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1. Background introduction
Khaled Hosseini， the author of ‘The Kite Runner’， is the only one Afghan writer who writes in English. This book has been published in 2003 and has been welcomed in many countries， making hundreds of millions of readers fascinated and heartbreaking， and also making himself the winner of the 2006 United Nations Humanitarian Award and France’s Elle awards. Based on the traditional culture of Afghanistan， this novel vividly depicts the life of the past 30 years in Afghanistan.
The kite exists throughout the whole novel， and plays am important tool to promote the development of the novel. The whole story starts from the kite， but also stops at the kite. In China， only a few people participate in kite-flying activity， while it is a popular activity in Afghan. Every Friday， for tens of thousands of boys climbing on the roof and the the top of the mountains outside the city to fight with their kites. Being winners of the kite fighting was regarded as a very high honor， which gains admiration and respect for kites fighter. Therefore， kite fighting in Afghanistan was prosperous.
2.Symbolic meaning of the Kite
In “The Kite Runner”， the author take the kite as a clue， giving a compassion description of the Afghans and Afghan culture， delicately depicts the relationships between the individual and the state， father and child， as well as loyalty and blood， and tells a story of mistakes-making and redemption in a most vivid and touching method. The kite is the cultural representation of Afghanistan， in this sense， “the kite runner” is a metaphor of cultural identity. People in searching of “Kite”， is also the searching of the good side of human nature.
Firstly， for Amir， the kite is a metaphor of his frustration and new growth， or his betrayal and redemption， but also an essential part of his personality， only when he catches up the ‘kite’， can he reach his self-expectation. The first kite for Amir was when he 12 years old， in order to be the winner of kite fighting activity and to win back his father’s love and approval for him， he gave up his friend Hassan at the expense of the price of making him been bullied and raped. Amir finally got the kite， however， he was tortured by the guilt and shame. The second kite for Amir was when he at about 40， he knew that Hassan was his half brother and son of Hassan（Sohrab） had fell into the hands of Taliban， so he came back to homeland， bravely fight against Taliban rogue， and finally took Sohrab out of Afghanistan. But the poor child Sohrab was suffering from severe autism， in order to help him get rid of it， Amir took him to the kite fighting. When Amir finally cut off someone else’s kite， Sohrab smiled， at this moment， the shadow inside Amir disappeared. ‘For you， a thousand times over’， in order to make Sohrab happy， he ran for Sohrab just like what Hassan did for him， and finally got salvation.Kite witnessed a man’s mistake， confession， atonement and growth. Amir ran after and got the kite at any cost and finally became a real man. Secondly， for Hassan， the kite symbolizes his precarious fate， as an illegitimate child， he was not recognized by society in Afghanistan， so he was like a kite in the sky， which was not able to dominate his own destiny. furthermore， the kite is a symbol of his loyalty and fine quality. He was brave and loyal to Amir， he can run after the kite for him regardless of his own safety； later when Amir and his father moved to the United States， he guarded home for them， and was shot dead by Taliban. He devoted his life to Amir. In addition， running for the kite also expressed the author’s expection of the return of humanity and new hope for Afghanistan.
Thirdly， for Afghanistan， the kite symbolizes courage and pain. Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in 1979， and Soviet soldiers killed innocent people， raped women， committed all sorts， and attempted to conquer the Afghan peoplel， but the Afghan people were so strong and brave， they never unyielding. The kite symbolizes the pursuit of happiness for Afghan people， and it will never stop and also never disappear. After that， Afghanistan was uner the rule of Taliban， people’s freedom， survival and development were seriously suppressed， bringing great pain for Afghan people. At this time， the kite symbolized the painful suffering under the infernal control of Taliban， if the kite’s rope broke， they will die soon.
3.conclusion
“The kite runner” tells us an extraordinary and beautiful story， the kite in the book is rich in symbolic meaning， it can be family love and friendship， can also be honest and kind-hearted. The kite runner is either Amir， or A-Sun， but also can be every one of us， because each of us has a kite of our own.
Different life experiences created different understandings of the meaning of “Kite”. Kites in our life can be escape from resonsibility， cowardice in front of danger， do harm to others or our family members， lose the one we love， also can be our struggle， hesitation， sadness， regret， and the guilt or torture brought by all those mistakes we have made. Maybe we can choose to temporarily escape or pretend to forget the past， but the past will appear again and again. What we can do is to face the ugly and mistakes in our own life， and to seize the opportunity to redeem. Only keep running for the kites， can we get inner harmony and tranquility in the impetuous society， and achieve the return and salvation of human nature.
【作者簡介】王怡婷（2000.03- ），女，汉族，陕西府谷人，西北大学附属中学学生。
Khaled Hosseini， the author of ‘The Kite Runner’， is the only one Afghan writer who writes in English. This book has been published in 2003 and has been welcomed in many countries， making hundreds of millions of readers fascinated and heartbreaking， and also making himself the winner of the 2006 United Nations Humanitarian Award and France’s Elle awards. Based on the traditional culture of Afghanistan， this novel vividly depicts the life of the past 30 years in Afghanistan.
The kite exists throughout the whole novel， and plays am important tool to promote the development of the novel. The whole story starts from the kite， but also stops at the kite. In China， only a few people participate in kite-flying activity， while it is a popular activity in Afghan. Every Friday， for tens of thousands of boys climbing on the roof and the the top of the mountains outside the city to fight with their kites. Being winners of the kite fighting was regarded as a very high honor， which gains admiration and respect for kites fighter. Therefore， kite fighting in Afghanistan was prosperous.
2.Symbolic meaning of the Kite
In “The Kite Runner”， the author take the kite as a clue， giving a compassion description of the Afghans and Afghan culture， delicately depicts the relationships between the individual and the state， father and child， as well as loyalty and blood， and tells a story of mistakes-making and redemption in a most vivid and touching method. The kite is the cultural representation of Afghanistan， in this sense， “the kite runner” is a metaphor of cultural identity. People in searching of “Kite”， is also the searching of the good side of human nature.
Firstly， for Amir， the kite is a metaphor of his frustration and new growth， or his betrayal and redemption， but also an essential part of his personality， only when he catches up the ‘kite’， can he reach his self-expectation. The first kite for Amir was when he 12 years old， in order to be the winner of kite fighting activity and to win back his father’s love and approval for him， he gave up his friend Hassan at the expense of the price of making him been bullied and raped. Amir finally got the kite， however， he was tortured by the guilt and shame. The second kite for Amir was when he at about 40， he knew that Hassan was his half brother and son of Hassan（Sohrab） had fell into the hands of Taliban， so he came back to homeland， bravely fight against Taliban rogue， and finally took Sohrab out of Afghanistan. But the poor child Sohrab was suffering from severe autism， in order to help him get rid of it， Amir took him to the kite fighting. When Amir finally cut off someone else’s kite， Sohrab smiled， at this moment， the shadow inside Amir disappeared. ‘For you， a thousand times over’， in order to make Sohrab happy， he ran for Sohrab just like what Hassan did for him， and finally got salvation.Kite witnessed a man’s mistake， confession， atonement and growth. Amir ran after and got the kite at any cost and finally became a real man. Secondly， for Hassan， the kite symbolizes his precarious fate， as an illegitimate child， he was not recognized by society in Afghanistan， so he was like a kite in the sky， which was not able to dominate his own destiny. furthermore， the kite is a symbol of his loyalty and fine quality. He was brave and loyal to Amir， he can run after the kite for him regardless of his own safety； later when Amir and his father moved to the United States， he guarded home for them， and was shot dead by Taliban. He devoted his life to Amir. In addition， running for the kite also expressed the author’s expection of the return of humanity and new hope for Afghanistan.
Thirdly， for Afghanistan， the kite symbolizes courage and pain. Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in 1979， and Soviet soldiers killed innocent people， raped women， committed all sorts， and attempted to conquer the Afghan peoplel， but the Afghan people were so strong and brave， they never unyielding. The kite symbolizes the pursuit of happiness for Afghan people， and it will never stop and also never disappear. After that， Afghanistan was uner the rule of Taliban， people’s freedom， survival and development were seriously suppressed， bringing great pain for Afghan people. At this time， the kite symbolized the painful suffering under the infernal control of Taliban， if the kite’s rope broke， they will die soon.
3.conclusion
“The kite runner” tells us an extraordinary and beautiful story， the kite in the book is rich in symbolic meaning， it can be family love and friendship， can also be honest and kind-hearted. The kite runner is either Amir， or A-Sun， but also can be every one of us， because each of us has a kite of our own.
Different life experiences created different understandings of the meaning of “Kite”. Kites in our life can be escape from resonsibility， cowardice in front of danger， do harm to others or our family members， lose the one we love， also can be our struggle， hesitation， sadness， regret， and the guilt or torture brought by all those mistakes we have made. Maybe we can choose to temporarily escape or pretend to forget the past， but the past will appear again and again. What we can do is to face the ugly and mistakes in our own life， and to seize the opportunity to redeem. Only keep running for the kites， can we get inner harmony and tranquility in the impetuous society， and achieve the return and salvation of human nature.
【作者簡介】王怡婷（2000.03- ），女，汉族，陕西府谷人，西北大学附属中学学生。