The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini And Looking For Alaska

Eleanor Roosevelt, the American politician, diplomat, and activist, once wrote â€Å"You gain strength, experience and confidence by every experience where you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.† Discovering one’s individuality, finding oneself, is a discovery that is found through the journey of life. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Looking for Alaska by John Green reveals protagonists on journeys of self-discovery. These journeys show each character recognizing this self-discovery with a symbol that portrays themselves and their environments while they experience a loss in life which strengthens their character. In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir, the protagonist makes use of several symbols throughout his journey of self-discovery. In Islamic tradition, pomegranates are seen as symbols of f riendship. As their friendship progresses and changes, so does the tree. After the pivotal rape scene, when Amir and Hassan visit the tree, things just are not the same as they Abshir 2 were before. Amir decides What would you do if I hit you with this [pomegranate]?†(Hosseini 98). This moment shows the collapse of their friendship. Thus, the pomegranate tree symbolizes Amir’s friendship with Hassan from their highest points to their lowest points. Similarly, in Looking for Alaska by John Green, Miles â€Å"Pudge†Show MoreRelatedLiterary Criticism : The Free Encyclopedia 7351 Words   |  30 PagesBeing a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky (1999)[40] Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi (2000)[41] 21st century[edit] The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd (2002)[42] The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini (2003)[43] The Fortress of Solitude, by Jonathan Lethem (2003) [44] Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro (2005)[30] Looking for Alaska, by John Green (2005) Indecision, by Benjamin Kunkel (2005)[45] Black Swan Green, by David Mitchell (2006)[46] The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman