THE KITE RUNNER
Khaled Hosseni
SUMMARY
Amir, a man who immigrated into the United-States as a
refugee, receives a phone call from Afghanistan many years
after leaving the nation. The man on the line, Rahim Khan, tells
Amir there’s a way for him to redeem himself, tacitly alluding to
a disturbing event that occurred 26 years earlier. The narrative
then shifts back 26 years to Afghanistan when Amir was only
12. At the time, Amir spends a lot of time with a Hazara boy
named Hassan since Amir’s father (Baba) has hired Hassan’s
father (Ali) as a servant. There is a great deal of discrimination
in Afghanistan against the nation’s ethnic Hazara minority, and
Amir is bullied by a cruel boy named Assif for playing with
Hassan.
Hassan comes to Amir’s defense by threatening to shoot Assif
with a slingshot, but Amir still harbors jealousy towards Hassan
because he believes Hassan receives too much affection from
Baba. Some time later, a kite-fighting contest occurs and Amir
wins by cutting through the string of an opposing kite. Hassan
excitedly goes to recover the losing kite so that Amir can present
it to his father as a trophy. Nevertheless, when Amir finds
Hassan, he is being raped in an alley by Assif. Due to his envy
of Hassan, Amir decides not to intervene and then instead of
seeking to right his wrong, Amir decides to get rid of Hassan so
that he does not feel guilty for what he did. He frames Hassan
for a theft and arranges for Baba to send him away.
The narrative then moves to 1981, when Amir and Baba escape
Afghanistan by fleeing into Pakistan. They later move to
California so that they don’t have to return to their war-torn
country, devastated by the Taliban and the Russian Forces.
While in the United-States, Baba dies of lung cancer and Amir
marries, but finds himself unable to have children with his wife.
The story then jumps back to the moment Amir receives the call
from Rahim Khan. Khan informs Amir that the Taliban have
taken over Afghanistan and killed Hassan. Khan, however, tells
Amir that he can still repent for what he did to Hassan years ago
by rescuing Hassan’s son Sohrab. Then Amir learns that Hassan
was actually his half-brother, but Baba never publicly
acknowledged him since Hassan’s mother was a Hazara.
Upon his return to Afganistan, Amir goes to an orphanage to
find Sohrab but discovers he is not there. The orphanage director
instructs Amir to speak to a specific Taliban official at a soccer
game if he wishes to find the child. When Amir meets the
official, he discovers that the man is in fact Assif and that he has
been sexually abusing Sohrab. The boy who had raped Hassan
26 years earlier is now sexually victimizing Hassan’s son. Assif
then violently attacks Amir, and continues to beat him until
Sohrab intervenes and shoots out Assif’s eye with a slingshot.
Amir asks Sohrab if he would like to come back to the UnitedStates with him and he consents, but the adoption officials do
not permit Sohrab to go back right away. He is instead sent to
an orphanage where he tries to commit suicide. When Amir
finally gets permission to take Sohrab with him, the boy is
severely traumatized and refuses to speak. Sohrab nonetheless
seems to heal when Amir takes him to a park and partakes in a
kite fighting match. Amir wins, causing Sohrab to smile, and he
runs to recover the kite for the boy.
CONTEXT
Khaled Hosseni was born in Afghanistan in 1965, but due to
political turmoil in the nation, was forced to move to France
with his family in 1976. He would later move to the UnitedStates, and began writing The Kite Runner after being certified
as a doctor. Hosseni based several elements of the novel on his
own experiences in Afghanistan, such as watching kite fights,
and also described the turmoil the Taliban caused in his country.
The Kite Runner is a deeply affecting novel about redemption,
and it remains Hosseni’s most famous work.
CHARACTERS
Amir
As a young boy, the novel's protagonist Amir strongly desires his
father's affection and becomes very jealous when his friend Hassan instead
receives his father's attention. As an adult, Amir's trip back to Afghanistan
is motivated by his desire to redeem himself for having betrayed Hassan
when they were both children.
-
Hassan- Though Amir believes that Hassan is just a friend and the son of
the family servant, he is in fact Amir's half-brother. (Amir's father Baba had
a son with a Hazara woman, but never publicly acknowledged Hassan
because he was half-Hazara.) Hassan defends Amir and is loyal to Amir
despite the fact that his half-brother betrays him. Hassan is killed by the
Taliban.
Baba
- Baba is Amir and Hassan's father. Although Baba won't publicly
acknowledge Hassan, he loves him and pays for his hare-lip surgery as a
birthday present. Baba leaves Afghanistan with Amir and later dies of lung
cancer in California.
Sohrab-
Sohrab is Hassan's son. He is repeatedly sexually abused by
Assef until Amir comes to his rescue. Sohrab tries to commit suicide and
appears to be traumatized by his disturbing past.
Ali - Ali is Baba's servant. Amir falsely believes that he is Hassan's father
for most of the novel.
Soraya - Soraya is Amir's wife. She agrees to raise Sohrab with her
husband since they cannot have children of their own.
THEMES
REDEMPTION
Amir's decision to redeem himself leads him back to Afghanistan where he
tries to find Sohrab (Hassan's son) in order to make amends for betraying
Hassan. Though Amir can never change the fact that he failed to protect
his friend Hassan, he puts himself in danger and takes a beating in order to
save Hassan's son Sohrab.
"THE PAST CAN NEVER BE BURIED"
Despite the fact that Amir leaves his native Afghanistan, he does not lose
his cultural roots or his connection to his native country. In the UnitedStates, Amir continues to partake in traditional Afghani activities, such as
kite fighting, and he also marries an Afghani woman. Amir retains several
connections to Afghanistan years after he leaves the country, proving that
he remains deeply affected to his past.Furthermore, Sohrab remains
traumatized by the physical and sexual abuse he
endured even after Amir rescues him. Sohrab refuses to speak and even
tries to commit suicide when he is sent to an orphanage.
QUOTATIONS
"There is a way to be good again..."
At the beginning of the novel, Rahim Khan phones Amir and incites him to
return to Afghanistan to rescue Hassan's son Sohrab.
"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 realizes that he can never undo or forget the past. Twenty-six years
after Hassan is raped, Rahim Khan calls Amir to tell him to redeem
himself.
"There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little
childhood."
Due to political turmoil and the oppressive Taliban regime, many Afghani
children suffer greatly. Sohrab, for instance, is orphaned when the Taliban
kill his parents and is thereafter sexually tormented by a Taliban official.
"War does not negate decency. It demands it, even more
than in times of peace."
Amir's father Baba argues that the dire circumstances of war do not justify
committing evil acts. In fact, in times of war people should make an even
greater effort to do what is right.
"For you, a thousand times over."
Amir echoes Hassan's words in the final passage of the book, causing
Sohrab to smile. Since Amir alludes to the last words Hassan spoke before
he was raped, it is strongly implied that Amir has come to terms with his
past and redeemed himself. Furthermore, Sohrab seems to be overcoming
his disturbing past since he appears to finally be opening up to his foster
father Amir.