2010, Q8
Choose a novel in which a character seeks to escape from the constraints of his
or her environment or situation.
Explain why the character feels the need to escape and show how his of her
response to the situation illuminates a central concern of the text.
There is arguably no better illustration in modern literature of a character’s inner conflict and
entrapment than the guilt ridden protagonist in Khaled Hosseini’s novel ‘The Kite Runner’. Amir’s
redemption driven odyssey drags him away from the security of his new home in America and
plunges him back onto the unforgiving streets of Kabul that he knew as a child. As Amir yearns to
escape from his dark past, Hosseini teaches us about confronting our mistakes instead of trying to
outrun them.
Hosseini skilfully portrays that, in a world where honour and blood mean everything, young Amir is
burdened by the prospect of winning over his wealthy and prominent father, Baba. Amir believes
that ‘kites [are] the one paper-thin slice of intersection’ between he and Baba’s lives. Therefore,
Amir uses this overlap to escape from his isolation from Baba. This emphasises how kite flying is
the most effective, albeit tenuous, way that Amir can fully connect with Baba. Hosseini uses the
kite to symbolise common ground, however later on this is marred as the kite adopts negative
connotations. After being convinced by his loyal friend and servant Hassan, Amir competes in the
annual kite tournament and his victory results in Amir respecting him more. Hosseini emphasises
that through Amir’s response to escaping his father’s view that he is a coward which he
accomplished by competing in the tournament instead of running, Amir confronted his problem
instead of running from it. This resulted in Amir escaping his situation instead of prolonging the
problem.
Amir’s noble decision to confront the problem and escape his isolation from his father is juxtaposed
by Hosseini as Amir makes a wrong choice that will ultimately send him into turmoil with guilt and
grief. Following the tournament, Amir finds bullies preparing to rape Hassan in an alleyway and
must make the haunting decision to step in and save Hassan, or run and not risk losing the winning
kite. In Amir’s mind Hassan is ‘the lamb [he has] to stay to win Baba’ and thus places Baba above
Hassan when he chooses to run.
Hosseini cleverly presents Hassan as the lamb to convey
vulnerability and to emphasise that his fate rests in Amir’s response to the situation. Amir’s choice
to run represents running from your problems instead of confronting it, which will result in Amir
never truly escaping his situation.
Plagued by guilt over what he let transpire in the alleyway, Amir seeks to escape from his past by
ridding himself of his devoted and loyal friend by framing him for theft. Amir’s refusal to confront
Hassan means the two drift apart with Hassan ‘mill[ing] around the periphery’ of Amir’s life, until
even this becomes too much and Amir hides his watch in Hassan’s room. The far-reaching
consequences of Amir’s response to the situation on Amir, Baba, Hassan and Hassan’s father, Ali,
are highlighted expertly by Hosseini when he notes that ‘not even Ali’s paralysed face could mask
his sorrow’. This conveys the magnitude of pain that Amir’s selfish act evoked in Ali and Hassan
who depend on Amir’s family for their livelihood; that even a face frozen in position could still
display the misery within. The truth that Amir will never be rid of his guilt until he finds
redemption for his sins becomes increasingly clear as Hosseini emphasises that just purging Hassan
from his life will not eradicate the guilt.
As Amir and Baba complete their pilgrimage to America, Hosseini reveals that Amir will never be
able to escape from the past until he confronts his sins. For both Amir and Baba, America is a fresh
start. However, more notably for Amir, ‘America was a place to bury [his] memories’. Although
Amir relishes this opportunity, Baba finds himself stripped of his wealth and reputation in America
and struggles to settle in. Hosseini depicts that although Baba loved American ideology ‘it was
living in America that gave him an ulcer’ foreshadowing that America will ultimately destroy Baba
internally as well as depleting him from his former self physically. Despite Amir having found a
new life in America, it is vividly illustrated that Amir will remain tortured with guilt until he atones
for his sins. One could argue that Baba’s death was a reverberation from Hassan and Ali’s
dismissal, as this set in motion the chain of events which drove Amir and Baba to America.
Hosseini expertly conveys the dramatic effect Amir’s response to the situation with Hassan has had
on those around him through the use of Baba’s illness and reinforces the fact that, until Amir finds
redemption, he will never escape the constraints of his environment.
When an old friend unexpectedly calls Amir offering ‘a way to be good again’ more than twentyfive years after he betrayed Hassan in the alleyway, sleep deprived and guilt-ridden Amir senses a
chance to finally find the redemption he has sought for so long. Rahim Khan’s call brings not only
the past flooding back for Amir but the revelation that, until he returns to his homeland and atones
for his sins, he will never be free from the guilt. When Amir ascertains that it is not only Rahim
Khan on the line but ‘[his] past of unatoned sins’ Hosseini reveals that, even after all these years,
Amir has not escaped the constraints of his situation. The revelation that Amir must return to
Afghanistan to confront his problem to ever fully escape the guilt is used by Hosseini to outline his
key theme of redemption and atonement.
The act of encountering Assef, the bully who raped Hassan, as a prominent Taliban officer has
connotations of fate and destiny, as Amir can finally end the cycle of guilt. He finds the redemption
he has been searching for from the brass knuckles of Assef, as he becomes a man who can stand up
for himself, taking the pummelling he should have taken all those years ago. Finally emulating the
way he responded to his problem with Baba, Amir confronts his problem and escapes his situation,
free from the guilt at last. Hosseini emphasises that ‘[Amir] feel[s] healed. Healed at last’ by
noting that he laughs as Assef physically breaks him, as he has broken free from the constraints of
his situation and atoned for his sins. Amir is at peace after confronting his problem and Hosseini
teaches us that this is the path to true redemption.
Collectively, Khaled Hosseini’s touching novel ‘The Kite Runner’ teaches us about escaping the constraints
of our environment through atoning for our sins. Using Amir’s need to escape the regrets of his past and his
response to the situation, Hosseini perfectly encapsulates the truth that we can never truly escape our sin
until we confront it and atone for it and only then will we ever find full redemption. We can never find
peace running from our situation.
21/25
A sophisticated argument which engages well with the text’s key themes/purpose and addresses the
demands of the task fairly well.
 Founding argument on idea that Amir wishes to escape the expectations of Baba as a constraint
is a little tenuous. Argued fairly convincingly but should focus more on idea that this desire to
make his father proud is what underlies the decision he makes in alleyway which provokes the
guilt that he is constrained by throughout the novel and must escape from.
 A few analytical areas which could have enhanced argument: Use of narrative during rape scene
to mirror Amir’s physical turning away; symbolism of incident at pomegranate tree; pathetic
fallacy of weather and movie imagery when Hassan and Ali depart; signs that Amir is still
troubled in America i.e. unexplained infertility; signs that he has escaped guilt at end i.e. car
sckness, use of ‘For you a thousand times over’ phrase.
 Perhaps a little more textual evidence could be used to ensure full engagement with text – a few
more substantial quotations.
 Some topic sentences become a little review-like/storytelling – ensure they have an analytical
focus which progresses line of argument. Some vocabulary not quite right i.e. not a ‘pilgrimage’
to America as they are forced to go.