With close reference to language form and structure, show how far Khaled Hosseini uses symbolism to show the social divide between the characters in the extract on pages 3-6 of The Kite Runner?

There is distinctive evidence of a hierarchal class system in this extract from The Kite Runner, and Hosseini uses symbolism to highlight and explore the divide between characters within the social hierarchy.

Hosseini uses Hassan’s cleft lip deformity as a symbolic reference towards his social class. It is immediately recognisable in his face, which tells anyone who sees him that he’s of low status, because his family are too poor to afford corrective surgery. Amir uses the analogy of a “Chinese doll maker” who grew “tired and careless”, suggesting the doll maker, pragmatically referring to God, didn’t value Hassan enough to take his time making him. This reflects the same way society doesn’t value him as a person.

The houses of Amir and Hassan are a prime example where drastic social differences can be seen between the two classes. A long, detailed description of Amir’s “sprawling house” completely contrasts with the short, bland description of Hassan’s “mud shack”, shocking the reader. Amir’s descriptions of the two houses couldn’t be more different, as he uses words like “beautiful” and “intricate” to describe his mansion, whereas Hassan’s house is called only a “spare” “mud shack” in the shadows of a loquat tree, which is very small, meaning the house wouldn’t be more than a single storey. To add to this, possessions are also important in showing wealth and class. Amir and Baba’s mansion is full of luxury such as “marble floors”, “crystal chandelier”, “gold-stitched tapestries” and the “mahogany table” to show off their wealth. The items have very descriptive adjectives to accompany them, such as “mahogany”, “crystal” and “marble, all expensive materials, which emphasises the luxury and value of their house, and also giving it a sense of royalty with regal colourings such as “gold”.

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This can be compared to Hassan’s “little mud hut” which completely contrasts the description of Baba and Amir’s “estate”. By Amir describing it as “dimly lit by kerosene lamps”, it creates dark, dreary images in the reader’s mind which completely contrasts Amir’s “tall marble fireplace, always lit by the orange glow of a fire” which gives a sense of warmth and comfort. Amir’s table is made of expensive, luxurious “mahogany” compared to simple “wooden” and Amir’s tapestries are “Gold stitched” while Hassan’s is not as rich, with only “sewn in beads” compared to “gold-stitched”. Amir also describes his father’s “black leather chairs” and Hassan’s “three legged stool”. All of these, including the “worn rug” in comparison to Amir’s “marble floors” and “mosaic tiles”, emphasize just how different the two boy’s houses are. The different furnishings Amir describes gives the reader a clear picture of just how different the two boys are, and Hosseini does this deliberately to create completely contrasting houses to widen the social gap between the boys

As well as the houses themselves, the loquat tree which shadows Hassan’s house can be interpreted as symbolism. Here the tree is representing the upper classes of society while the house itself represents the lower class. The house is “in the shadows of the loquat tree”, much like how the members of lower classes, specifically servants, are left in the “shadows” of their upper class masters. It is clear the difference in height between the house and the tree metaphorically represents the social hierarchy.

Hosseini uses trees as symbolism to emphasize the boy’s social segregation elsewhere in the novel, the most prominent being the pomegranate tree which Amir and Hassan carved their names into. It acts as a strong symbol of their friendship as they spend much of their time, especially during the summer, sat in the tree eating fruit and reading books. However, Hassan later notes in the novel that the tree hadn’t bore fruit in years and that “The carving had dulled, almost faded altogether” which mirrors the way their friendship faded after Hassan was raped. However the fact the carving was still there suggests that some sort of permanent state always remains, so that no matter what happens they will always be close no matter what their class.

In addition to this, Hosseini again uses distance to symbolize class divide when Amir and Hassan sit in the poplar trees together. Even though the boys are “on a pair of high branches”, making them equal in height, they still ”sit across from each other”, changing the scale from vertical, as with the house and the loquat tree, to horizontal. This demonstrates how, even if they are equal in height, they still remain apart. This is also evident when Amir tells the reader about how they “parted ways” at the end of each day, after spending the whole day together playing as best friends and equals rather than servant and master, which is what their social classes dictated they were. We see that no matter what, the social differences are always evident between the two boys, so they can never be truly equal.

The “wall of ailing corn”, planted by Baba and Ali, is a good example of symbolic reference towards social class. For a short moment, we are lead to believe that despite the class divide two people of different social status can work together. However, the corn “never really took” and from this we can see the difference between Baba and Ali through the fact that they cannot successfully build something together. The wall can also be seen as a metaphorical wall, dividing the characters socially.

To conclude, I believe Hosseini successfully uses many forms of symbolism in this extract to show class divide between the characters and it is clearly shown that there is inevitably always a divide between characters in the background, even if they act like equals and sit in trees at the same height together or try to plant corn.

Erica Wilson

Word Count: 959