What do kite fighting and kite running represent in The Kite Runner?

Kite fighting symbolically represents the positive and negative events of Amir's childhood in the story. One of Amir's favorite pastimes is kite fighting alongside his best friend, Hassan. Hassan is not only Amir's closest friend but is also the most talented kite runner in the city of Kabul. As a kite runner, Hassan has the rare ability to locate the exact destination of a kite when it is falling from the sky and continually beats his opponents to the fallen kites. Kite running symbolically represents Hassan's loyalty to Amir. Following their victory in the kite-fighting tournament, Hassan refuses to give up the blue kite and is tragically raped by Assef. Amir witnesses this traumatic event and does not intervene, which leaves him overwhelmed with guilt and ruins his friendship with Hassan. When Amir reminsces on his experiences kite-fighting, he not only remembers the fun times with Hassan but is also reminded of how he allowed Assef to rape his close friend. Therefore, kite-fighting symbolically represents Amir's childhood friendship with Hassan and how he betrayed him following the city-wide tournament. The duality of kite-fighting, which involves beautiful works of art engaged in a brutal conflict, corresponds to the dual nature of Amir and Hassan's childhood relationship, which was both pleasant and tragic.

In The Kite Runner, what does the slingshot symbolize?

I think also that the selection of a slingshot is not a coincidental choice, since it is so strongly reminiscent of the slingshot that David used to slay Goliath. The slingshot in this religious story was the weapon of a weak child, someone who could not possibly defend himself with it, much less slay the mighty monster who was Goliath. It is the triumph of the underdog with a mere child's weapon that is compelling, the "back story" of someone who would be king.  And we can see strong parallels to this in The Kite Runner, where Hassan "slays" his stronger enemies with a slingshot, and Sohrab does so as well later on in the story, the very same enemy, just as David slew Goliath. 

In The Kite Runner, what does the slingshot symbolize?

In Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner, the slingshot is a recurring symbol. An important factor in considering the slingshot's figurative or symbolic significance is the context in which the slingshot appears over the course of the novel. 

The slingshot is first used by Hassan, and then later by his son Sohrab. In each case, the boy using the slingshot is working to protect Amir, the narrator of the novel, from Assef, the antagonist of the novel. 

With this knowledge, the reader can interpret several important meanings of the slingshot: 

• It insinuates strong similarities between Hassan and Sohrab, indicating that not only are they father and son, but that they have similar personality traits. 
• The slingshot could be associated with loyalty and protection, as in each case it is used to protect a character whose relationship with the user is not ideal, but a character for whom the user feels strongly protective of nevertheless. 

What is the symbolism of the kite, the rape, and the slingshot in The Kite Runner?

Kites symbolically represent childhood innocence, happiness, and the dichotomy between beauty and violence. As children, Amir and Hassan enjoyed flying their kites and competing in kite-fighting tournaments. The joyful experience of flying kites represents both Amir and Hassan's youthful bliss and childhood innocence. However, the competitive nature of the kite-fighting tournaments symbolically represents the dichotomy between beauty and violence. The violence of kite-fighting corresponds to Hassan's rape and the loss of their childhood innocence.

Rape symbolically represents the loss of Amir and Hassan's childhood innocence and is also a malevolent, destructive force. Once Assef rapes Hassan, Amir feels extremely guilty for not intervening, and their close relationship comes to an abrupt end.

Slingshots represent protection, unwavering loyalty, and courage. As a child, Hassan protected Amir with his slingshot by threatening to knock out Assef's eye. As an adult, Amir attempts to save Sohrab and engages in a brutal fight. Fortunately, Sohrab takes out his slingshot and protects Amir by shooting Assef's eye out of its socket. In both situations, Hassan and Sohrab demonstrate their loyalty to Amir and protect him using their slingshots.

What is the symbolism of the kite, the rape, and the slingshot in The Kite Runner?

The symbolism of the kite has already been discussed in The Kite Runner group. The rape was symbolic of complete and total humiliation of the spirit. It is total domination over another. The act also showed the evil in Asself's soul as one of his friends revealed that a homosexual rape was against Muslim teachings. That did not deter Assef.

Between the two boys, Amir and Hassan, the rape symbolized a rift that would never heal in Amir. Amir is haunted for years by his own cowardice and betrayal of his friend. His guilt causes him to drive Hassan and Ali to split with the family and move to a village that welcomes Hazaras. Amir never feels whole again until he can make right his act of cowardice, which he does in trying to save Hassan's son from Assef. The brutal, near fatal beating, at the hands of Assef assuages Amir's soul and releases his torment. His peace of mind will be achieved when he and his wife become a family to the brutalizes and orphaned Sohrab.

In The Kite Runner, what does the kite symbolize?

I'm convinced that the kite symbolizes redemption and dignity. So much of the book deals with "becoming good again" or overcoming shame and reviving your spirit. At the closing scene in the book, Amir and Sohrab fly a kite, but on a different level, it is an activity that allows them to move forward in life, past the pain and shame of events they've experienced. For Sohrab, he must heal from the pain of sexual abuse, the death of his parents, adjust to life in America, and allow Amir and Soroya to be close to him. For Amir, the kite symbolized his failed attempts to be loved by his father, but it also symbolizes his ability to stand up for himself and "become good again". By adopting Sohrab, he is able to atone for the cowardly act he committed toward Hassan when they were children living in Kabul.

In The Kite Runner, what does the kite symbolize?

The kite symbolizes Amir's happier moments in his life. The first, he is flying a kite with Hassan, and it is the last happy moment he will have with him.

The second time Amir is flying a kite, he is with Hassan's son, who he now raises, and is finally happy after a long and traumatic battle for the boy's life.

What does the kite symbolize in The Kite Runner?

I believe it symbolized the coming of age from childhood to young adulthood. The flight of the kite was the freedom of childhood to be free, fettered only by the parent of the child. When the kites fought, the symbolism of success and failure became evident. Without skills and strategy, a kite flyer was doomed to be eliminated. Success came with practice and determination. The pain of the glass string cutting the flyer's hands was the experience of set backs that had to be overlooked to achieve a goal. Amir's success did not achieve exactly what he wanted, however. It did form a closer bond between him and his father. But, somehow that bond seemed artificial. His fateful lack of action to save his friend would ruin his feeling of success and mar his emotional state for years. Even the trophy of capturing the kite that was downed would pall in its cost to both boys and their families.

Why do kites symbolize culture in The Kite Runner?

When Americans think of kites they visualize beautiful sunny days,  nice winds and a beautiful kite, or a kite of a favorite childhood character, or perhaps a sophisiticated "cool" kite, but they don't think about flying a kite as a cut-throat competitive thing to do on a breezy afternoon. 

In this novel, we learn that in Afganistan, kite flying is a competitive sport and that there is a yearly contest.  The object of the contest is to not just fly your kite and avoid having it get caught in a tree, but to avoid having the kite string cut by a another's kite string.  The object of the game is cut each other's kites down in flight and remain the last kite flying.  It takes a lot of skill to just fly a kite, but to become offensive in your handling of it brings the whole thing to a new level.  Amir's drive to win the kite contest and make his dad pay attention to him -- be proud of him -- is so huge that he stands by while Hassan is brutally attacked.  If he had interferred in the attack he could have been hurt himself, but he could have also lost the winning kite to Assef, the bully.  Amir's actions in this moment define him for the entire book, and the kite becomes a symbol of friendship, connection to the past, and redemption as the novel goes forward.