The Kite Runner
Theme
Topic
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A general idea that a piece of literature addresses.
Topics are usually universal and allow the reader to relate to.
Topics can be one word
A novel may address several topics.
Topics in the Kite Runner
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Friendship
Brotherhood
Loyalty
Fathers and sons
Lies and Secrets
Guilt and Redemption
Courage
Atonement
Choices
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Faith
Human Nature
Class differences
The roles of women
Good Vs Evil
Inhumanity
Value and morals
The role of a Mother
Honour
Theme
• A message the literature provides the reader
• Usually relates to the topics presented
• Must look at the piece of literature as a whole to
determine the theme
• Cannot be one word
• Theme must be a concept that is fully developed
• Themes are often universal
• Themes allow the reader to have greater understanding
of the text
Determining Theme
• To determine theme look at the literature in it’s entirety
• Ask questions about the specific topics
• Find evidence that supports the idea
• Phrase the theme in a sentence or series of sentence
• Look for:
 Contrast between characters
 Important quotes from the narrator
 Climax, resolution of story
 Setting
 Subplots
 Minor characters
 Symbolism
 Change in characters
Determining Theme
Topic Question
Evidence
Theme
Example:
Lies
How do lies impact the lives of the characters?
Amir does not know Hassan is his brother and treats him badly throughout
his youth. He greatly regrets this and his guilt over this treatment of
Hassan. This guilt shapes his life
Theme– Lies told by others can shape a person’s decisions and life.
Questions to Consider (determining theme in
the Kite Runner)
Topic: Guilt
• How does Amir demonstrate his guilt?
• How does guilt shape Amir’s life?
• How does Baba demonstrate his guilt?
• How does guilt shape Baba’s life?
• What impact can guilt have?
Questions to Consider (determining theme in
the Kite Runner)
Topic: Choice
• How do the choices of others influence Amir?
• How do the choices of others influence Hassan?
• Can one choice shape a person’s life? (Amir, Baba, Soraya)
Questions to Consider (determining theme in
the Kite Runner)
Topic: Father and Son Relationships
• Rahim Khan and Baba both act as father figures to Amir. How
do each of these men influence Amir?
• How do fathers influence sons?
• Which of these men are better father figures? Why?
Questions to Consider (determining theme in
the Kite Runner)
Topic: Honour
• What makes a man honourable?
• Who is more honourable: Baba, Amir, Hassan? Why?
• How does honour shape a persons choices?
Theme
• Remember when determining theme ask yourself questions
about the topic
• Dig deep
• Theme should demonstrate depth, understanding and express
a complex idea!
Comparing and Contrasting
• Compare: to look for the similarities between two things
(objects, characters, ideas, places, etc) and find similar
meaning or arrive at a specific conclusion.
• Contrast: to look for the differences between two things
(objects, characters, ideas, places, etc) and find similar
meaning or arrive at a specific conclusion.
Identity and Self-discovery
• Spends his entire life trying to be the son who will not disappoint his
father and making up for the death of his mother.
• Many of the sins he commits are in the hopes that his father will
believe in him, and embrace him.
• It is only when Amir grows up that he realizes that his father had
always loved him and was proud of him.
• Men find it difficult to show their love to their sons for fear of
somehow being less of a man.
Thematic statement:
Family, Fathers, and Fatherhood
• Family relationships play a great part, but mothers are
strikingly absent. Although Soraya is a loving mother to
Sohrab, Amir and Hassan grow up without their mothers.
• Meanwhile, the tension of father-son relationships is
exemplified by Baba's treatment of his sons, Amir and Hassan.
• While Baba is disappointed in Amir's bookish, introverted
personality, to protect his social standing, he does not publicly
acknowledge his illegitimate son Hassan whose mother is a
Hazara.
Thematic statement:
Journey and Quest
• A novel of immigration and political unrest, The Kite Runner is
punctuated by Amir's departure from Afghanistan as a
teenager and his return to his war-ravaged home country as
an adult.
• At the same time, it is a novel of symbolic quest. Amir makes
great sacrifices to pursue his quest to atone for past sins by
rescuing his half nephew.
Thematic statement:
Heritage and Ancestry
• Before leaving Afghanistan, Baba fills a snuff box with soil from
his homeland. As refugees in the United States, Baba and Amir
live in an Afghan immigrant community in the San Francisco
Bay Area.
• Most of the characters in America are Afghan, emphasizing
how Amir and Baba thrive in and contribute to an immigrant
community that reminds them of home.
• Although Baba dies without ever seeing his home country
again, Amir maintains his ties to the Afghan community in
Northern California, partly through his wife's family.
Thematic statement: