Well, I just got back from a trip to China and Taiwan, and I finished The Kite Runner! That's basically all I did on the plane ride, and I love that book. It's heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. Now I just want to watch the movie (like I did with the Book Thief).
The next assignment I have to do for The Kite Runner is a 3-5 research paper, so now I need to brainstorm some ideas I could write about.
Here are some ideas I have:
- Obviously a huge theme is redemption, and the search for it. When Rahim Khan calls Amir he says, "There is a way to be good again." I think this sets up the entire novel. Amir goes back to Pakistan to try and redeem himself. He's been living with guilt for so long, and it haunts him. This novel could be claimed as a being a search for redemption.
- Another huge theme is family, and the role that families play and how the family members relate to each other. You have Father and Son relationships, such as Amir and Baba, as well as Hassan and Ali. You also have Husband and Wife relationships, such as Baba and his wife, Ali and his wife, and Amir and Soraya. So I could write about something to do with how families help us on our search for redemption? I don't know yet.
-A big symbol I noticed throughout the novel was that of kites. I mean obviously, the novel is titled The Kite Runner. So what do kites symbolize throughout the novel? They symbolize joy and happiness, but also guilt and regret. They symbolize hope for a better world, without war, what the world was like when Amir and Hassan were growing up.
-The setting is HUGE as well. I mean in Pakistan and Afghanistan with the Taliban and the war going on. I've got to talk about that in my paper at some point. I'm just not quite sure how to tie it in.
So, I want to talk about the theme of redemption, the symbolism of kites, and the setting. But what do I want to claim about these things? What do I think Khaled Hosseini is trying to claim through this novel and these aspects of the novel? Or not even that, what do I claim from the novel?
-I could try and use a literary theory, and use the 'lens' to write my paper. I'd most likely end up using New Historicism or Historical Criticism, but I'm not sure if that's the route I want to take.
-I could also try and use something like a journey, or a quest. But I really want to talk about those themes/symbols, so maybe not that either.
I'll think about it some more and see what I come up with.
