Chapter+One+-+The+Kite+Runner

**__INTERPRETING THE KITE RUNNER,__** By Khaled Hosseini **__Chapter One__** – We are introduced the literary device of FLASH BACK in the first paragraph. We are informed that Amir’s life and responses to life has been severely affected by something that he saw in 1975. “I became what I am today at the age of twelve, …I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek.” Hosseini’s use of adjectives like “crouching” and “peeking” give this piece the sense that Amir is seeing or doing something that he shouldn’t. Adjectives like “crumbling” gives the sense that Amir’s life and its foundations are about to “crumble/disintegrate/change”. We learn that Amir is deeply affected by this incident in the past when he says: “…it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, … the past claws its way out.” He is saying that no matter how hard we try to bury a painful incident, it remains in our memories and triggers can bring it back for us. This forces us to revisit its impact on our lives. We learn that Amir considers that he has a “past of unatoned sins.” These are sins that have not been made-up for. Amir receives a phone call from his father’s best friend and business partner, Rahim Khan. This man was also someone who understood Amir and supported Amir when he was a child living in Kabul. He sees the phone call from Rahim Khan as a symbol or metaphor for these sins revisiting him. He tells us: “I knew it wasn’t just Rahim Khan on the line. It was my past of unatoned sins.” __**The symbol of the two kites**__ Later, when Amir goes out to walk in the park he notices two kites soaring in the sky side by side. These two kites seemed to him __to symbolise his past relationship with Hassan__ when he was growing up in Kabul. “..Then I glanced up and saw a pair of kites, red with long blue tails, soaring in the sky….like a pair of eyes looking down on San Francisco… and suddenly Hassan’s voice whispered in my head “For you, a thousand times over.” Amir feels that the “eyes” are watching him, perhaps judging him. **__Theme of atonement and redemption =__** We are introduced to this theme in the novel when Amir considers something that Rahim Khan said to him on the phone: “There is a way to be good again.” Amir obviously feels the need to “be good again”. **__ Kites as a symbol for Amir and Hassan’s relationship as twins __** I looked up at those twin kites. I thought about Hassan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul…” **__The chapter finishes with reference to the past and its implications for Amir “…__**I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today.”
 * __Break Down to Chapter One__**