TITLE: Alienation as a theme described in ‘The Kite Runner’

In her article “Exploring Ethics –The role of multicultural narrative” Patricia Goldblatt
says “A story is a scaffold both for the writer’s ideas and the readers’ acceptance of
that story as a truth”........

The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini is a Shakespearean beginning to an

epic tale that spans lives lived across two continents amid political upheavals, where
dreams wilt before they bud and where a search for a child finally transforms a
coward into a man. Even though the narrator, Amir’s quest to redeem himself makes
up the heart of the novel, it is the theme of alienation that drives the story.

In the story, alienation has been described as something that refers to estrangement,
division or distancing of people from each other, or of people from what is
meaningful to them, or of a person from their own sense of self.

The story unfolds in Afghanistan, in the late 1970s, with Amir living in a single parent
home yearning for his father's attention. He mourns his mother’s absence whom he
refers to as “a smiling princess in white,” for he feels that he is more like her, i.e.
more interested in reading and writing and less like his sporty, strong and athletic
father. However, Amir’s ability to fly kites and win at this sport arouses his father’s
admiration which temporarily bridges his estrangement with him. His alienation from
his father is reflected in the statement Amir makes in the story-“How could he just
forgive Hassan? And if Baba could forgive him then why couldn’t he forgive me for
not being the son he’d always wanted?”

His father on the other hand has his own difficulty connecting with Amir. He feels
guilty treating Amir well when he can’t acknowledge Hassan as his son. As his
friend Rahim Khan points out-“Children are not colouring books, you can’t fill the
colours you like in them”, he worries that he does not see much of himself in his son.

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He wonders, given his son’s weak will and nature, if he will ever be able to stand up
for what is right when the time comes. I feel that the differences in the
personality,orientation and the world view of both the father and son lead to this
distancing....Moreover the inability of the characters to relate to each other
contributes to a strained relationship between the two.

Amir and his relationship with Hassan form the core of the story. Their relationship is
fraught with conflict, even before Amir learns that Hassan is his half-brother. The
relationship beween the boys is that of a master and servant and also one of
friendship. However, Amir is sharply envious of Hassan because of the concern
heaped on him by Amir’s father. This envy and Amir's own deep insecurity and
immaturity culminate in Amir's betrayal of Hassan when Hassan is assaulted by
Assef. Amir says-“It became increasingly clear that one of us had to go” which leads
to the severance of the relationship between the two families.

This incident leaves an indellible imprint on his soul. He loses contact with his old
self and experiences self estrangement,an acute sense of guilt and remorse and the
beginning of the story “I became what I am at the age of twelve” justifies the fact...
He no longer feels the same and is haunted by his past at every turn.

The story also talks about Hassan’s son,Sohrab’s alienation among the Taliban.
Sohrab’s life with the Taliban has been described as one of isolation and torture,
devoid of all the values associated with childhood, be it love, compassion or
innocence. When Amir manages to save him, his (Sohrab’s) life changes for the
better and his smile at the end of story signifies his realization that he is no more
alienated and isolated...

Even though Hosseini does not talk much about Hassan’s mother, Sanaubar, I feel
that her escape from her home and her coming back to her son is probably because
of her sense of alienation. Maybe it is because of her inability to share and connect
with the people she is living with, be it her husband or the people she runs off with.....

The Kite Runner also describes the social alienation which stems from the negligent
attitude of the society towards the minority’s needs. In Afghan culture, the people
belonging to Hassan’s tribe,Hazara are treated as pariahs and are constantly
referred to as ‘flat-nosed’. In the story,both Amir and Hassan know the social gap
and the religious differences that define their identities, which prevents them from
developing a full fledged frienship.

However when Amir and his father escape to the US, the theme of cultural
estrangement becomes prominent. It comes into play when an individual is
compelled to live in an unfamiliar surrounding as far as the culture and traditions are
concerned .

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As Amir says “America was a place to bury my memories and a place to mourn
his”,his father feels alienated not only because of the differences in the culture and
the mindset of people but because for him, US does not symbolize ‘home’ but a
place where the people lack warmth and the ability to trust.

He makes it clear in the course of the story that he’s there, just for Amir’s sake.
However, this distancing from his home leads to an improved relationship between
father and son. He is able to open up more with Amir, and the two grow much closer
in his final years. I feel that the reason for this change was Amir’s transition from a
boy to a confident and a mature man which sits down well with his father.

Thus I feel that the Kite Runner proves to be successful on various grounds as it
manages to poignantly describe the alienation faced by the various characters be it
Amir, his Father or Hassan , it’s effect on them and it’s consequences which shape
the story. It allows the readers to relate with the characters and sympathesize with
them and as Goldblatt says “The Kite Runner excites emotions, thoughts, and
feelings in readers of diverse ages and backgrounds and disturbs the reader’s
consciousness” which makes Hosseini’s writing all the more powerful, be it in terms
of intrigue, adventure or escape.................

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Hosseini, Khaled.The Kite Runner.

London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2004

2. Goldblatt, Patricia. “Exploring Ethics: The Role of Multicultural Narrative”.

Multicultural Review 16, no. 2 (2009): 40-44.Google Books.

3. Aubry, Timothy. “Afghanistan Meets the Amazon: Reading The Kite Runner in
America”. PMLA 124.1 (2009): 25-43. Print.

4. Hill, Amelia. “An Afghan Hounded by his Past”. Observer Review Section, The
Observer Sunday September 7 2003.

5. Salem Press. “The Kite Runner”. Google