By: Sara, Kendra, Kathy and Ainsley
Thesis
In the novel The Kite Runner, the author
reveals the importance of social classes,
which in the book, came before
friendship.
Baba : Ali
Adopted brothers
 Childhood Playmates
 Ali was Baba’s servant
 Baba never referred to Ali as his friend.
 Baba had more education than Ali

Hassan : Amir
Best friends
 Brothers
 Hassan was Amir’s servant
 Amir always made fun of Hassan
 Amir could never find the difference
between friendship and having a
servant.

Passages

1. Page 27 “Ali and Baba grew up
together as…”
- Describes the similarities of Ali and
Baba’s relationship compared to Hassan
and Amir’s. They followed in their fathers
footsteps and both great childhood
friends and shared experiences.
Passages
Page 29 “During the school year, we
had a daily routine…”
- In this passage we see that even though
they were best friends, Hassan still
worked for him. This is how they had to
live, this is the way their culture worked.

Passages

2. Page 82 “I had one last chance to
make a …”
 In this passage, Amir makes his final
decision. He reflects on how much Hassan
has done for him. He couldn’t decide what to
do, he couldn’t stand up for Hassan, so he
ran.
Passages

3. Page 98 “I don’t know how many
times I hit him…”
 This passage represents their servant
relationship. They are best friends, but Amir
is a Pashtun and Hassan is a Hazara.
Hassan will always be his servant.
 Amir wanted Hassan to get back at him, but
he couldn’t.
Passages

Page 371-372 “ I flipped to the page I
had bent in the taxi…”
- Amir reflects on how he had made fun
of Hassan all those years. He proved his
power over him this way. He would also
read him riddles, but as soon as Hassan
was better, he stopped. He always
needed to have power over him.
Devices - Irony

Amir gets a scar on his upper lip from
the fight

For you a thousand times over

Baba forgave Hassan

Assef’s eye
Devices – Metaphor/Symbol/
Foreshadowing

The Lamb (flashback)

The Kite (glory)

Amir asks for new servants.
How the theme evolved
The theme evolved in this novel when
Amir finds out that Hassan was his
brother. This changes the theme
because this is not how family would be
treated.
 In the beginning, Amir was very mean
and betrayed Hassan.
 In the end, Amir treats him with respect
and takes care of his son.

Theme..
Amir and Hassan follow in their fathers’
footsteps and are best friends. What
separates them though, is that Hassan
is Amir’s servant.
 Amir has difficulty finding the difference
between friendship and servanthood.
When Amir betrays his “friend” by not
standing up for him, Amir justifies it
because Hassan is his servant.

Class Assignment

1. How is losing Assef an example of
irony?
Answer

When Hassan was younger, he
threatened Assef saying he would shoot
him in the eye. A generation later, his
son shot Assef in the eye, and he lost
his eye.
Class Assignment

2. Were Baba and Ali best friends too?
Answer

They would play together as a child, but
Baba never referred to him as a friend.
Class Assignment

3. Why does Baba get upset when Amir
asks for new servants?
Answer

Baba was Hassans father too, that is
why he specifically said that “Hassan”
wasn’t going anywheres.
Class Assignment

4. How did Amir prove his power over
Hassan?
Answer

Amir made fun of Hassan a lot. He
would read him riddles, but once
Hassan started to get better at them
then Amir, he would stop.