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.