Virgil Wander

Kites represent connection and disconnection. The kite’s string connects the flier to the kite; like a fishing line, this connection is understood as a living, vital force in itself, symbolizing the tenuous and ever-changing threads that bind people to each other, to the town, and to the natural and spiritual worlds. The kite’s ability to soar freely allows humans to harness the power of the wind and connect to an invisible force in nature. Yet flying a kite is risky and represents the potential for disconnection or loss, as the wind can carry it away. The connection to the kite can even become a source of danger, as when Rune’s kite gets tangled in the power lines, electrocuting him. Kite flying symbolizes aspiration and the human desire to explore the unknown. Rune’s kites are not just artistic endeavors but symbols of hope, freedom, and the connection between the earthly and the divine. Rune’s kites embody possibly, as Virgil explains, “the best kites looked like things unlikely to fly” (146). By making kites in the shape of couches, anvils, and bicycles, items that could never fly, Rune inspires hope in the impossible and the idea that anyone can soar. Kites in Greenstone’s sky reflect the townsfolk’s desire to rise above their circumstances.

Kite-flying becomes an important part of Virgil’s healing process. When he’s flying a kite, his concussion symptoms fade, and though tethered to a string, he feels unhitched from responsibility and in touch with something on the other end of the line. He explains how flying the kite unlocks his mind, “The dog romped hither and yon, the kite string hummed like a prayer in my head, I had access to stories not remembered in years” (74). Kite flying becomes a spiritual practice for him as he doesn’t know what he’s connected to, but he trusts it, which is liberating and peaceful. For Virgil and others like him, flying kites represents possibility and the freedom to wander and reconnect with one’s imagination.

Kites are ephemeral as they depend on the wind and weather conditions to perform. Their flight is temporary, and eventually, they must return to the ground. Thus, Rune will drop everything to capture the right conditions and fly his kite, even in the middle of the night during a blizzard. Life is transitory, change is inevitable, and flying kites offers a chance to disconnect from the world’s worries and embrace a moment of beauty. Virgil says, “I didn’t hold the string so much as climb it, and once flying I felt small and unencumbered, as if the moving sky were home and I’d been misplaced down here” (100). Rune’s kite flying adds a mythological, almost supernatural quality to the story. The kites flying high above the town represent freedom, hope, and the promise of transcendence, bringing a sense of wonder into the citizens’ daily lives. High-flying kites are a metaphor for the magic of storytelling itself, lifting spirits and connecting people across divides.