The Kite Runner Scar Analysis

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SCARS Scars appear in the Kite Runner in almost every significant character. Hosseini makes it clear that the scarring or deformities of the other characters means more than what they seem. In various characters like Ali, Hassan, and eventually Amir, you are able to see physical scars or deformities. Metaphorical or emotional scarring also comes in to play with characters such as Hassan or Sohrab. The importance of these scars and their meanings for each character differ, but they all come together to form a symbol within the novel. Ali has the most physical deformities of all of the characters in this book. So many in fact, the neighborhood boys had even "taken to calling him Babalu, or Boogeyman" (8). Scars are created whenever someone goes through a tough experience, the scar being a piece of that experience that is left behind on that person. It's possible that his deformities could be a symbol of the struggle he went through to deal with Baba and Saunabar, and…show more content…
His scarring is at first completely emotional, but then things take a turn for the worse. After his attempted suicide, he is left with scars on his wrists, so large and uneven they go almost never ignored. Even someone as sweet as Soraya couldn't ignore them. While showing Sohrab his room, Amir noticed "she was trying to avoid looking at his wrists and her eyes kept swaying back to those jagged pink lines" (358). Sohrab's scars (both mental and physical) are a representation of the country of Afghanistan. During most of Amir's life, Afghanistan was constantly in a war with itself, repeatedly being ruled and reruled, the country was slowly falling apart. This is exactly what happens to Sohrab. Bad things keep happening to him until eventually he breaks down and tries to commit suicide. Sohrab is the living representation of the fact that a country (or a person) can only handle so much brutality and
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