John Ashmore

Mrs. Crociata
English 2 Honors
16 May, 2014
The Colours of Emotion
Amir, a boy born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan, has had a difficult
life. He has faced many hardships that are happening to people all over the
world and he has very vivid memories of these hardships. In The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini many connections between colours and memories that
carry strong emotional meaning, be it joy, anger, or fear. Some of his
strongest memories are those about his nephew Sohrab, and those of his
best friend Hassans rape.
The author makes a connection between Amir and colours, using
colours to describe his stronger, more emotional memories, while leaving the
more mundane ones to the imagination. Then the door opened and the
guard walked in. He carried a stereoa boom boxon his shoulder. Behind
him, a boy dressed in a loose, sapphire blue pirhan-tumban followed
(Hosseini 279). Had this not been an important moment for him, the finding
of Sohrab in Assefs possession, Amir may have simply said a boy in a
pirhan-tumban. These colours show not only Amirs terror of being within the
house with the Talib, but also his joy of succeeding in his goal of finding
Sohrab.

Another example of the colours representing strong emotions is when

Hassan was raped by Assef. Amir says I thought he might burst into tears,
but, to my relief, he didnt, and I pretended that I hadnt heard the crack in
his voice. Just like I pretended I hadnt seen the dark stain in the seat of his
pants. Or those tiny drops that fell from between his legs and stained the
snow black (78). This shows just how deeply traumatizing the experience is
for Amir, not only because of him seeing it, but because of his failure to act
in defence of his friend. Hosseini also says But there were two things I
couldnt stop looking at: One was the blue kite resting against the wall (75).
This helps to emphasise Amirs mixed emotions and the conflict of whether
he should sacrifice his chance at Babas affection or risk losing his best friend
by failing to protect Hassan like Hassan protected him.
Amirs emotions are very strong throughout the book, but the strongest
of his memories are displayed in full colour. Some of these memories are
those regarding his nephew Sohrab. Others are those of his best friend
Hassans rape. The Kite Runner is a book of not only repentance for ones
own actions, but also one of very large emotional range.