I would like you to answer the following questions about The Kite Runner.
1. Why is it significant that Soraya is unable to bear children? In what way does this tragedy relate to Sohrab and the atonement of Amir’s sins?
2. Why is it significant that Amir runs after the kite that Sohrab has defeated? What does Amir mean when he tells him, “For you, a thousand times over?”
3. Discuss the significance of the pomegranate tree where Amir and Hassan play and read and then carve their names into the trunk.
4. How does Hosseini succeed in bringing the horror of the Taliban to life? Why did he choose the role for Assef that he did?
english@cc 
The fact that Soraya cannot bear children somehow reinforces to Amir that he is guilty for what he did to Hassan. Amir feels that this is Ala’s way of punishing them. When Amir goes back to Afghanistan to rescue Sohrab, he is not only redeeming his ‘past of unatoned sins’ and saving Sohrabs life, but he is also saving Sorayas and his own. Sorhab becomes the means by which Amir can be redeemed, for his dark past, and he also becomes the child who will redeem Soraya and Amir from their otherwise childless future. or something
1.The significance of Soraya not being able to bear children of her own is like she and Amir are being punished for what they have done in earlier life. For their sins from being younger, Soraya running away with her man and eloping and for Amir who witnessed the rape of Hassan and keeping it to himself and it resulting in Ali and Hassan leaving their safe place in their family of Baba and Amir.
2.When Amir runs for the kite after Sohrab has defeated it, it is like the reversal of the roles when Amir was younger. Hassan would run the kites for Amir when he defeated them. When Amir says to him “For you, a thousand times over”, that was the last thing Hassan really said to Amir and Amir would do anything for Sohrab “… a thousand times over”.
3.The significance of it is that when Hassan writes to Amir he tells him of how “the tree hasn’t born fruit in years.” This is a symbol of their friendship when Amir witnessed the rape of Hassan by Assef he felt to guilty to even look at Hassan and he made it hard for both Hassan and Ali to live with Baba and himself and they left. And after all those years of not being in contact and Amir having to find out from Rahim Khan that Hassan was murdered by the Taliban, the symbol of the tree as their friendship shows that in the earlier years of Amir reading to Hassan and carving their names into the tree “…Sultans of Kabul” signifies that when the tree does not grow fruit anymore, their friendship has died.
4.Hosseini brings the horror of the Taliban to life by describing the environment of Kabul as it is after the Soviet Invasion and the Taliban taking charge. Also by Amir being told stories of the Hazara mass killings and him watching the slow murder of the two people in the holes on the soccer field being shot at by rocks. By giving Assef the role of one of the main Taliban leaders it shows how really evil he is, even when he was younger you could see how much he belittled the Hazara and hated them, but by giving orders to just go away willy-nilly and kill anyone that are just at home doing no harm to anyone is just sick.
1. Why is it significant that Soraya is unable to bear children? In what way does this tragedy relate to Sohrab and the atonement of Amir’s sins?
It is like they are being punished for their sins, Soraya’s being her running off with a man and amir’s being his childhood life with Hassan. If they were able to have children, Amir may not have wanted to save Sohrab or then go on to keep him as a child of their own.
2. Why is it significant that Amir runs after the kite that Sohrab has defeated? What does Amir mean when he tells him, “For you, a thousand times over?”
He is switching roles from what he did as a child with Hassan. When he says ‘For you, a thousand times over’ he is saying what Hassan said to him when he ran the kite when they were still friends.
3. Discuss the significance of the pomegranate tree where Amir and Hassan play and read and then carve their names into the trunk.
The tree is a symbol of their friendship. When they are good friends the tree is alive and bears fruit, they always visit the tree and have good times in it. But as their friendship dies, so does the tree.
4. How does Hosseini succeed in bringing the horror of the Taliban to life? Why did he choose the role for Assef that he did?
He brought the horrors to life by what they did to Hassan and then what happened to Sohrab. By using Assef for the part of the Taliban, it made it all more horrific as he had grown up with Amir and Hassef, being the bully on the block.
1
Soraya’s inability to bear children is yet another punishment for Amir for his past sins, however on this compassion he is not alone, he shares this punishment with Soraya as i believe she also is being punished for he disloyalty in the past also.
2
This is repetition used to make the reader go “Ahhh, all is good again”, as we witness Amir flash back to peaceful times of his past.
3
I’m getting bored
The pomegranate tree is an essential source of fruit and energy for the boys young diets, just kidding
The pomegranate tree is a perfect symbol for the friendship of the boys, after the rape of Hassan the fruit falls off and neither the tree or the friendship bears goodness again.
4
“Dancing through the sand, with a bomb strapped to my back” … A C FLEM.
I actually have no idea for this one so i will look at other’s comments later on EH? Happy reading ———> andrew smells ——->
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the taliban is well represented and personified by Assef. From our first encounter of Assef we can see that he is a creep. He is sadistic, proud, controlling and shows no remorse for the pain he inflicts.
for you a thousand times shows the loyalty and deep love of Hassan for Amir. That I can do anything, to any extent
the two sentences in the novel, ‘for you a thousand times over’ and ‘there is a way to be good againg’ actuallay gives strength and contnuity of thought and action to the story. Chracters imbued with deep love get inspiration from them ( like Amir) and this intense desire for redemption ( to his guilt), Amir comes back to atone his sin in the adoption of Sohrab.
Assef symbolises pure evil and hate that does exist in society. He is the psychopath that is blood-thirsty of Hazaras and derives pleasure from peoples pain by getting revenge. Hosseini effectively uses Assef as the final hurdle or obstacle that Amir needs to overcome – relunctantly Amir does overcome this..
Thanks Renee for that thoughtful answer.