stands for which is why Amir is now carrying the same traits and living the same life in order to honour him as well.

Themes

Redemption

"It was only a smile, nothing more. It didn't make everything all
right. It didn't make anything all right. Only a smile. A tiny thing.
A leaf in the woods, shaking in the wake of a startled bird's flight.
But I'll take it. With open arms. Because when spring comes,
it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just
 witnessed the first flake melting. " 

Amir tries to prove himself to Baba by winning the kite tournament and bringing back the kite to Baba. He feels the need to have to redeem himself for everything that has happened. From the day that he was born, he was burdened with the ongoing feeling of having to prove things to himself. He feels as though he killed his mother during birth and that he is to blame, as well as the time that Hassan got raped by Assef, where he didn't do anything about it in order to prove something to his father. Redemption is one of the biggest themes in my eyes because it is constant throughout the entire book and every action that is made is a reflection of that. Everything that Amir does is to redeem himself of something. He was going through a lot on the day that Hassan got raped because he was running for the kite in order to redeem himself to his father for the times that he hasn't proved himself to him. His father, Baba, wants for Amir to be a stronger kid and live the same kind of lifestyle that he did and Amir is constantly doing everything in his power to show his dad that he is that kind of kid, which is why he wanted to bring him the kite in the first place. He is also struggling to redeem himself because he feels as though he was the reason behind Hassan's death by the Taliban, and every day that he spends with Sohrab is building towards that redemption for all the actions he did in his past.

Struggle for Acceptance 

"Baba and I lived in the same house but in different
spheres of existence. Kites were the one paper-thin slice
of intersection between those spheres."

This is one of the themes in Kite Runner because Amir is constantly trying to prove himself to Baba and show that he is the child he has always wanted. His father notices that Amir is not the kind of kid that he wanted him to be. Amir has shown this by not being as aggressive of a person or mentally strong of a person as Baba would have wanted. Later on in the book, it is revealed that Hassan is actually Baba's son and Amir's half brother, which would have also influenced Amir's actions and caused him to seek his approval that much more. Although that information is revealed later on, Baba tried to include Hassan whenever he could and tried to spend as much time with his as possible without revealing to everyone that he was more than just a servant to him. Baba would take Hassan out with him and Amir whenever they planned to, and this would make Amir feel like Baba liked Hassan more than him even though he wasn't his son. This is what caused Amir's struggle for acceptance and truly showed the complications that occur between father and son throughout this book.

The Past

“It's wrong what they say about the past,
 I've learned, about how you can bury it.
Because the past claws its way out.” 

 Amir and Sohrab feel the most persistence of the past. Sohrab has been traumatized due to the death of his parents. He feels as if he has no one and this is proven hen he attempts to commit suicide when Amir says that he might have to back to an orphanage. He is also very changed due to the prolonged physical and sexual abuse he has been through. Amir's past is the most persistent because of what happened when he was twelve. His actions today are always a reflection of what happened in the past. He is always trying to prove himself or redeem himself for what he did that day to Hassan. He feels like he is responsible for his mothers death, for Hassan's rape, and Hassans death. Everything he does in the present is once again a reflection of what he has done in the past such as taking Sohrab out to fly kites. He only does such things like take Sohrab out and teach him

 how to fly because he used to do it with Hassan, 

and he will always do it because that thought of the

 past haunts him forever.