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Madeline Mitchell
Dr. Beach
Honors English 10
16 January 2014
Social Conformity and Inward Questioning in Khaled Hosseini’s, The Kite Runner
Khaled Hosseini, the author of The Kite Runner, grew up in prejudiced Afghanistan
during the 1960’s as a middle-class Pashtun living with Hazaras working for his family. His
move to America after the Communist Coup proved difficult for his family, especially his father.
In his novel, Hosseini writes through a young boy, Amir, very similar to himself, who grows up
with his father and two Hazara servants in Afghanistan at the time of the Taliban attacks. Both
Amir and his father, Baba, treat their servants, Hassan and Ali, like family. Society, however,
does not approve of such relationships between Pashtuns and Hazaras. As Amir hides and
watches horrified, another Pashtun boy rapes Hassan. This leads to the continuation of Amir’s
internal conflict about the treatment of Hazaras by the public, and also makes him feel guilty and
self-conscious throughout his entire life. In addition, Amir strives for affection and attention
from his rather indifferent father. Amir’s outward conformity to societal values in his
relationships with both Hassan and Baba, as a result of his inner struggle and guilt, contribute
greatly to the significance of The Kite Runner.
Throughout his childhood, Amir conforms to society and treats his Hazara servants
poorly, but he questions the morality of such treatment. When Amir’s childhood bully, Assef,
confronts him, Amir thinks to himself that Hassan works only as a servant for him, and that they
have no friendship. Afterward, he thinks, “Why did I only play with Hassan when no one else
was around?” (41). Hosseini uses a series of rhetorical questions to accentuate how Amir
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questions his beliefs about his relationship with Hassan. Through the quizzical diction of “why”
and “only,” the author creates a distressed tone which emphasizes Amir’s struggle to both fit into
society and treat his lifelong best friend respectfully. Furthermore, Amir continues to ask
himself if Hassan’s friendship and well-being “was the lamb I had to slay” to win his father’s
affections; and after all, “He [Hassan] was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (77). Hosseini makes use
of a metaphor comparing Hassan to a lamb destined for death in order to stress how Amir, as a
Pashtun, looks down on Hassan, and treats him like a farm animal. In addition, the author’s
metaphor introduces the idea that Amir thinks of Hassan as disposable and a fairly reasonable
price to pay for Baba’s love. By using discriminatory diction of “lamb” and “just a Hazara,”
Hosseini produces a contemplative, yet ribald tone. Amir questions himself and his values, but
he also conforms to the societal ideals of the racial inequality of Hazaras in Afghanistan.
In addition to his relationship with Hassan, Amir begins to ask himself about his
relationship with his father and the role that he plays in his childhood. As a young boy, Amir
loves his father very much and always strives for the worthiness of Baba’s love. Amir continues
to conform to Baba’s idea of the perfect son and tries to develop athletic skills. As the winter kite
tournament approaches, Amir decides that he “was going to win” and that there “was no other
viable option” (56). Hosseini utilizes resolute diction such as “going to win” and “no other viable
option” to produce a tone of determination for Amir to win both the competition and Baba’s
affection. Amir also questions if Baba even loves him at all. He believes that he lives a “life as a
ghost” (56). The author compares Amir to a ghost to emphasize that Amir feels unimportant,
unheard, and invisible because of the way his father treats him. Later in life, Amir decides he
wants to become a writer and pursue his dreams even though his father disapproves of such a
career. Amir clarifies that he does not want “to sacrifice for Baba anymore” because the last
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time, when he gave up Hassan’s friendship, he “had damned [him]self” (135). Hosseini makes
use of connotative diction “sacrifice” and “damned” to create a decisive tone in which Amir
decides to defy his father’s wishes and become his own person. Overall, Amir initially conforms
to Baba’s ideals and his fatherly role, but after examining their family bond, Amir decides to
make his own choices and live a life separate from the wishes of his father.
In addition, Hosseini uses Amir’s inner struggle and external conformity to help
contribute to the theme of The Kite Runner- sinners can acquire redemption through
determination and self-acceptance. When Rahim Khan tells Amir that “there is a way to be good
again” Amir recognizes that he must complete whatever task Rahim asks of him in order to
achieve remission of his sins (192). Through the hopeful diction of “good” and “again” Hosseini
generates an optimistic tone to allude to Amir’s oncoming redemption. In addition the author
repeats this idea several times during the course of his novel to reiterate his theme. When Amir
realizes that his whole childhood exists as “a cycle of lies, betrayals, and secrets,” he knows that
he can “end the cycle” by helping Sohrab (226-227). The author employs a candid word choice
with “lies, betrayals, and secrets” to introduce an incensed tone. In contrast, Hosseini utilizes the
unwavering diction of “end” with a determined tone to indirectly characterize Amir as certain in
his decision to find and assist Sohrab. During his fight with Assef for possession of Sohrab, Amir
realizes that for the first time since Hassan’s rape, he finally feels “at peace…[and] healed at
last”(289). The author indirectly characterizes Amir as finally self-accepting and ridding himself
of guilt. Through the congenial diction of “peace,” “healed,” and “at last” Hosseini emits a tone
of relief. As Amir achieves self-acceptance, he also attains redemption. Overall, Hosseini
incorporates Amir’s struggle with his guilt toward his actions during Hassan’s rape and his
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relationship and acceptance of Baba’s fatherly role to contribute to his theme of redemption and
self-acceptance.
While Amir challenges his relationships but also conforms to social ideals, he achieves
redemption and finally succeeds in overcoming his guilt. Hosseini uses this struggle to persuade
those who feel extreme guilt for a wrongdoing to seek forgiveness and to help others in need.
The author emphasizes that atoning one’s sins comes from reaching out to others. He expresses
this when Amir offers to help Sohrab and he rids himself of guilt from his former relationship
with Hassan. In addition, Hosseini writes to those who challenge the ideals of society in order to
encourage them to create and follow their own values. The author uses Amir’s struggle in his
relationship with Baba and his acceptance with Amir’s writing career to demonstrate this idea.
Throughout his novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini develops a main character that
questions his decisions, yet conforms to societal ideals to represent his theme of redemption and
self-acceptance.