Abstract

The Kite Runner is the first Afghan novel written in English and it focuses on the two Afghan juveniles—Amir and Hassan. It tells a story of a young rich master and his servant concerning betrayal and loyalty of human nature. Amir grew up with Hassan’s loyalty and “As close as brother” was the best words to describe their relationship. At the kite tournament in the winter when Amir planned to gain Baba’s concern and be his pride under the help of Hassan, Hassan was raped by Assef. Amir saw everything but his cowardice let him choose to betray. The betrayal and guilty to Hassan let Amir suffer from torture for the later decades. And until he successfully saved Sohrab from Afghanistan, Amir realized self-redemption. 

This thesis is aimed at analyzing the main characters to study the beauty and ugliness of human nature, to find out the essence of human nature and to realize the authentic self-redemption. 

     First of all, this thesis briefly introduces the background information of the novel, the main plot, the objective and the significance of the study, and finally summarizes literature review at home and abroad. After that the thesis focuses on the beauty of human nature under the analysis and interpretation of the main characters in the novel, including family love especially father and son, brotherhood and loyal friendship, such as Amir's desire for father’s love, father’s concern for Amir, Hassan’s loyalty for Amir, or even sacrifice. Moreover, the thesis discusses the ugliness of human nature, such as the betrayal, hatred and cowardice of affection and friendship. Amir's cowardice and selfishness have led to his betrayal, and the hatred of Assef is the fuse of everything. Finally, the thesis illustrates the redemption and regression of human nature. After analyzing the characters, digging the inner heart of the characters, reflecting the human nature, and summing up the realistic significance of the novel, the thesis points out that people should be sincere, good, and loyal like Hassan, while bravely facing life and torture, calling for the regression of human nature.

Key Words: Human nature; Beauty; Ugliness; Self-redemption

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1 Introduction-1

1.1 Background Information-1

1.2 The Significance and the Objective-2

1.3 Literature Review-3

2 Beauty of Human Nature in The Kite Runner-5

2.1 Family Love-5

2.2 Brotherhood: Amir and Hassan-9

2.3 Loyalty-12

3 Ugliness of Human Nature in The Kite Runner-14

3.1 Betrayal-14

3.2 Hatred-15

3.3 Cowardice-16

4 Redemption of Human Nature-18

4.1 Sin of Human Nature-18

4.2 Redemption of Human Nature-18

5 Conclusion-20

Bibliography-22

Acknowledgements-23