In Khaled Hosseini’s novel. The Kite Runner. the altering word picture of the Punica granatum tree symbolizes the alterations in Amir and Hassan’s relationship. and is woven into the novel’s cardinal subject of wickedness and salvation. Throughout the fresh Hosseini depicts Amir’s battle to deliver himself of all time since he witnessed the colza of Hassan and stood by as a soundless bystander. Amir and Hassan shared a really close friendly relationship making everything together yet the trueness between each other was lopsided.
Amir could ne’er fit Hassan’s unconditioned love and trueness towards him and this sets up the internal battle in Amir’s head. because he was sensitive plenty to recognize the unfairness of the state of affairs. Hosseini uses the Punica granatum tree throughout the book as the background for depicting cardinal events that influence Amir and Hassan’s relationship. The first word picture of the tree portrays a safe oasis but elusive inside informations in the transition point to the events that unfold subsequently.
As kids. Amir and Hassan spent many hours under the shadiness of a Punica granatum tree up on a brow where Amir would read narratives to Hassan. Here the Punica granatum tree is a symbol of comfort. a topographic point where he and Hassan could be entirely sharing the simple pleasance of storytelling. Amir’s description of the “shadows of Punica granatum foliages dancing” on Hassan’s face depicts the protective facet of the tree. a sanctuary for the two friends ( 28 ) .
The tree and hill are symbolic of Amir and Hassan’s friendly relationship ; the tree is rooted in the hill but as the seasons change both the hill and the tree alteration and so does their friendly relationship. The reference of seasons foreshadows how complete clip Amir and Hassan’s friendly relationship will be destroyed. in the same manner that the rain had turned the “iron gate rusty” and caused the “white rock walls to decay” ( 27 ) . When Amir and Hassan return to the Punica granatum tree after the colza. Amir says to Hassan he will read him a new narrative as they walk up the hill and a sense of hopefulness is conveyed.
Amir points out that the “grass was still green” . Here the viridity is symbolic of hope and reclamation and it connotes Amir’s attempt to repair his damaged relationship with Hassan ( 91 ) . However. when Amir describes that the green grass atop the hill will shortly be “scorched yellow” it besides foreshadows Hassan and Ali’s disconnected going from Kabul. and the annihilating impact this has on Amir and Baba ( 91 ) . Hosseini’s usage of the word scorched connotes an event that happens all of a sudden and is a foreboding of worse things to come.
Amir is non able to cover with his memories of their happier yearss under the tree. and alternatively of storytelling he decides to arouse Hassan to upbraid him for his ain inactivity when the colza occurred. Amir’s subterranean motivations – to arouse Hassan and non state narratives – are revealed when he “picked up an overripe pomegranate” ( 92 ) and throws it at Hassan. The overripe. decomposing Punica granatum is symbolic of a lesion that has been left entirely excessively long. the guilt of Amir non assisting Hassan when he was raped.
The Punica granatum fruit itself represents the complexness of their relationship ; it is a fruit with a difficult tegument that is hard to skin and inside there are beehive-like sections concealing 100s of ruddy pulpy seeds. Amir is non able to come to footings with his guilt and attempts to avoid Hassan at first. but subsequently when he tries to do damagess he realizes that for Hassan it will ne’er be the same. The Punica granatum besides alludes to the out apple from the Bible. symbol of the original wickedness. and therefore it serves to bode the events that are merely about to blossom.
As Amir cast Punica granatums at Hassan. he repeatedly calls Hassan a coward. but in world he is allowing out his ain defeat in the hopes that Hassan will revenge. He is seeking to cover up his guilt for non step ining when Hassan was raped. about as if Amir is seeking to warrant that Hassan is the coward and non himself. Once Amir stops bombarding the Punica granatums he sees Hassan “smeared in ruddy like he’d been shot by a fire squad” ( 93 ) . The imagination here represents how deeply Amir’s actions and words had wounded Hassan.
Ironically. it besides foreshadows the eventual decease of Hassan. later in the novel. when he is shot by a Taliban fire squad. When Amir returns to Afghanistan after having Rahim Khan’s missive. he finds Kabul under the Taliban government wholly changed. As Amir walks up the old “craggy hill” from his yesteryear he realizes that nil is the same ( 264 ) . The craggy hill now represents the destroyed Afghanistan. Amir describes that while walking up the hill every breath felt “…like inhaling fire” ( 264 ) .
This simile illustrates how much hurting walking up the hill causes an lder Amir now. although it was something he did about every twenty-four hours with Hassan when they were unworried kids. When he reaches the Punica granatum tree. he recalls Hassan’s missive stating “the Punica granatum tree hadn’t borne fruit in years” ( 264 ) . The waste tree is symbolic of how their friendly relationship was ruined twenty old ages ago in the winter of 1975. But when Amir locates the bleached carving of his and Hassan’s name on the tree. the fact that “it was still there” makes the pomegranate tree a symbol of hope one time once more and shows Amir a manner to expiate for his wickedness ( 264 ) .
After so many old ages and so many battles their friendly relationship was tattered but upon seeing it. Amir eventually resolves to deliver himself for the guilt of bewraying Hassan ; a treachery that became a heavy load on his shoulders for 20 long old ages through his silence and inactivity. The alterations of the Punica granatum tree depict the alterations in Amir and Hassan’s relationship. We foremost see it as the exuberant fly-by-night tree from Amir’s childhood where he and spent countless hours reading narratives. Next it appears as the scene where Amir destroys his friendly relationship with Hassan.
And eventually. it is at the same but now bare Punica granatum tree where Amir returns and locates the fading reminder of his long lost friend. Each struggle in Amir and Hassan’s friendly relationship was ever on Amir’s portion. It was Amir who stayed silent when Hassan was assaulted. it was Amir who tried to arouse Hassan’s reproach by throwing Punica granatums at him. but it was besides Amir who made the attempt at the terminal to deliver Hassan’s boy and his nephew. Sohrab. Like the bleached carving. Amir’s friendly relationship with Hassan had faded but ne’er wholly disappeared.
Amir made the worst error of his life but he still had an chance for salvation. and that was by delivering Sohrab from the Taliban and admiting him as his ain flesh and blood If he didn’t. he knew he would travel to his grave with the guilt of the wickedness he committed in the winter of 1975. While expiation for one’s wickedness is the cardinal subject of The Kite Runner. the Punica granatum tree is one of the chief symbols used by the writer to demo Amir’s journey for expiation and salvation in the book. Hosseini’s repeated usage of the Punica granatum tree serves as a utile symbol to understand the germinating relationship of Amir and Hassan.
