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Taking the ending of the book into consideration, discuss the significance of the title of Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner,  in an essay of three paragraphs or less. Post your completed essay here to PS Learning.

The Kite Runner ends on a hopeful note after Sohrab survives his attempted suicide. When Amir tries to talk to him he is met with silence. Amir reads aloud to him from the story about Rostam and Sohrab. When Sohrab finally speaks he says that he’s tired of everything. About a year after Sohrab arrived they are in the park for an Afghan New Year celebration. Soraya excitedly points out a half-dozen kites in the sky and then points to a guy selling kites nearby. Amir tests the string with his fingers, and when it reddens with blood, he smiles. He brings the kite to Sohrab. At first he tells stories about how kites were used in Malaysia and ancient China. Then he wets his index finger and holds it up, while telling Sohrab that his father used to kick up dust with his sandal to see which way the wind blew and that his father was the best kite-runner in their district. They then cut down another kite using one of Hassan’s oldest tricks in the book which symbolizes the end of the book. 

Given that Sohrab is Hassan’s child, the book is definitely going to end with Hassan somewhere in the picture. An example of uncertainty is focused on Sohrab. The novel cannot end with him being assured of happiness because that would belittle the traumatic depths of his losses and experiences. But his smile gives hope and tells the reader that one day, Sohrab will be happy and would no longer mourn the loss of his father. The kite is also symbolic of the time when Hassan would fly kites for Amir. In the park when another kite closes in, Sohrab hands the string back and takes the spool to allow the more experienced Amir to both fight and teach. In the past when Amir cut down a kite, Hassan ran down the trophy for him. But in the end, it’s Amir who cuts the kite and offers to run it down for Sohrab. In a symbolic end, Amir utters the same line to Sohrab that Hassan once shouted: “For you, a thousand times over.”

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