The Kite Runner Symbolism Essay

Words: 412
Pages: 2

The kite runner is a story rich with symbolism and deep, question raising motifs. Among them is the recurring mentioning of the monster in the lake that Hassan dreamt about, which symbolized both Hassan’s devotion to Amir, and Amir’s guilt after standing by as Hassan got raped. The morning of the kite-fighting tournament, while Hassan made breakfast, he described his dream to Amir, one where the two of them had shown the people at Lake Ghargha that there is no monster, and in turn earned the titles “Amir and Hassan, Sultans of Kabul”(p.60). This was likely a way for Hassan to soothe Amir’s nerves before the tournament, and it worked. The two of them won the kite fighting tournament later that day, and Amir won Baba’s approval for the first …show more content…
It had grabbed Hassan by the ankles, dragged him to the murky bottom. I had been the monster.”(p.86). Amir blamed himself for Hassan’s rape, his guilt made him into the monster, Hassan floating through life, following him to the ends of the earth. Although Hassan had followed him into the lake, even though in real life he could not swim, Amir had still dragged him to his death by standing idle, and not coming forward about Hassan’s rape to protect him. After a few weeks of a torturous non-relationship between the two, Amir finally decides that, in order to ease the pain for the both of them, one of the two friends must go. In order to do so, he framed Hassan for stealing his new watch and some birthday money. Even after Baba ‘forgives’ him, Ali insists that the two of them must leave, and Amir realizes that Hassan had told Ali what he had done - or rather, not done. In the moment that Hassan lied to protect Amir, Amir wants to say, “I was the snake in the grass, the monster in the lake”(p. 105). Even as he tried to send Hassan away, he still sees himself as the monster that is slowly drowning him, perhaps even more so, as his guilt worsens from then