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The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini  

 


 
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The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini

Khaled Hosseini

OST-TheKiteRunner.jpg_4bcddb51dea46-articleImage_edited.jpg

OST-TheKiteRunner.jpg_4bcddb51dea46-articleImage_edited.jpg

Amir Reading Hassan's Letter

Amir Reading Hassan's Letter

Hassan and Amir

Hassan and Amir

Sohrab and Soraya

Sohrab and Soraya

Amir and Baba

Amir and Baba

Baba

Baba

Amir and Sohrab

Amir and Sohrab

Amir's Birthday Party

Amir's Birthday Party

Amir and Hassan

Amir and Hassan

Symbols

 

 


 

Kites:

  • Symbolizes happiness when Amir attempts to win over Baba's love

  • Symbolizes guilt because the kite running event led to Hassan's rape, which Amir could have prevented or intervened

  • Represents Amir's childhood after redemption

    • Amir flies kites again to connect with Sohrab

 

 


 

Themes

 

 


 

Redemption:

  • Amir tyring to win over the love of Baba

    • Amir tries to make up for the loss of his mother

  • Amir looks for redemption following Hassan's rape

    • Amir asks Hassan to hit him with a pomegranate

    • Amir feels at peace when Assef beats him

 

Father and Son:

  • Amir loves his father and wishes Baba would show him affection in return

  • Baba's secret of Hassan being his son and showing him affection by asking Hassan to accompany him on trips, and fixing his cleft lip

 

Influence of Past:

  • Baba hid a secret past that was revealed after his death

    • Hid his past by doing good things for people

  • Sohrab experiences abuse from Assef and the Taliban

    • He experiences anxiety with the thoughts of his past

    • Amir internalizes his past and allows that to define him

Major Conflicts

 


 

  • Assef raping Hassan

  • Amir wanting Baba's love and affection

  • Amir wanting to get Sohrab from Assef and have him leave to America with him

  • Amir learning to be his own man

Characters

 


 

Amir:

  • Coward

  • Rich due to being a Pashtun

  • Internalizes everything and is sensitive

    • Suffers from guilt but finds redemption

  • Disconnected from father

  • Intelligent

    • Enjoys reading and writing

      • Is a published author

 

 


 

Baba:

  • Amir and Hassan's father

  • Stands up for himself

  • Likes to help others

    • Uses this as a way to cover for his past

      • Shameful for having an affair and resulting with a child out of his ethnicity group

  • Enjoys having pride and morals

  • Wealthy and respected buisness man

  • Is persistent and determined

 

 


 

Ali:

  • Is Hassan's "father"

  • Is Baba's servant and best friend

    • The two grew up together

  • Uneducated and poor due to being a Hazara

  • Suffered from Polio and walks with a limp

  • Suffers from partial paralysis of his face


 

Sohrab:

  • Hasssan's son

  • Orphan

  • Skilled with slingshot just like his father

  • Traumatized victim of sexual and physical abuse

    • Keeps to himself and talks rarely

  • Is educated by his father

 

Assef:

  • Is the antagonist of the novel

  • Is Hassan's and Sohrab's rapist

  • Part of the Taliban

  • Incapable of remorse

  • Enjoys inflicting violence and sexual abuse on those who are powerless


 

Rahim Khan:

  • Baba's friend and closest confidant

  • Father figure to Amir

  • Knows all of Baba's secrets

Farid:

  • Amir's driver and friend in Afghanistan

  • Unfriendly at first but then becomes loyal and good to Amir

  • Missing fingers and toes from landmine explosion

 

Sanaubar:

  • Is Hassan's mother and Ali's wife

  • Is a very promiscuous woman

  • Leaves family after Hassan's birth

    • Comes back as a caring grandmother

 

Soraya:

  • Is Amir's wife

  • Is intelligent

  • Is always there for Amir

  • Is able to accept and let go her past

  • Has strong will like her father

  • Is not considered a traditional Afghan woman with Amir

    • The two have an "American relationship"

Motifs

 

 


 

Rape:

  • Hassan and Sohrab get raped by Assef

  • Baba stops the rape of a woman in the truck

  • Kamal gets raped by Taliban

 

Running:

  • Amir runs from problems

    • Is his "escape" and is the easiest way for him to deal with difficult situations

  • Amir runs away when he witnesses Hassan being raped

  • Amir and Hassan run for kites during kite running contests

  • Baba and Amir run away to America to escape from problems in Kabul

 

 


 

Significant Quotes

 

 


 

"Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors." ~Amir

 

"For you, a thousand times over." Hassan and Farid

 

"There is only one sin and that is theft... when you tell a lie, you steal someones right to the truth." ~Baba

 

"There is a way to be good again...” ~Rahim Khan

 

"It's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out." ~Amir

 

"I thought of all the trucks,train sets, and bikes he'd bought me in Kabul. Now America. One last gift for Amir." ~Amir

 

"All those years, that's what I was trying to teach you, how to never ask that question." ~Baba

 

"I ran." ~Amir

 

 

 

 

Setting

 

 

 


 

  • 1975-2001

  • Kabul, Afghanistan

  • California, U.S.

 

 

 


 

Author's Purpose


 

  • For readers to accept their past, move on, and to forgive and forget

    • Don't let your past define the person you are

  • Be your own person and be independent

Hassan:

  • Amir's best friend and half brother

    • Doesn't know he's Baba’s illegitimate child

  • Uneducated and poor due to being a Hazara

  • Loyal and brave

  • Unselfish

  • Protects and stands up for Amir

    • Amir's servant

  • Skilled with a slingshot

  • Victim of racism and rape

 

 

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