The Kite Runner and“A Poison Tree”Comparisons of

Literary Elements: Motif, Symbolism, and Imagery

Katie MachinchickEnglish 10 (1)Comparative Literature Presentation10/22/13

Summary of The Kite RunnerIn The Kite Runner, the main character, Amir, is conflicted with his childhood memories of being selfish; he ruined what could have been a lifelong friendship with his Hazara servants, Ali and Hassan, by lying and being a coward. After many secrets being exposed 26 years later, Amir has to find a way to solve his internal conflict and rid his guilt. He now has a mission to return to his country to find Hassan’s son and bring him back to the United States while facing many hardships along the way.

Summary of “A Poison Tree”

In “A Poison Tree,” the speaker is angry with a friend; after telling the friend about this, the anger goes away. When the speaker gets angry with an enemy, he/she doesn’t tell them and the wrath begins to grow to it’s limit (the apple). Soon, the enemy snuck into the speaker’s garden and ends up dead under the tree which held the apple.

Motif

• A conspicuous recurring element, such as a type of incident, a device, a reference, or verbal formula, which appears frequently in works of literature (Wheeler 1).

Motif in The Kite Runner

• The author uses many motifs throughout the novel: “I pray. I pray that my sins have not caught up with me the way I’d always feared they would” (Hosseini 347).

Motif in The Kite Runner(continued)

• Hosseini describes the main character’s internal conflict by using karma as a motif. When it says, “...the way I’d always feared they would,” the author wants to show that Amir knew that someday his sins would catch up to him. This develops the conflict because Amir never forgave himself for being a bad friend to Hassan when they were children, and he now has to suffer the consequences.

Visual Representation of Motif in The Kite Runner

• The graphic at the left represents karma. In the image is a yo-yo, which automatically returns to your hand when being used. In the novel, Amir was afraid of his bad deeds coming back to him later in his life.

Motif in “A Poison Tree”

• William Blake includes karma as one of the motifs in the poem: “In the morning glad I see; My foe outstretched beneath the tree” (15-16).

Motif in “A Poison Tree”(continued)

• Blake includes the death of his enemy by using the motif of karma. When it says, “... my foe outstretched beneath the tree,” it represents the enemy dead under the tree after trying to sneak into the garden. This develops the theme because this is the result of the speaker’s wrath as he/she let it grow.

Visual Representation of Motif in “A Poison Tree”

• The graphic at the left represents karma. In the image is a boomerang which can result in good or bad depending on how you use it because it always returns to you. In the poem, the enemy snuck into the garden to steal and was left dead.

Comparison of Motif in The Kite Runner and A “Poison Tree”

• The common motif in both of the pieces of literature is karma. In the quote in the novel, the author shows how the character regrets his past and is looking for a way out of bad karma. In the quote in the poem, the author shows how the enemy received the consequence of death as a result of sneaking into the speaker’s garden. Both characters ended up making selfish actions resulting in major consequences.

Symbolism• Frequent use of words, places, characters, or

objects that mean something beyond what they are on a literal level (Wheeler 1).

Symbolism in The Kite Runner

• The author included the fight scene to show the result of the main character’s internal conflict being resolved: “What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace… My body was broken… but I felt healed. Healed at last” (253).

Symbolism in The Kite Runner(continued)

• The symbolism of the fight was meant to represent the built up anger inside Amir. The words “peace,” and “healed” show that the result of his anger being released was a relief. This develops the character because Amir felt guilty in the beginning of the novel, and now all of it was gone because he felt that he deserved to be beaten up.

Visual Representation of Symbolism in The Kite Runner

• The graphic at the left, is used to symbolize relief after a disaster. In the image, a member of the American Red Cross is providing help for those who need it after a tornado. This relates to how Amir’s anger turned into relief after he forgave himself.

Symbolism in “A Poison Tree”

• The author also uses the apple as a symbol of the result of lack of communication: “And it grew both day and night, Till it bore an apple bright” (Blake 9-10).

Symbolism in “A Poison Tree”(continued)

• The symbolism of the apple represents the result of the wrath the speaker had towards his/her enemy. The author uses the word “grew” which shows that this symbol developed throughout the poem. This enhances the conflict because the apple was what caused the enemy to sneak into the garden which left him dead.

Visual Representation of Symbolism in “A Poison Tree”

• The graphic at the left represents the breaking point of one’s anger. In the image, there is a nuclear explosion that would not only affect people, but also the land around it. This is like the apple in the poem because it had reached its limit, resulting in bad consequences.

Comparison of Symbolism in The Kite Runner and A “Poison Tree”

• The common symbolism in both pieces of literature is the result or bad consequences of anger building up. In the quote in the novel, the author shows how Amir felt relieved after Assef hit him because his internal conflict was resolved. In the quote in the poem, the author shows how the speaker’s built up anger ended in killing his enemy. Both characters held in their feelings which had negative consequences on them.

Imagery

• A common term of variable meaning, imagery includes the “mental pictures” that readers experience with a passage of literature (Wheeler 1).

Imagery in The Kite Runner

• Hosseini also includes many examples of imagery in the book describing the conditions of Afghanistan during the war: “We found the new orphanage… along the banks of the dried up Kabul River. It was a flat, barracks-style building with splintered walls and windows boarded with planks of wood” (220).

Imagery in The Kite Runner(continued)

• The author uses organic imagery to describe what life was like when visiting Afghanistan 26 years later. Hosseini uses words like “flat,” “splintered,” and “boarded” to show that the country had been destroyed long since Amir had been there. This enhances the conflict because Amir needs to travel through the hardships to find Sohrab.

Visual Representation Imagery in The Kite Runner

• The graphic at the left is an organic image, which represents isolation. In the image, the mannequin is standing alone, in a darkened environment , symbolizing loneliness. This was how Amir felt in the novel when returning to his destroyed country.

Imagery in “A Poison Tree”

• Blake introduces imagery in the second stanza of the poem: “And I watered it in fears, Night and morning with my tears: And I sunned it with smiles, And soft deceitful wiles” (5-8).

Imagery in “A Poison Tree”(continued)

• The author uses organic imagery to enhance the representation of the anger growing. By watering and sunning it, the anger soon developed into a physical object. This enhances the conflict because the result of this wrath is the cause of the enemy’s death.

Visual Representation Imagery in “A Poison Tree”

• The graphic at the left is an organic image, which represents anger. In the darkened image, the flower is at its beginning stages which can continue growing. The spikes on the bud and the grayscale color shows that this image is a gloomy tone. This is similar to the speaker’s anger which was “sunned” and “watered” as it needed until it was fully developed.

Comparison of Imagery in The Kite Runner and A “Poison Tree”

• The common use of imagery in both pieces of literature was visual imagery. In the quote in the novel, the author shows that Amir’s home country had been destroyed during the Afghanistan war. In the quote in the poem, the author shows that the speaker’s wrath has turned into a literal sense of growing. Both authors use this element to enhance the details and provoke a reaction from the reader.

Conclusion

•After reading The Kite Runner and “A Poison Tree” one can conclude that both pieces of literature contain many common literary elements such as motif, symbolism, and imagery.•Authors usually write about common ideas based on society and the human experience because they enhance their story by showing a clear theme while also addressing these worldwide issues.

List of Works Cited

"A Poison Tree." The Breaking Time. N.p., 30 Nov. 2012. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

<http://thebreakingtime.typepad.com/the_breaking_time/2012/11/poems-for-friday-a-poison-tree.html>.

"Aussie Boomerang." Photo Dictionary. Advameg, 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.

<http://www.photo-dictionary.com/phrase/3633/aussie-boomerang.html>.

Blake, William. "A Poison Tree." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, 2013. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

<http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/175222>.

Felts, Jerry. An American Red Cross worker helps sort through clothes found in the rubble of a house after last month's

tornado outbreak. Al.com. Alabama Media Group, 26 May 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. <

http://www.al.com/42/index.ssf/2011/05/post_77.html>.

Grafton, Jim Bavosi. "Sun Flower Buds in Black and White." Imagekind. N.p., 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

<

http://www.imagekind.com/Sun-Flower-Buds-In-Black-And-White-art?IMID=652b2e31-de5a-4652-8aff-0a17f65e5

c08

>.

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead, 2003. Print.

List of Works Cited (continued)

"Nuclear Weapons: Explosion over Bikini Atoll." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 25 Sept. 2009. Web. 20

Oct. 2013. <

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2009/sep/06/nuclear-weapons-world-us-north-korea-russia-iran>

"The Kite Runner." Marshall. Marshall University Libraries, 9 Sept. 2013. Web.14 Oct. 2013.

<http://www.marshall.edu/library/bannedbooks/books/kiterunner.asp>.

"Walking Wood." Visual Paradox. Brian S. Kissinger, 1999-2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

<http://visualparadox.com/wallpapers/wallpaper_1024x768.asp?wallpaper=walkingwood#axzz2iII9zcTE>.

Wheeler, Kip L., Dr. "Literary Vocabulary." Dr. Wheeler's Website. N.p., 20 Aug. 2013. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

<http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms.html>.

"Wooden Yo-Yo." Bella Luna Toys. Bella Luna Toys, 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

<http://www.bellalunatoys.com/wooden-yo-yo-toy.html>.