7. Chapter 6: The Kite-Fighting Tournament

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we read through the sixth chapter of the novel, focusing in particular on: (i) the value of absolute faith – Hassan’s absolute faith in Ami, and man’s absolute faith in God; (ii) Amir’s jealousy of Hassan’s relationship with Baba, and his self-centredness as a result; (iii) the extent to which Amir exploits Hassan to get what he wants; (iv) the significance of the title of the book, which refers not to the person flying the kite (Amir) but the person chasing after the kites that have been chopped down (Hassan); and (v) Amir’s patronising attitude towards Hassan.

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.