15. Chapter 14: “There is a way to be good again”

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we read through the fourteenth chapter of the novel, focusing in particular on: (i) the overall structure of the novel; (ii) the character of Rahim Khan; (iii) the character of the General; (iv) the echoes of Hassan’s words to Amir – “For you, a thousand times over!” (p. 178); and (v) the extent to which Amir has developed as a character since we met him as a thirteen-year-old in Afghanistan.

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.