Best of Week: Margot's Tea Metaphor

During this week, Margot made an extremely interesting observation about symbolism in The Kite Runner. She pointed out how, on page 197, while talking to Rahim Khan after not seeing him for many years, Amir points out how Rahim likes his coffee black and bitter, while Amir himself puts sugar in his. She elaborated and explained how this is a metaphor for their views on life: Rahim sees the truth clearly and does not try to hide anything from himself, while Amir sugarcoats his problems and lies to himself.

Rahim Khan knows what happened back in that winter of 1975, and has never tried to deny it or make up reasons for it, and now that something can be done to rid Amir of some of the guilt he has been carrying his entire life, he wants Amir to take this chance. Amir, on the other hand, has always tried to rationalize the problems in his life and try to forget his past.

Margot mentioned this to me before she discussed it in class, so while I was reading chapter 18, I made a note of the tea metaphor being used again (She also noted this during our discussion) On page 225, Amir says, "I took a gulp of the blackest tea I'd had in years." This occurred right after he finds out that Hassan was his half-brother, and it shows how he is finally coming to terms with his life. He is now understanding why his father was so fond of Hassan and Ali, and he's seeing a completely different side of his father as well.

I thought this was an amazing use of craft by Hosseini. It's something small, something many people casually reading the book may not pick up on, but it enhances the feel of the story so much once the reader sees it. It shows how talented the author is and how he adds meaning on multiple levels. I would love to try to do this in my writing, and once we start working on short stories, I think this would be a good skill to master.