The Kite Runner: Post Five

To wrap up this wonderful novel, it seems proper to reflect over the book as a whole and link it to other novels and events.

Like Black Boy, this story has several characters who do not follow the norms of society. In Black Boy, Richard rebels against his family's commands and the unspoken rules of relations between whites and blacks. In The Kite Runner, Amir crosses the gap between Hazaras and Pashtuns in Afghanistan, by playing with Hassan. However, Amir is still partially swayed by his society's bias, as shown in his feelings of superiority over Hassan, and his sacrifice of Hassan's well-being for a kite. Also, both leave their homes due to their abnormal beliefs. Richard travels to Memphis, then to the North in an attempt to escape the limits placed on him by his family and Southern society. Amir leaves his home and security in America and returns to war-ravaged Afghanistan for the sake of Hassan's son, regardless of his cultural background. Indeed, many people are surprised by Amir's action:
[Amir said,] "I'm going to Kabul to find a boy."
"A boy," Wahid repeated.
"Yes." I fished the Polaroid from the pocket of my shirt... He studied the photo. Looked from me to the photo and back again. "This boy?"
I nodded.
"This Hazara boy." (Hosseini 237)
It is very unusual for a Pashtun to care about a Hazara at all, much less venture into Afghanistan for one.

In both On the Waterfront and The Kite Runner, the protagonist attempts to atone for past mistakes. In On the Waterfront, Terry helps the bosses of the corrupt union murder Joey Doyle, then testifies against the union to make up for his misdeed. In The Kite Runner, Amir allows a bully to rape Hassan, and falsely implicates Hassan in stealing money and a watch. Many years later, Amir is finally able to make up for his wrongdoing by rescuing Hassan's son from Afghanistan.

The 400 Blows and The Kite Runner are similar in that neither of their endings are certain. At the end of The 400 Blows, Antoine has escaped from the detention center and accomplished his goal of seeing the sea, but the movie ends there, without any hint of what Antoine's fate will be. At the end of The Kite Runner, Sohrab is depressed and has not smiled or spoken to anyone for months. But when Amir flies a kite for him, and is able to cut down another kite, he smiles a bit. Amir thinks, "It was only a smile, nothing more. It didn't make everything all right. It didn't make anything all right... But I'll take it" (Hosseini 371). There is no way to know if Sohrab will ever stop being depressed, and so the book leaves us stranded here, hopeful, but without certainty.