The Kite Runner: Sample Essay

What is the significance of structure in 'The Kite Runner'?

‘The Kite Runner’ is a novel which stands out for its uniqueness in structure and the variation with which it uses events and other happenings to keep the reader interested until the very end. The structure follows a conventional scheme with exception of a few instances where there are time-shifts and the use of letters makes us feel we have gone back in time.

Hosseini has used a chronological time-scheme throughout the book, and jumps time only in highly significant parts of the novel. The first chapter is set in December 2001, which is the ‘present’ throughout the story. It ends at the same time, somewhere around December 2001 – this is what makes the structure of narrative in ‘The Kite Runner’ quite unusual. We then go back in time and learn of Amir, the narrator’s past and how he spent his childhood back in Kabul, Afghanistan.

As the story progresses, we reach the first dramatic climax of Hassan’s rape. For quite some time, the story concentrates on the hardships Amir and Hassan go through after that period. Later, the narrative drifts away from Afghanistan and shifts to America, where Baba and Amir gain political asylum – Ali and Hassan leave the house much earlier out of misunderstanding between Hassan and Amir. Momentarily, the plot seems to revolve around a young man’s hardship in a new land, and vaguely comes across as an immigrant story.

Much later, a call from Rahim Khan, Baba’s best friend, changes the entire plot. He requests Amir to go see him in Pakistan, as a dying man’s plea. After this, the pace picks up to such a rate that the novel almost turns into a thriller and the dramatic events do not disappoint the reader. Amir gets a chance to make up for his ‘unatoned sins’ – as Rahim Khan says, “There is a way to be good again.” The moral issues that had earlier taken a setback come back in double measure, and it is gratifying to see Amir fight the battle for redemption.

Small events such as Baba’s love for Amir and Hassan can be seen again in the form of Amir’s love for Sohrab. Hosseini has consciously crafted these events so as to make the story satisfying as a whole. Similarly, we see Hassan’s threat of turning Assef one-eyed come true when Sohrab instinctively aims for Assef’s eye with his slingshot; it almost is prophetic. The recurrence of the hare-lip; first in Hassan and then in Amir brings out the theme of suffering. ‘Smiling’ also has a large significance in this story – Hassan’s smile always conveyed joy and faith, and we see his son Sohrab smiling at the end of the story, hinting to the reader that everything after that turned out to be eventful.

Overall, the structure in ‘The Kite Runner’ has proved to be an extremely vital part of the book. Hosseini has used this to his advantage so as to make the plot more interesting and to give it the required depth at relevant points in the novel. All of this adds up to make one of the classics of its time.