The Winter

2. The Winter

Seasons play significant part in plot of a novel. According to Thomas C. Foster, seasons can also function as setting of the story, as well as plot device. He adds “Weather is never just

weather. It‟s never just rain” (Foster 76-77), and so in the novel, winter is never just winter. As a sign, winter also represents something else beyond itself.

Winter as settings gives certain atmosphere to the story. If one story or poet uses spring as the setting, then it will raise different atmosphere compares to winter, as well as autumn or summer. Take for example, if a narration states like: one cold winter afternoon, the kid tries to find his pocket money in the garden. The snow was pretty thick that it was hard for him to find it. Now, what if instead of winter, the setting is changed to different setting of season: on one summer afternoon, the kid tried to find his pocket money in the garden. The sun shines warmly as the kid was trying to find it. By these two simple examples, the first example gives the gloomy atmosphere and emerge reader‟s pity toward the kid because he has to struggle with the coldness in the garden. It seems hard for him to succeed in what he is doing because the snow is pretty thick. Vice versa, the second example gives the warm and bright atmosphere. Instead of pity the boy, reader would probably feel even though the kid might not find the pocket money, at least he gets the chance to enjoy the warm light of the sun. Therefore, once again, seasons as well as weather are significant tools that help the setting of the story, thus, impact the plot of a novel.

The opening of novel The Kite Runner , which is narrated from first person‟s point of view, or Amir‟s point of view, readers are served with narration about the past he regrets. Page 1 of the novel, Amir as the protagonist states how the incident he regrets thathappened twenty-six years ago has shaped the way he is in the present time as he is telling the story. The incident he regrets for almost his whole life happened in on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975 (Hosseini 1). The incident is when Hassan was raped by bullying neighbor while Amir did nothing but hiding cowardly and witnessing it from afar (Hosseini 75-77). Here, not only uses the word winter, the author also adds frigid overcast to show to readers the most regretful day for Amir happens in a very cold day. S ince this particular day, the little Amir‟s life as well as his relationship with Hassan is change as described in the first part of the novel.

If it is not a coincidence, then the author probably does it intentionally, when he uses winter as the setting. Hassan is born on one cold winter day (Hosseini 7) and a week after his mother leaves him and his father. He even mentions twice at the same page about Hassan who is born on one winter day. It seems to me that Hassan‟s life is fated since he is on that cold winter day since the author emphasizes him being born on one winter day twice, in the same page. Hassan has been very faithful friend to Amir, but when Hassan is raped on one winter day, Amir does nothing to defend Hassan. However, Hassan is still faithful to Amir. Being born on winter

day can also mean Hassan‟s life is fated as dreary and desolate. To be abandon one‟s birth mother is not easy for a little boy. Not to mention since he is just a Hazara boy and a servant, he

has to bear the insult uttered by people around him such as some soldiers he and Amir meet (Hosseini 8) and neighborhood boys. The most tragic one is when Hassan is raped by Assef. Later in Amir‟s birthday party, it is narrated that Hassan as a servant serves Assef, the person who raped him, quietly and nicely. Due to Amir‟s jealousy because Baba often praises Hassan,

Amir accuses Hassan steals his watch resulted in Hassan and his father let the house. Years later, wh en Amir comes back to Afghanistan in order to find Sohrab, Hassan‟s son, Rahim Khan (Amir‟s father‟s friend) tell Amir and that Hassan is shot twice in the head by Taliban officer.

In order to get deeper meaning about winter it is better to see in first place about winter used in literature. Winter reminds me of Greek myth related to the dejection, grief and bitterest sorrow of Demeter, goddess of agriculture and fertility, for losing her daughter Persephone who is abducted by Hades, god of underworld. Because of her desolation, Demeter neglects the earth. Her neglect, due to her sorrow, influences the condition of the earth. The earth suffers from famine. The time when Persephone spends in underworld, the earth will experience winter. Adds Berens, the condition is “all was barren, dreary desolation.” The motherly goddess pledge she wouldn‟t let grains and seed grow until her daughter is returned to her. As the result, mankind feels the impact and the world suffer from famine (Berens 43). Thus, based Beren‟s explanation on this Greek myth, it can be concluded that winter could be seen as the representative of the situation where sorrow and bitterness of someone that resulted in dejection, desolation, and also

a dreary situation.

Connecting it with the novel, what happen to Hassan, as has been stated before can be seen as dreary and desolation. Hassan as a Hazara that being born on cold winter day suffers a lot. While for Amir, winter day also makes him suffer. However, the suffering he feels is the suffering causes by his regret. He regrets his cowardly act for twenty-six years. Life would have been different if he dares to stand for Hassan on that winter day when Hassan is raped (Hosseini 73).

Furthermore, winter that connoted with dreary atmosphere is probably not only about what happen in Amir and Hassan‟s life. In my opinion, the dark and suffer condition can also be the way the author refers to condition of Afghanistan at that moment where Russian and Taliban rule over Afghanistan. People suffer everywhere, thousands of innocent people are hit by bomb, fatherless children and husbandless women caused by war are everywhere, beggars are everywhere in the street, parents leavetheir children behind at the orphanage because they can‟t

afford to buy food, even the director of an orphanage sells kids to Taliban for money needed by other kids at the orphanage. Winter in Greek myth which is caused by Demeter causes sorrow and cause famine to people, so are Afghans at that time who are suffer of famine and terror.

It is such a relief though to find out that winter is not merely talking about desolation of a person, gloomy and dreary atmosphere, (dislocated, deform), destructive, etc. As stated by Cohen when examining James Thomson‟s poem „Traditionally, winter is the season of storm and disorder, though for Thomson, it is not without its beauty and joy. ‟(253) Winter is Amir‟s favorite s eason because winter means no school. If there‟s no school, then, it means Amir can play and sleep along the day, as long as he wants. However, the reason why he likes winter the most because it‟s the time to fly kites and run them.

Winter was every kid‟s favorite season Kabul, at least those whose fathers could afford to buy a good iron stove. … . Winter to me was the end of long division and naming the capital of

Bulgaria, and the start of three months of playing cards by the stove with Hassan, and the Russian movies on Tuesday mornings at Cinema Park, sweet turnip qurma over rice for lunch after a morning of building snowmen.

And kites, of course. Flying kites. And running them. (Hosseini48)

Despite all unpleasant experience Amir and Hassan feel, we can still see some bright side of the story. As beauty and joy appear in winter, and so is happiness in both boy‟s life. Winter is not only bad experience. Both boys also experience joy during winter whether through playing together indoor or flying and running kite outdoor, whereas for Amir, he finds joy because when winter comes, his relation with Baba is closer.

“…as the trees froze and ice sheathed the roads, the chill between Baba and me thawed a little. And the reason for that was the kites. Baba and I lived in the same house, but in different spheres of existence. Kites were the one paper thin slice of intersection between those paper-thin

slice of intersection between those spheres.” (Hosseini 49)

Cohen adds that even though men are overloaded, they are blissful at the same time. Furthermore, „there are instances at this time in which some men become more than merely