“I was going to win. It was just a matter of when.” This is an excerpt from the novel “Kite runner”, as Author Khaled Hosseini describes the life of two different social class Afghani boys in a Kite contest. The story is narrated from Amir’s point of view, a boy from the high class of the society. As a child, Amir loved flying Kites with Hassan as an influencing factor of Amir’s life. In the novel, there are many symbolic ideas involved and the author describes the plot using symbols. In the novel ‘Kite Runner’, author Khaled Hosseini exhibits the theme and the plot of the story through symbolism of the Kite, the monster in the lake and the kite contest.
For one thing, Hosseini display Amir’s emotions and the relationship between Hassan and Amir through the symbol Kite. As the Kite contest began, Amir was nervous; however, with “…[the] Kite rocketing into the sky” (108-109), Amir overcomes his fears and becomes confident in himself. As the contest concluded, Amir and Hassan showed close relationship, as explained by the excerpt “You won, Amir agha! You won!” said Hassan “We won! We Won!” said Amir. This excerpt describes how Amir himself is not concerned about the social difference with Hassan. Also, the kite symbolizes freedom as Amir’s kite flies “…like a paper bird flapping its wings.” Amir himself becomes one with the kite and enjoys the freedom of overcoming the fear and as though he is flying like a bird.
Secondly, “monster in the lake” symbolizes the fear Amir possesses. Over all, Amir’s greatest fear seems to be the fear of his father. As a parent, his father expects Amir to be like him, and Amir understands it and tries to meet that expectation. But, as he had been living in a state where his father’s deeds overshadow him, Amir loses morale and feels pressured. “Suddenly I wanted to withdraw. Pack it all in, go back home. What was I thinking? Why was I putting myself through this, when I already knew the outcome? Baba was on the roof, watching me. I felt his glare on me like the heat of a blistering sun.” However, the monster in the lake also gives Amir the hope to win the contest. As Hassan comforts Amir from the tension, Amir decides to “…take off [his] shirt take a swim in the lake”, becoming confident in himself.
Similarly, the kite contest represents Amir’s need to prove himself. Like many children with a father who has done great deeds, Amir feels pressured to prove himself to himself and his father. Amir’s morale and confidence erode even though he sets goals to be better than his father which seems like an impossible task. Also, Amir is pressured more to prove himself to himself, so he will need to trust himself in order to gain confidence that he can do it. As Amir felt weakened by Hassan who seems to know him better than Amir, Amir said “I was the one who went to school, the one who could read, write. I was the smart one. Hassan couldn’t read a first grade textbook but he’d read me plenty.” This shows how Amir himself wants to prove that he is better than Hassan through winning the Kite contest. Moreover, Amir expects all of the people to know about him as himself not as a friend of someone or son of someone. Amir felt threatened with all those ambitions and pressures; however, overcoming of all obstacles, Amir gains trust in himself and realizes that he was going to win and “…it was just matter of when.”
In conclusion, the novel “kite runner” explains the story of a boy overcoming all that bounds him as Amir gains experience through events that gradually allow him to be an adult. The need to break free from all the fears and the pressures remains with Amir throughout his life. The novel expresses those thoughts through the symbolism within the Kite, Kite contest and the Monster in the Lake.
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