The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Directions: Choosing one of the topics below, you will construct a 3-4 page, 5 paragraph literary analysis paper. The
first paragraph will be the introduction; in it, you will need to include a topic sentence that introduces the novel and
the author, as a well as a 3 part thesis statement, which needs to be the last sentence in your introductory
paragraph. The next 3 paragraphs need to be your body paragraphs. Each of these paragraphs need to go in the
same order as your thesis statement and need to discuss and analyze your topic, citing textual evidence (quotes)
from the novel for support. The last paragraph is the closing paragraph, usually considered the most difficult to write
by many students.
Topics:
1. In many ways, the novel is very religious and spiritual. Discuss how religion and/or religious imagery plays a
part in the novel. Choose 3 events, characters, symbols that reflect the religious aspect of the novel.
Example thesis: The repeated image of the lamb, Assef’s religious experience that convinced him to join the
Taliban, and Amir’s prayer to God in the hospital when Sohrab attempted suicide all convey how religion is
intertwined in the novel in both positive and negative ways.
2. The theme of redemption is huge in the novel. Choose 3 characters and explain how and why they are
examples of redemption.
Example Thesis: The theme of redemption is evident throughout the novel in the characters Sanaubar, Baba
and Amir in order to teach the readers that no sin is beyond reproach, or beyond atonement.
3. The theme of sacrifice is essential in the earlier parts of the novel, as well as key in how characters atone for
their sins in the end of the novel. Choosing 3 characters, events, symbols, explain how the theme of
sacrifice in evident in the novel.
Example Thesis: Hassan, Amir and Baba are all characters who make sacrifices early in the novel for other
characters, in spite of the consequences that their choices create.
4. Amir is an example of a dynamic character. Discuss how and why Amir changes over the course of the
novel. Choose 3 events to discuss that highlight his development.
Example Thesis: Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, is about the emotional journey of one man. Amir
develops from a selfish young boy, as seen in his decision to sacrifice his best friend in a dark alley in 1975,
into a man eager to atone for his sins when he agrees to take on a Taliban official for a boy he has never
met, and then finally into the spiritual embodiment of his best friend at the end of the novel when he runs the
kite for Sohrab.
5. Parallelism is all throughout the novel. Discuss and analyze 3 examples of parallelism and how they
enhance the overall understanding of the novel.
Example Thesis: Amir planting money under a mattress both as a selfish child and a remorseful adult,
Hassan and Sohrab both standing up to Assef for Amir, and Amir running the kite at the end of the novel like
Hassan did for him 26 years earlier are all examples of how parallelism is evident in The Kite Runner.
6. Dreams are very important in the novel; they reveal the feelings that characters are experiencing about the
choices they make in the novel. Choose 3 dreams and discuss/analyze their significance.
Example Thesis: Three dreams that reflect the inner emotions of characters in the novel, as well as the
effects of key events on those characters, are Hassan’s dream about the monster in the lake, Amir’s dream
about Baba and the bear, and Amir’s dream about Assef when he is in the hospital recovering from his
wounds.
7. Open topic: If you would like to write on something else, you certainly can. However, you must have a 3 part
thesis for your topic.