What a way to end a book! As I talked about in my last blog post, the ending brought the story together for me, almost like a complete circle. For this reason I am highly suggestions The Kite Runner as a must read book, not just for AP English students but for anyone. It is honestly one of the best books I have ever read. I think that I was able to appreciate it more because I was able to analyze it as I read, due to all the practice we have done this year in class. But also because this assignment has given me that opportunity to stop every so often and really think about what I read, which brings me to why my title is what it is.
In a way the underlying meaning that I mention can be thought of as the work as a whole. Or, it could be the themes, symbols and motifs that were presented to me through this novel. But If it weren’t for this assignment I truly don’t believe that I would have caught some of the allusions and literary devices that I did and wrote about.
The first thing that really caught my attention when I finished the book was the way that the book was laid out. It wasn’t just laid out in chronological order by Amir’s life, but it was also influenced by the politics and government of Afghanistan during this time period. Now, I wouldn't have necessarily noticed this if it wasn’t for the blogging assignment, but since we had to analyze our books, it enabled me to research the allusions about the Afghanistan government and the people that influenced the country.
The next piece of The Kite Runner that had more of an underlying meaning that caught my attention was the use of race. There was a heavy influence of race and ethnicity that divided both Amir and Hassan. Hosseini used this divide to create tension and the themes that held this book together. His theme of betrayment was created by society not accepting two different races to be compatible with one another. Without this societal acceptance affect, it would be nearly impossible for Hosseini to hold together his claim of betrayment. The only way he would do so is the betrayment of Amir and Hassan’s mothers. But even then, it would not be as powerful because the piece about social acceptance isn’t in play.
My next piece of evidence for there needing to be a deeper understanding of the novel as a whole comes from the American Dream. When Amir and his father leave for America it backs up the theme of betrayment, but what it really is showing is the chase for the American Dream by those who want a better education and lifestyle. Hosseini indirectly through this betrayment of Amir and Hassan shows why people in Afghanistan leave their homeland and chase the dream of becoming an American. This is significant to the book because it becomes significantly more important towards the end of the book when Amir returns to Afghanistan and remembers everything in his past.
The last piece of meaning that needs to be talked about in The Kite Runner is the circle the book went through. In my opinion, if you did not notice how everything in the beginning of the book connected to everything at the end of the book you missed the main idea of the novel. It was so important to notice the kite running that occurred during the beginning of the book with Amir and Hassan, and the kite running at the end of the book with Amir and Sohrab. As I mentioned in my last blog post this is significant because Amir becomes the kite runner and does it with no hesitation because he remember the horrors that Hassan went through as Amir was the bystander. Sohrab reminded Amir of Hassan, this is why Amir acted the way he did around him. He wanted to make up for what he did in the past to Hassan.
Overall I really liked The Kite Runner and would highly recommend it. I appreciate this blog assignment a lot more now after reading the book, because I am able to understand how much it helped me follow the underlying meaning of the novel.
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