A Quote from Great Writing
In sophomore year, I read The Kite Runner for my English class. Normally I dislike the books that teachers choose, but I loved this one. Khaled Hosseini wrote in a way that made everything flow and for the first time ever, I actually read ahead of what I was supposed to. For me, the most powerful line was at the very end when Amir says to Sohrab:
“For you, a thousand times over.”
Out of context it doesn’t seem like great writing at all. But here is some context. Sohrab is Hassan’s son, and Hassan was Amir’s best childhood friend, servant and half brother. Hassan ran kites for Amir always saying that he would do it “for you a thousand times over.” However one day Amir saw Hassan be raped and did nothing to help because he was too afraid. He drove Hassan away because he could not get over his guilt. He felt this debt for the rest of his life. Years later as an adult, Amir rescues Sohrab from an orphanage in Afghanistan and takes him to America. Sohrab has been abused and stays quiet until Amir teaches him how to fly a kite. They cut another kite and Amir asks if Sohrab would like him to run the kite. Sohrab nods and Amir says “for you a thousand times over.”
With the brief context, you can see how powerful the quote is. Amir is making up his debt to Hassan by rescuing his son from an abusive owner. Flying kites brings back images of Amir and Hassan when they were children and best friends. And by saying the quote, it is as if Amir has taken the role of Hassan, and is the servant now to Sohrab, even though he is much older than him. The quote brings the story full circle and to me, that’s what makes it the most powerful and a great one-line quote. It shows how much he cared for Hassan and shows how he is trying to make up for his debt by serving Hassan’s son. All of the humility, emotions and nostalgia in that one line make it a piece of great writing.
2 responses so far
I’m commenting on this because The Kite Runner is also one of my all-time favorite books, and I was actually debating whether to post a quote from The Kite Runner or from A Thousand Splendid Suns for this blog post. I chose A Thousand Splendid Suns, but both book are equally incredible- both is content and style. I’m so happy you chose this particular quote, because this quote made the book for me; it is a perfect ending to a perfect novel. You’re absolutely right how the quote makes for a very satisfying end, as it brings the novel full circle. Khaled Hosseini always manages to capture the reader with a theme or a quote that he has been subtly hinting at throughout the novel; the best part is that the reader only notices and appreciates it at the end.
I also really loved reading The Kite Runner. This is truly the most poignant line from the book – one that I remember, having read the book awhile ago. I agree with you – this simple and short line manages to capture the theme of the book in just one sentence – and that is what the reader remembers years laters.