AcknowledgementsThanks for giving me the chance to accomplish my paper as well as make a conclusion for my four years’ education. I have gained much more knowledge than I have supposed from writing this paper.I would give my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Ms. Shi, a respectable, responsible and resourceful scholar, who has provided me with valuable guidance in every stage of the writing of this thesis. Without her enlightening instruction, impressive kindness and patience, I could not have finished my thesis.Also, I want to give my thanks to other teachers and my classmates who have given me much help. Thank you!AbstractKhaled Hosseini, is an Afghan-born American writer, whose first work The Kite Runner, attach much interest of the readers from all overthe world. Hosseini depicts these afghans lived in the different background and its traditional culture, deeply revealing the tyrannyof the Taliban and the extreme racial and religious discrimination in this Muslim country. There have been quantities of searching aboutthis novel at home and abroad, most of them are about the studying on the cultural identity, characterization, growth and self-redemption. This thesis unfolds afghan’s national culture and the Afghanistan people’s miserable life, thus we can know the veiled country clearly. My paper has 3 parts: introduction, the main body and conclusion. The first part introduces the writer, the work and its searching situation. The second part is the main body, which has 3 chapters.The first chapter introduces the symbolism including its definition, development and function in the literature work. The second chapter reveals Afghanistan’s battlefield and its poor condition byanalyzing these different symbols in The Kite Runner. The lastchapter analyses the writing reason by stating the author’s writing background. The last part summarizes these analysis of the second part, indicating the overall symbolic meanings, that is Afghanistan‘s people’s expectation to the freedom and the peace.Key Words: The Kite Runner; Khaled Hosseini; Afghanistan; Taliban; symbolism摘要《追风筝的人》是卡勒德胡赛尼的第一部作品，也是第一部由阿富汗裔作家创在不同背景下的阿富汗人民的生活状态以及阿富汗的传统文化，深刻揭示了塔利班的暴政以及这个穆斯林国家的极端的种族和宗教歧视。

国内外对这本书的研究不计其数，其中大部分都是对于文化身份，人物刻画以及成长和自我救赎等主题的研究。

本文通过分析小说中频繁出现的象征对象来揭露阿富汗民族文化，以及处于水深火热的阿富汗人民的的生活境况，以便我们更深入地了解这个面纱民族。

本文有三个部分组成：介绍、正文和结论。

第一部分主要是作者生平，和作品介绍，以及作品的研究状况。

第二部分是论文的主体，主要分成三个章节，第一章介绍象征主义，包括它的定义和发展以及在文学作品中的功能，第二章是通过分析《追风筝的人》中的不同的象征对象来揭露阿富汗的战乱和穷苦现状，第三章是通过作者的时代背景来分析自小说的创作缘由。

最后一部分是总结前文分析，表述《追风筝的人》中的所有象征对象的总体意义，即阿富汗人民对自由，对和平的向往。

关键字:追风筝的人；卡勒德胡赛尼；阿富汗；面纱民族；象征主义ContentsTOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u 1. Introduction 12. Symbolism and Its Function 32.1 Symbolism 42.2 The Function of Symbolism in Literary Work 53. An Interpretation of Symbolism in The Kite Runner 63.1 Afghan: The Hell Massed with Poverty, War and Racial Discrimination 63.1.1 The Sky 73.1.2 The public 83.2 Hasan: The Scapegoat with Kindness Between the Society and the Family 83.2.1 The Scapegoat Between Political Scene and Religious Conflict 9 3.2.2 The Scapegoat of Aamir and His Father’s Persona 93.3 Kite: The Object Standing for Hope, Dignity, Redemption and Destiny 113.3.1 The Kite Moving to the Chasm 123.3.2 The Kite Leading to Freedom and Self-redemption 133.4 The Analysis of the symbols of Pomegranate, Slingshot and Harelip 144. The Analysis of The Kite Runner with Hosseini’s period 154.1 The Endless War and the Racial Discrimination 154.2 The Loss for the National Culture Heritage 175. Conclusion 18Bibliography 20An Interpretation of Symbolism in The Kite Runner1. IntroductionKhaled Hosseini is the first writer creating in English as an afghan but living in America, and The Kite Runner is his first work which wins great appreciation from all over the world. He was born on March 4, 1965, in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, where he spent his happy childhood. His father was a diplomatist, who often made the families moved to different places, thus providing many materials to his novel. His mother was a teacher of a female school in Kabul who often urged him to read and write in his young. Because of his knowledgeable mother, he had read many stories in Persia and culminated the interest in writing in his young and had become a great writer today. He left for Iran with his families in 1970 for three years. In this period, he met with a Hazara boy who he taught to write and read something, thus the cozy but not long memory contributed to The Kite Runner with Hasan and Aamir. After two years, Hosseini’s families returned to Afghanistan, It was the last year that Afghanistan’s political power remained steadiest. Later, his harmonious childhood had been ended by the internal coup and outside invasion. In 1976, Hosseini’s father got a job in Paris France, then the whole families moved to Paris never back again. In 1980, Afghan intruded by the Soviet Union, his families put under America’s wing, and then moved to the sacred river west of California. Hosseini finished his education and become a physician internist. After he finished his first novel for four years, the second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns won consistent high praise in the critical and made Hosseini leap a mature writer with high attention. In 2003, his third novel, And the Mountains Echoed was published in the USA, which obtained high appreciation again, being called the most ambitious among his all novels. The three novels all concern the life of Afghans, which reflect his deep love toward his motherland, Kabul. This novel, The Kite Runner, with the perspective of the first person depicts an Afghan immigrant living in America recalling his childhood and his self-redemption to his soul in his young. It takes a series of chaotic events of Afghanistan, including the collapse of Afghanistan’s monarch, soviet’s invasion, conflict between Pashtuns and Hazaras, and Taliban’s development. The span of the story was from 1950s to 2001s. And it was an autobiographical novel in whichthe leading actor, Aamir’s background and experience were the sameas the writer. Aamir was born into Afghan’s upper class, whosefather ran business and constantly made chirality with high reputation. However, in his young, because of his selfishness to receive his father’s all love, he always was jealous of the gentle, brave and loyal boy, named Hasan, a Hazara boy, for his father showed him some care. To obtain the blue kite to win his father’s praise,he even ran away when Hasan was being insulted. One day, Aamir framed Hasan stealing his watch, leading to the family homeless. Later,Aamir and his father were forced to leave for the USA, with hisfeeling of shame and guilt. In America, he got married with Afghan girl, named Soraya and became a popular writer. After 15 years, acall from his father’s friend arouse this secret in his mind. Knowing this truth that Hasan was his consanguineous brother, he made his mind to save his nephew in Kabul, Hasan’ s son, to save himself. This novel worked out just after the incident of 9.11, when the whole world caught their eyes to Afghanistan. From the sensitive boy, Aamir, lack of security to his father with multi-layer characters, and then the revealing of his father’s sins, we could know the river of long history between the Middle East and other countries. These contents weaved a complete and excellent literary work, which presented the afghan’s culture that had not become the worldwide focal point for thousands of years. Since Published in 2003, it has been arrayed the top of these popular books for two years in a row, in New York Times, selling for more than 7 million in U. S, over 20 million in the world, with 42 languages translated. Moreover, it had awarded lots of new literature award and vaulted the bestseller lists, becoming one ofthe three bestsellers in whole America. In addition, DreamWorksbought the movie royalties in 2006, and the director was Marc Forster. Because of full of much experience similar with the writer who had gone through, it can be said as a semi-autobiographical work. Therefore, Hosseini could be finished for only 16 months at one stretch, from Mar. 2001 to Aug.There is much favorable reception at home and abroad after its publication. The Washington once commented the story “A brave, honorable, big-hearted book"(the Washington post). The New York Times book review: “The Kite Runner, tells a story of fierce cruelty and fierce yet redeeming love””A moving portrait of Afghanistan fromits pre-Russian-invasion glory through the terrible reign of the Taliban.” (Entertainment Weekly). At home, since translated into Chinese by Li Jihong, there are many scholars studying about the multiple themes for this novel, such as the themes of growth about the two boys, Aamir and Hasan, who were in different classes, humanity between the general public and Taliban and the self-redemption of Aamir toward his sins and his father’s (Jin1-2). Moreover, during recent 10 years, some researchers are paying their attention to the eco-criticism and citing it to the studying of the literary work. For example, in the pen of YinCaiPing, she unscrambled The Kite Runner with a new angle of view, the eco-criticism, which made an interpretation between the war in this period and the complicated relation between the human beings and nature form natural ecology, social ecology and spiritual ecology to explore the writer’s ecology consciousness, the ecological connotation that he had expressed in his novel and his findings of facing the human and ecological crisis (1). About the theme of symbolism, many scholars are just focus on the symbol of the kite, but not analyzing the other symbols in the novel, such as Afghanistan, Hasan, pomegranate, slingshot and harelip. They are all symbols, which respectively stands for different symbolic meanings. So, my paper will focus on these symbols, making a deep interpretation combining with their themes.2. Symbolism and Its FunctionIndeed, there are a lot of symbols in The Kite Runner, for example, Hosseini uses the symbol of Afghanistan to express his turbulent homeland, to reveal a country in long wars or tyrannical role. Hasan represents the scapegoat of the nation, from whom we could see thousands of Hasan, thousands of scapegoats in that country. Hosseini takes these rich symbols to enlarge his themes, and clearly depicts a complete picture to Afghanistan.2.1 SymbolismSymbolism dated from 19th century in France. It is defined as a form of western art concept. At first, it was because these intellectuals dissatisfied with their social life and the official system dared not to express directly that they expressed their ideas by different symbols. Therefore, they adopted these symbols in nature to carry on their real ideas. Symbolism also has become a school and a literaturetrend since appearing in the French literature history during 1886, when the young man named Moleiyasi, published a literaturedeclaration in Figaro, advocating for calling the temporal avant-courier poet with symbolists, which marked the advent of the genre of symbolism. Nowadays, it has become a writing technique, used widelyin literature and poems. It presents an author’s inner world and his real implication by insinuation and symbol. The symbolists believe that everything in the nature, including the act of human being is connected with their heroes in their works, thus reflecting theirreal thinking. The pioneers of symbolism are Charles Baudelaire and Edgar Allan Poe. They created some works with symbolic beliefs early in the 19 century. For example, Baudelaire’s Flowers of Evils is the ground breaking work of symbolism. There are other writers creatingin symbolism. Such as Paul Verlaine(无言的罗曼斯), Arthur Rimbaud(醉舟，黎明),Stephane Mallarm(牧神的午后) and so on.We can not say that symbol is symbolism. “Symbolism is defined as a trend in the field of art and literature while symbol is considered as a tool in the artistic creation” (Zeng 16). However, there is much relation between them. “Symbol is an indispensable medium of symbolism, and only by adopting various symbols can symbolism achieve its artistic value” (Zeng 16). The symbolism is the means ofartistic expression in literary work, which uses the real matter or figure to convey the ideological contents for what the writer wants to express. The matter or the figure that is symbol must be material and corporeal, and the meaning that it conveys is abstract and intangible (Zhang 217). Image, also different with symbol, is about the representatives of the sensory image and thought and the metaphor of the image, which is the core part in all styles that can be presented (qtd. In Huang 71).The image in literary work could service for shaping the character and the expressing of the main idea and it is an aesthetic category that mixes the objective things of the author’s subjective emotion. An image could be transformed a metaphor for only once, but if appeared more than once, it becomes the symbol (qtd. In Zhang 207).2.2 The Function of Symbolism in Literary WorkThe adhibition of symbolism in literary work could present the traits of character vividly, exaggerate an atmosphere successfully and drive the development of the plot to reveal the theme of a novel indepth. The symbolism used frequently concludes the symbol of the name, the place, the color and the matter (Zhang 135).In general, an author always takes great pains to his hero’s name in his literature work, the general name may contain extraordinary meaning. Taking Thackeray’s Vanity Fair for example, Rebecca Sharpis vixenish, highly ambitious woman. She could gain money orreputation at any price. Instead, the name of Amelia stands for kindness and beauty just as its literal meaning. And Amelia in the novel is a beautiful and kind girl. The name of place is also important and it could effectively service the novel to reflect its main idea. Such as the Vanity Fair, Difficult Mountains in Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress or in Jane Eyre’s Thornfield, where Mr. Rochester lived, which all have symbolic meanings. The use of Thornfield created an environment to the following miserable life. An excellent will apply specific colours to draw atmosphere for his novels. For example, the white always stands for pure and the red stands for passion. Finally, the symbol of a concrete matter, such as the fog, rain, moon, climate and so on. Dickens makes full use the symbol of the fog at the beginning in his Bleak House, creates auseful background to the following story plot.In Hosseini’s story, The Kite Runner, Hasan is the symbol of name, which deeply shows the sins of the racial discrimination, and the despotic rule of the Taliban. Moreover, Hassan stands for thousandsof kind, but desperate general public discarded by his country andhis relatives. Finally his destiny become a scapegoat of his nation and his whole life is a tragedy; Afghanistan is the symbol of the place, which indicates the overall perspective of a country satiating with wars, inequality and extremism in religion; the kite, pomegranate, slingshot and harelip are the symbols of the matter, which are the cardinal lines, promoting the development of the novel’s plot.3. An Interpretation of Symbolism in The Kite RunnerIn The Kite Runner, Hosseini repeatedly depicts some symbols and they have different symbolic meanings. Afghanistan, it was a hell of alife massed with poverty, war and racial discrimination; Hasan, who was a brave, loyal and kind boy, but is the scapegoat of the society and kinsfolks; kite, stood for hope, dignity, redemption and destiny. And the slingshot, the pomegranate and the harelip, all symbolizedAamir’s source of his evil and his self-redemption. The following context will clearly analyze their symbolic meaning from The Kite Runner.3.1 Afghan: The Hell Massed with Poverty, War and Racial DiscriminationIn 1979, when the Soviet Union trooped to afghan, it was just the beginning of incubus to those people in Afghanistan. Hosseini said in the novel:Our way of life. If not quiet yet, then at least it was the beginning of the end. The end, the official end, would come first in April 1978 with the communist coup d’etat, and the in December 1979, when Russian tanks would roll into the very same streets where Hasan and I played, bringing the death of the Afghanistan I knew and marking the start of a still ongoing era of bloodletting. (Hosseini 39)In addition, from Aamir’s father’s fearful face that had never appeared, it was really the beginning of nightmare to these afghan people. According to records, this invasion lasted about 10 years. They tried to control people’s will with firearms and ammunition. Facing this foreign invasion, these brave people did not surrender to soviet’s devil’s talons. Instead, these citizens strove against their oppressors with will of iron and finally expelled those invaders. Just as Aamir’s father, he would rather sacrifice himself to save the woman facing the soviet solder’s deliberate menace, which deeply showed afghan people’s resolution against the outside enemies. However, this fighting made Afghan become poorer. After this foreign aggression, Afghanistan began to suffer the challenge of the inner concerns. With the Taliban’s governing, people’s living experienced losing ground with more death, more discrimination, and more inequality than ever before. Inevitably, Afghanistan descended to a poor and dreadful country. Moreover, the incident of 9.11 toward the USA made afghan labeled on terrorism.3.1.1 The SkyThe lively times thousands of colorful kites flying in the sky had gone with the war. The beautiful sky had been replaced by the cloud of smoke floated over the battlefield, the orphanage Aamir’s father once built for these homeless children had only left wreckage, the ruins, hanging over a smell of death. According Rahim’s word,“Kabul in those days, was as close as you could get to that proverbial hell on earth” (Hosseini 229).Twenty years earlier, I had seen some of some of the first war with own eyes. Grim reminders of it were strewn along the road: burned carcasses of old soviet tanks, overturned military trucks gone to rust, a crushed Russian jeep that had plunged over the mountainside. The second war, I had watched on my TV screen. And now I was seeingit through Farid’s eyes. (Hosseini 263)Uncovering the history afghan, the wars had not quite down. Because Afghanistan locates the fortress of the Middle East, it dooms that it is the object to fight for which it benefits in the economic and military field for other countries, such the soviet and the USA. That is why afghan has war affairs constantly. There was no end to the proceeding war, no sunshine, no hope, even they can’t imagine how the world would like without war. What they could see was only the gray sky hung over the smell of blood and death. In addition, most of people in Afghanistan are Pashtuns and the others are Hazaras or others. The Pashtuns oppressed the Hazaras because they believed different religious. The former are Sunni Muslims, but the latter are shi’a. As the Taliban’s ruling, religious persecution was becoming further intensified. That is why Hasan and Ali were called mice-eating, flat-nosed, load-carrying donkeys and they were always been teased or bullied even by children. At this situation, whatever the surrounding environment or the spirit of people’s mind, all these were masked a gloomy aura.3.1.2 The publicRahim said that ”The infighting between the factions was fierce and no one knew if they would live to see the end of the day ”(Hosseini 228-29). Where there is war, there are misfortunes. And these sufferings always befall in the head of the general public. In other words, the general mass unavoidably becomes the scapegoat of their country. Those people in Afghanistan suffered unconscionable requirements which deprived of their freedom, their dignity and even their right to life. They had to stand silently and avoid their sight directly by lowering down heads when these patrols passed away. They had to sell their legs or arms or even their children to acquire to fill their bellies. Much worse, these children suffered some affairs which did not contribute to their physical and mental development.And young adult would be killed by throwing stones to their bodies if they committed a crime of adultery.The driver, Farid, his families were the representatives of afghan, standing for the afghans’ life in lower class. His kind brother, and the veiled wife, and his children, as emaciated as a fowl, were not interested in this expensive watch but the food. In the novel, from the family of Fraid, the picture of each family in afghan could be revealed clearly, most of Afghanistan’s people led a poor life but they still remained kind-hearted and still longed for good life, expecting the outside world could know Afghanistan, the crime of Taliban and their miserable life.3.2 Hasan: The Scapegoat with Kindness Between the Society and the Family“For you a thousand times over” this sentence was Hasan said to Aamir, from which it reflected his love to Aamir. At the same time,it also was the beginning of his miserable end. If not his kindness, not his allegiance, not his braveness, he did not suffer the unfair treatment. If there is no racial discrimination, no war, if hismother did not dump him after his birth, if Aamir’s father could recognize him willing to give up his reputation and take him together, then Hasan could have a happy life like Aamir. So, it was theturbulent society, his indifferent families and friends that contributed his tragedy and made him become the scapegoat of the sociality and the family. In addition, the role of Hasan was just one of the representatives of thousands of Hasan in Afghan, a brave and loyal child, but was the scapegoat of his country.3.2.1 The Scapegoat Between Political Scene and Religious ConflictMost people in afghan are Pashtun, which is also the traditional ruler. And other a few nations are the Tajik nationality, Hazara people and the Ozbek nationality. Nowadays, racial discrimination is still popular. And this novel mainly concerns for the Hazara people and the Pashtun. The Hazara were the lowest and grading nationality, but the Pashtun people were reviewed as the noblest nationality that governed this country. In the author’s pen, Aamir was the Pashtun people, Ali, Hasan and his son were the Hazara people, who stood for the vulnerable groups, the niggers.Because of the racial discrimination, these Hazara people, Ali and Hasan were called mice-eating, flat-nosed, load-carrying donkeys(Hosseini 10). Because of its prevalent, these children even little Aamir had not admit Hasan his friend when asked. He was just a Hazara people in his heart. So, the mind of racial discrimination had soaked everybody’s minds, even these children who should play happily with each other. Because of the unhealthy mind, Aamir choosed to run away and hurt his little servant to win his father’s love. If not his friend’s running away, instead, he bravely protected him just as he once protected Aamir, the following sufferings would not happened to Hasan. Facing in the dilemma between the aroma of discrimination to the Hazara people and the friendship with Hasan who ate breast nursing from the same wet nurse with him, Aamir began to regret his behavior for leaving Hasan off. To avoid this dilemma, he hurt Hasan again by accusing him of stealing his new watch and finally leading to Hasan’s leaving.Once again, because of Hasan’s kindness, he agreed to care for the old house where he had lived. But the last, he devoted his life to saving Aamir’s house. Because he was a Hazara people, he could not live in the mansion. He was accused of a liar, like all of Hazara people. Then he was shot on his metencephalon and his wife too. Hasan was a kite runner in his young, but the line of his own kite seemed not controlled by himself, but the society. He finally was killed by Taliban, became the scapegoat of his own country.3.2.2 The Scapegoat of Aamir and His Father’s PersonaThe causes of the death for Hasan was not only because of the class contradictions of this country but the indifference of his friend, Aamir, and his biological father, being of noble character and high prestige in afghan. Both Aamir and his father wore a persona, thus leading to Hasan’s tragedy (Lin 6-7).The persona, according to Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, was something that you and others think is, but in fact it’s not that (qtd. In Lin 6). Sheaksphere once said that ”The whole world is a stage, all men and women are actors” (Liang15). In soceity, everyone too much or too less plays some role to cater to the need of the society. Whatever field have specific persona, which can maintain the international relationship, thus making some difference to seeksocial identity. However, if someone excessively loses himself in the role that he plays, his persona will inflate and then he will lose himself, contributing to the cash and conflict of his spirit.Aamir’s father, was a respectable businessman in Kabul with handsome appearance, intelligence, who built up from nothing and got married with a beautiful aristocratic miss, Aamir’s mother. What‘s more, he was philanthropicminde and built an orphanage by himself. In 1979, soviet intruded afghan. He protected and saved an Afghanistan’s women’s life from a solder with a gun. Although the bouche pointedto his chest, Aamir’s father would rather get a shot to flinch forhe stood for the righteousness himself. Ostensibly, he was a perfect man from on the status, on the fortune, and on the moral. However, who could think of such a good man should fornicate with his servant’s wife? Ironically, he once educated Aamir seriously “when you cheat, you steal the right to fairness” (Hosseini 20). In fact, he was also a liar, cheating Ali, Hasan, and Aamir. In order to preserve his good reputation, he covered all the truth. Being afraid of utterly being discredited and breaking up of his mask, he failed to recognize Hasan. If he had done so, the hard-win image would down the drain, not the gentleman that all people admired and respected forever.Hasan was bastard of Aamir’s father with Ali’s wife. If he could recognize him, admit him. Then Hasan could have led the sametreatment with Aamir, living in the big house, studying in the school owning many toys rather than in the beat-up hovel, in derision for illiteracy. During the time of war, he could leave for the USA together with them rather than still stayed in afghan, finally diedfor fighting for Aamir’s house. So, the persona of Aamir’s father was also one of the reasons to Hasan’s tragedy.Of course, Aamir also had the persona. He made friends with Hasan seemingly, did something for him indeed. When he cried for thesolders insulted him for his mother, Aamir gave a shoulder to him and consoled him. He once carved a sentence on a tree. ”Aamir and Hasan, the sultans of Kabul”(Hosseini 30). He had said to Hasan, “You area prince and I love you” (Hosseini 33). He had promised to Hasanthat he would buy a TV to him. However, the sound in his heart is “I never thought of Hasan and me as friends” (Hosseini 27). When Hasan pointed to the loophole of his story, he should think of “What does he know, that illiterate? He’ll never be anything but a cook. How dare be criticize you” (Hosseini 37). He teased Hasan had not go to the school, sneering Hasan with which he doesn’t know. He wasjealous of his harelip because that could make his father care for。