The novel begins with Amir's memory of peering down an alley, looking for Hassan, who is kite running for him. As Amir peers into the alley, he witnesses a tragedy. The novel ends with Amir running a kite for Hassan's son, Sohrab, as he begins a new life with Amir in America. Why do you think the author chooses to frame the novel with these scenes? How are these scenes related to the symbol (s) and themes of the story?

Guilt and Redemption

Explanation:

In The Kite Runner, Amir carries a pang of guilt feeling all his life since he ignored the tragedy of a crime being committed on Hassan and walked away from the scene. It was because Hassan belongs to the Hazara community whose cleft lips is a symbol of his social status. It was Hassan who amused Amir with his kite playing skills. Years later, when Amir goes to Kabul in search of Sohrab, the son of Hassan, he has Hassan in his mind whose guilt he has to pay back. Like Hassan, Sohrab is also sexually abused by the same boy who is now an official, and who inflicts injury to Amir, but Amir takes Sohrab back to Pakistan and then to America. But in America, Sohrab remains silent and sullen, which haunts Amir. Now is the time to pay back and we have Amir playing kite for Sohrab, exactly the way Sohrab's father used to play for him, who smiles and comes back to life.