References to color in The Kite Runner
References to color in “The Kite Runner” Living in a world filled with coloration one tends to get lost in the sensation of its beauty, not noticing its figurative shade of meaning. The ambiguity of Khaled Hosseini’s allegory, “The Kite Runner”, contributes strongly to the effectiveness of its genuine essence through the frequent references to colors symbolically. Hosseini develops this further in his personification of characters through their eyes, the numerous references to violence, and the thrilling experience of kite running throughout the novel. Instead of describing characters by their personality or actions, the protagonist of the story, Hassan, recurrently refers to the color of their eyes. Hosseini effectively creates a sense to the characters soul, and the way Amir interprets them fabricates the reader’s knowledge to the relationship he has with them. Already, at the start of the novel, Amir introduces his father, Baba as a man with ‘a black glare that would “drop the devil to his knees begging for mercy”’ (11). Amir’s choice of words is very interesting, as instead of describing his eyes as a dark brown, he uses a color which has connotations of power and mystery. Immediately, Hosseini has introduced a conflict between father and son, where Amir feels he has disappointed his father in his mere existence, as he isn’t the strong, brave, athletic boy like his servant friend Hassan, his father
idolizes. Furthermore, black represents secrecy, and as Amir is so wound up in a spiral of his own sins, only as he gets older does he learn of dark secrets Baba kept from him, such as that Hassan was his brother, and feels that he has lived in a cycle of betrayal. After learning about his brotherhood between Hassan and himself, does Amir feel even more redemption about the way he treated his only true friend. Unlike Baba, Hassan is described of having ‘ eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green, even sapphire” (3). This spectrum of colors ...
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idolizes. Furthermore, black represents secrecy, and as Amir is so wound up in a spiral of his own sins, only as he gets older does he learn of dark secrets Baba kept from him, such as that Hassan was his brother, and feels that he has lived in a cycle of betrayal. After learning about his brotherhood between Hassan and himself, does Amir feel even more redemption about the way he treated his only true friend. Unlike Baba, Hassan is described of having ‘ eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green, even sapphire” (3). This spectrum of colors reflects Hassan’s personality in which gold connotes a richness in soul, a charisma so bright and positive that finding a friend like him is rare. Similarly, the deep blue of a sapphire represents a rarity, faith, truth and tranquility. Green implies the hope and naiveness he saw in the world and people surrounding him, plus an emotional correspondence with safety, as Amir always underestimated how much he actually relied on this. An ironic sense which Hosseini threads into the ambiguity of color is that while Hassan was the only person in Amir’s life who was constantly stepping up and protecting him, Amir however, was too much of a coward to return the favor when his friend suffered a life threatening situation of rape right in front of him. Other main characters which have a large role in Amir’s life, such as Soraya with ‘light walnut brown eyes’ (122) connote the unusual soft femininity Amir isn’t used to or General Taheri’s ‘pale blue eyes’ (123) implies that his character isn’t as pure as it was before the Taliban took over and crushed his hopes; over time they have become diluted. After the uprising of the Taliban, the Afghani people experienced hell on earth, and in relation to this, Hosseini makes both, bold and hidden references to violence. Unmistakably, the turning point of the plot is when the character Hassan is involved in a rape scene. Before Amir actually begins to witness this scene, he is over flood with memories of Hassan and him ‘lost in the white fresh snow’ or of them ‘standing in a field of apple green grass’ (65); the colors of these memories are very innocent and Hosseini uses this as a climax and hyperbole to what Amir is about to witness; perhaps Amir’s last moment of pure youth. The setting where the rape takes place is described with hues of dull yellows and dirty browns, implying not only that the area is filthy, but also that the impure thoughts and actions of Assef are dishonorable and inhumane. Furthermore, Hosseini uses irony in his writing where he adds that ‘Hassan’s brown corduroy pants were thrown on a heap of eroded bricks’ (66). The color brown actually represents stability and masculine qualities, whereas in this situation Hassan is physically and mentally experiencing damage beyond belief. Symbolically, Hassan’s rape is echoed by Sohrab’s rape decades later and by Afghanistan’s continual rape of war and terrorism. Furthermore, after Amir returns to his homeland to claim Sohrab, Hosseini emphasizes the color red in his surroundings. Red gives implications of energy, war, danger, and determination, giving the reader a subconscious reaction to the changes of environment. Obviously the color red also appears frequently in blood, and when Amir witnesses the horrors in the Ghazi Stadium, the colors of the trucks are red as well. ( 234-235). Another devastating scene in the book, occurred when Sohrab tried to kill himself after he thought he would go back to an orphanage where he had also been raped countless times. The overflowing blood red water connotes Amir’s emotional state as he drowns in fear for this boy which he has learnt to love. Afghanistan had become a place where joy couldn’t exist separately from pain. Plus, red is referred to during kite running tournament, when only he and Hassan are left, “ a red kite was closing in on me- I’d caught it just in time”(56), but this time a danger which Amir could defeat. Although the relationship between Amir and the people which played a major role in his life was always unstable, the kite running tournament was always an event which improved bonds. As Amir and Hassan had been separated by class since birth, Hosseini further represents their differences in kite running, where Amir was in control of the kite while Hassan only assisted by feeding the string. However, Hassan’s purity of mind never allowed himself to question this, and his joy was vicarious, just like his experiences of wealth and privilege. Still, the color of the kite as a symbol itself speaks of the innocence and freedom of the moment, where the kite takes away life’s realities until it is grounded. The color of their kite was blue which has connotations of depth, stability, trust, and sincerity and which was exactly the bond which developed between them during the event. Additionally, the symbol of the blue kite is what Amir sees as the token to his father’s heart. Winning the tournament was his chance of proving himself better than others, finally having some faith in himself. His devotion to winning the kite tournament becomes so extreme that after he witnessed Hassan getting raped, he couldn’t help but look if the blue kite had any tears in it (68). Hosseini has mastered the ambiguity of language in “The Kite Runner”, and expresses the arcane beauty of it through the symbolic representation in color. After noticing the numerous areas he uses color and having the ability to appreciate these techniques, it leads the reader into wanting to take further attention into noticing these small devices the author sneaks in, as all the meanings become even richer and more engrossing then before. The double meaning of color also leads the reader to ponder upon their own personal life and observe the different tones of color they see everyday. Certain colors produce endorphins which then affects the way humans respond and react to certain situations which science can thoroughly explain. If certain colors were reversed and Baba’s eyes were a light vibrant blue for example, our perception of Baba would change immediately, as we no longer would associate his character as powerful and mysterious. On the whole, color influences the way one perceives objects and situations to such an extreme extent that one subconsciously is already making conclusions and decisions about how this affects personal view points.
