Kite fighting, kite flying, and kites all have a deeper meaning than you thought..... In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, there are two boys Amir and Hassan who love kite flying and fighting. Kite fighting was a very popular, major event that many people attended and enjoyed participating in even though it would leave their hands all bloody and scared, that is what made kite fighting violently beautiful. The symbolism of the kite develops in many ways during the novel in the beginning it symbolizes Amir's and Hassan's fate as well as their freedom, in the middle it symbolizes Amir's guilt that he feels towards Hassan, and at the end of the novel it symbolizes how Amir and Sohrab relationship is not much different from Amir and Hassan's.
In the beginning of the novel the kites symbolize both beauty and violent as well as freedom and fate. When Amir and Hassan would fly or fight there kites they felt as if they were in power, and that nothing could come between them like as if it the world was just of them, the sky and the kites. Kite fighting caused so much pain, but brought so much joy, sometimes Amir would have "Hassan hold the string and sucked the blood dry, blotted my finger against my jeans." (64) Which shows how much pain it has caused, but he didn't care he just wants the pride and joy of being able to say that he won the tournament. Amir and Hassan attend the kite fighting tournament. They have been kite fighting for a while now in the tournament, they are now down to the final two. Amir believes that he has an advantage on the blue kite, and it ends up being true. "Hassan was screaming and his arm was wrapped around my neck. "Bravo! Bravo, Amir agha!" (66) Amir and Hassan have won the kite fighting tournament, this was the true beauty in kite flying he went through all that pain with his best friend and came out with the win. This show the beauty in violence and the freedom that he is giving to be able to accomplish that goal with Hassan who is a Hazara.
In the middle of The Kite Runner the kites develope a different symbolism which is the guilt that Amir will forever feel for leaving Hassan, and not sticking up for him. After they had cut the last kite down Hassan promised Amir that he would run the kite for him by saying, "For you a thousand times over" (70). That shows that Hassan would do anything to protect Amir, and make him feel safe. Once Hassan had ran the kite; he ran into Assef (the "neighborhood bully" who Hassan had already encountered once, but got out of it with a slingshot) he wanted to hurt Hassan in so many different ways. He asked for the blue kite that Hassan had ran for Amir, but Hassan being the loyal person he was he told Assef no that is was for Amir. That only made Assef more mad than he already was, he told Hassan "I'm letting you keep the kite Hazar. I'll let you keep it so it will always remind you of what I am about to do" (73). He ended up raping Hassan and Amir could have done something about it, but he just stood still and watched, than ran off. The blue kite will forever symbolize the guilt that Amir feels for not stepping up and taking Hassan's side and standing up for him. He will have to live with that guilt for the rest of his life.
Towards the end of the novel the kite start to develop a different type of symbolism, the kites symbolizes the realationship between Amir and Hassan as well as the relationship to Amir and Sohrab. When Amir and Sohrab are outside watching all the other kids fly kites Amir asks Sohrab, "Do you want to help me fly this?" (368). At that very moment I believe Amir feels as if he is talking to Hassan he feels that same relationship and connection that he had felt back when he was a little kid. Once Sohrab agrees to fly the kite they eventually ended up cutting someone's kite down, then Amir found himself volunteering to go run the kite, and as he is running off to go run the kite he turns around and yells "For you a thousand times over," (371) At this moment Amir realized that he not only found himself feeling as if he were talking to Hassan, but turning into Hassan, and letting Sohrab know that by saying what he said he will do everything in his power to protect him and lead him in the right direction. Which is what the kite is trying to symbolize.
The kites played a very important role in this novel, and many of us do not realize it. The symbolism of the kite developed throughout The Kite Runner, it started off as showing Amir and Hassan's freedom to showing Amir's guilt that he felt, then to the realationships that Amir and Hassan had, as well as the new relationship that Amir has with Sohrab.
