“The Kite Runner” Practice Essay Topics 1. ‘Hassan’s good qualities are also the source of great suffering.’ Discuss. 2. “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba.” ‘Despite his efforts, Amir never really succeeds in winning his father’s love.’ Do you agree? 3.
In the novel, Amir admits that they “deceived [themselves] into thinking that a toy made of tissue paper, glue, and bamboo could somehow close the chasm between [them]” (87). Amir means that one little thing, especially a kite, couldn’t have brought the two of them closer forever. In order for their relationship to be truly fixed, Amir would have to do several things over the span of his life to impress Baba and gain his acceptance. This passage is significant because it shows that even Amir knew, deep down, that winning the tournament wouldn’t fix everything. By Amir knowing this, it comes to the realization that letting Hassan get raped was really for nothing.
I ran it fairly” (P.77) and later got raped. Despite the consequences that Hassan was going to go through he believed that risking his life to satisfy Amir was worth giving up for than disappointing him. Near the ending of the book, Amir tries to redeem the broken bond between him and Sohrab. Amir used the kite in order to gain redemption, he flew the kite and used it in a battle against a local kid and won with the help of Sohrab. Right after Amir offered to run catch the kite for Sohrab and repeated the same quote that Hassan had said once, “For you, a thousand times over” (P.391).
"Be like the Boy Wonder", he said to Duddy, encouraging him to become a gangster. Since Duddy wanted Max's attention and thought that the only way to win his father's love and respect was to become someone just like Dingleman, Duddy grew up idolizing Jerry. Duddy has all the qualities he needs to achieve his dream of becoming a landowner, but with the Boy Wonder as his role model, he chooses the wrong road towards his goal. To make others think he is worthy, he starts to crazily pursue money. Wealth, in the form of land, is what Duddy believes his grandfather is telling him to strive for.
He is always comparing him to other boys and criticizing him for his shortcomings. Amir spends most of his childhood trying to please his father which is one of the reasons he did not help Hassan when he was getting raped after winning the kite flying competition. Amir was too concerned with making sure his father was proud of him. But Baba redeems himself by making a new life for him and Amir in America. He is proud of his son after he graduates from college and gives all the money he had for Amir’s wedding with Soraya.
Amir does not have a good relationship with his father at the beginning of the novel, Amir was trying to do things that would please his father but was not successful. One night Amir overhears a conversation between his father and Rahim,his father telling him that if Amir isn't able to stand up for himself as a child, he won't be able to as an adult. This drives Amir to be even more determined to please his father, and he believes it will come from winning the kite tournament. The kite tournament is an event held where the children gather up and fight with kites, the last one to stay in the sky is the winner. The winter of 1975 held the largest tournament in over 25 years because all the districts of Afghanistan came to Amir’s district where it was to be held.
Except now that I had it, I felt as empty as this unkempt pool I was dangling my legs into.” (p. 85). It is in this way that Hosseini uses the kite symbol to develop irony; Amir believes that the kite would be the savior of his relationship with Baba, but in reality, it is only superficial love. Amir wanted to be like Baba, but he didn’t realize that he already was like Baba. He was incapable of having a real relationship with a person, and valued things like kite fighting over actual relationships. It is because of this that he betrays Hassan, and says, “He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (p. 77).
A major character in this story is Charles Trask. What motivates his actions is the fact that he thinks their father, Cyrus, loves his stepbrother more than him. An inner conflict that Charles has is jealousy. He would always beat Adam up when they were young teenagers but once Adam left for the Army, Charles realized that he actually missed him. Once Adam comes back, he tells Charles that he escaped from jail which makes Charles feel better about himself.
7. Why is there so much more conflict between Biff and his father? There is so much more conflict with Biff and his father because Wily wants to mold his son Biff into a success that he thinks the American Dream holds for him. Although his tries throughout this molding he fails. Another reason why there was so much conflict was because Biff caught him cheating on his mom.
The “older” Philip is attempting to be more rebellious and risk-taking but is restrained by his fear of the possible consequences from his parents. Philip’s father tells Philip “It’s up to you what you make of your life.” This gives Philip mixed ideas as he feels like his father is controlling his life. Later on, this leads Philip to think – “I was using climbing to get away from something?” These conflicts affect Philips decisions during crucial moments of his evolution. Philip also has conflict with his family but mainly with his father and brother. In the first chapter of the novel Philip is playing in a soccer match.