12. Chapter 11: Welcome to America

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we read through the eleventh chapter of the novel, focusing in particular on: (i) the contrast between the pitch black of the previous chapter to the bright sunshine of this one; (ii) the contrast between the idea of something and what it’s like, dreams and reality (“Baba loved the idea of America. It was living in America that gave him an ulcer”, p. 116); (iii) the symbolism of the Baba’s gift of a car to Amir; (iv) Amir’s “embrace” of America, and what this means in practice; (v) the character of Soraya, the extent to which she resembles Amir; and (vi) the theme of forgiveness.

Course

In this course, Professor John McRae (University of Nottingham) explores Khalid Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. We begin with a broad introduction to the historical, political and literary context of the novel, before going through the whole novel chapter-by-chapter, providing close reading and detailed analysis, with commentary on character, plot, themes, motifs, language, symbolism and more.

Lecturer

John McRae is Special Professor of Language in Literature Studies and Teaching Associate in the School of English at Nottingham University, and holds Visiting Professorships in China, Malaysia, Spain and the USA. He is co-author of The Routledge History of Literature in English with Ron Carter, and also wrote The Language of Poetry, Literature with a Small 'l' and the first critical edition of Teleny by Oscar Wilde and others.