Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner (2003)
Discussion Circle Questions
Group 1
Chapters 1-5 (pp. 1-50)
1. The narrator begins the story by proclaiming, “I became what I am today at the age of twelve.” What
is the significance of the past for the narrator? for the audience? Compare the opening and closing lines
of chapter 1.
2. Amir had never thought of Hassan as his friend, despite the evident bond between them, just as Baba
did not think of Ali as his friend. What parallels can be drawn between Amir and Hassan’s relationship,
and Baba and Ali’s?
3. In chapter two, compare the second paragraph on p. 5 and the fourth paragraph on p.9. What do these
paragraphs suggest about the relationship each boy has with their father?
4. How would you describe the relationship between the two boys? What makes them so different in the
way they behave with each other? What is it that makes Amir inflict small cruelties on Hassan?
5. What does it mean to be Hazara, Shi’a Muslim, Afghanistan’s minority group? Who, in the story thus
far, is Hazara? What does it mean to be Pashtun, Sunni Muslim, Afghanistan’s majority group? Who, in
the story thus far, is Pashtun?
6,. Amir says “ I never thought of me and Hassan as friends” (22). Does this mean that they were never
friends, or does it suggest something else about their relationship?
7. How does Chapter 1 draw the reader in?
8. In Chapter 3, on page 24, what do you think Baba is talking about when he states that there is
“something missing” with Amir?
9. Read the following extract from pages 30-31 “Sitting cross-legged, sunlight and shadows of
pomegranate leaves dancing on his face…I would tell myself that was amends enough for a harmless
prank.” What do we find out about the character of each boy from these events?
10. Is there such a thing as a ‘true Afghan’(p.43)? What is the irony in Assef’s speech?
11. Hassan has plastic surgery to be able to smile “normally” by the following winter. Why does Amir
think that is ironic? What extra dimension does Hassan’s hare-lip give to the novel and why do you
think Hosseini brought this (visual) disability into the novel in addition to Hassan’s lack of status?
12. On p. 27 the narrator says “…history isn’t easy to overcome. Neither is religion.” What does he
mean? Do you agree?
 In what ways do time and place matter in the work?
 What was easy to understand and what was difficult in relation to social and cultural
context and issues?
 What connections did you find between issues in the work and your own culture(s) and
experience?
 What aspects of technique are interesting in the work?
Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner (2003)
Discussion Circle Questions
Group 2
Chapters 6-9 (pp. 51-115)
1. Why is the opening sentence only one word long?
2. What emotions does Amir experience before the kite tournament? What is Hassan’s response? Refer
to the simile “I felt like a soldier trying to sleep in the trenches the night before a major battle” (53).
3. What observations are made about Afghans in regards to rules and customs? How might this be
important to our understanding of the text?
4. What is it called when two contrasting things are put together to encourage the reader to think? How
is the technique used in this chapter?
5. “I opened my mouth and almost said something…The rest of my life might have turned out
differently if I had…” Why are those important words?
6. What is inscribed on the pomegranate tree in the back yard? So, why then is it significant that Amir
tries to pick a fight with Hassan in front of that tree? Discuss the symbolism of the scene in which Amir
throws pomegranates at Hassan. Why does Amir want Hassan to hit him, and why do you think Hassan
refuses?
7. Discuss the aftermath of the kite-fighting tournament, and assess Amir’s initial reaction to Assef’s
attack on Hassan. Why does Amir decide not to help Hassan? How is your opinion of Amir changing?
8. Explain the symbolism of the memories and the dream Amir recalls as Hassan is attacked. Why does
Amir compare Hassan to the lamb he saw sacrificed on Eid-Al-Adha? What is the metaphorical
significance? What theme is being developed here?
9. Do you think Hassan knows that Amir witnessed the rape? Explain.
10. Discuss Amir’s trip to Jalalbad with his father, contrasting his expectations with the reality. Why
does Amir feel as “empty as (the) unkempt pool”?
11. Assess what Assef’s interactions with his parents, Amir, Baba, and Hassan at the party reveal about
him? What is the significance of the gift he gives Amir?
12. How does Baba react to Ali and Hassan’s decision to leave? What do you think Baba thinks is their
reason for leaving? Why do you think Amir is not moved enough to tell the truth or try to stop them
from leaving?
 In what ways do time and place matter in the work?
 What was easy to understand and what was difficult in relation to social and cultural
context and issues?
 What connections did you find between issues in the work and your own culture(s) and
experience?
 What aspects of technique are interesting in the work?
Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner (2003)
Discussion Circle Questions
Group 3
Chapters 10-14 (pp. 116-204)
1. “America was different. America was a river roaring along, unmindful of the past. I could wade into
this river, let my sins drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far.” What does this quote
from Chapter 11 reveal? What does this metaphor mean?
2. Baba observes that “It may be unfair, but what happens in a single day can change the course of a
whole lifetime.” Whom is he speaking about? Why? What else might be significant about that quote?
3. On p.148 what do you notice about the sentence length in the description of the ceremony? Why do
you think this technique has been used?
4. In Chapter 13, Amir thinks about the “bears” his father has wrestled during his lifetime. What
“bears” has Baba wrestled? What is the significance of this?
5. Chapter 14 brings us back to the opening of the book: the telephone call from Rahim Khan. What is
Rahim asking Amir to do? What theme is being developed here?
6. In chapter 10, several things happen that are ironic or foreshadowing. Label each and explain:
 the only way Amir can survive the long ride in the fume-filled tank is by remembering flying
kites with Hassan.
 Baba gathers up the dirt of his homeland and places it next to his heart.
 Kamal’s father commits suicide after Kamal dies from breathing the fumes of the tank.
 Kamal, one of Hassan’s rapists, has been raped himself and hasn’t spoken since.
7. Very conservative Islamic attitudes towards women are explored in this chapter. What do you think
about these? Is Hosseini making any comment?
8. Why does Hosseini use so many Farsi words to explain this courtship?
9. “Baba loved the idea of America. It was living in America that gave him an ulcer” (125). How does
the novel explain these two contrary statements?
10. Explore the imagery in the phrase “one disappointing son and two suitcases”. Discuss the tangible
(real) and intangible (emotional) things that are contained within the two suitcases.
11. Hosseini uses the character of Baba as a device to explore the devastating effects of emigration on
the individual. Discuss this in more detail.
 In what ways do time and place matter in the work?
 What was easy to understand and what was difficult in relation to social and cultural
context and issues?
 What connections did you find between issues in the work and your own culture(s) and
experience?
 What aspects of technique are interesting in the work?
Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner (2003)
Discussion Circle Questions
Group 4
Chapters 15-20 (p 205-270)
1. “‘You’ve always been a tourist here, you just didn’t know it’” (245). What is Farhid trying to tell
Amir? Is his criticism true?
2. What realizations does Amir come to in Chapter 19?
3. In Chapter 20, Amir sees Kabul for the first time since leaving. Describe what he sees. How has it
changed? Why is this significant?
4. In Chapter 20, the director of the orphanage, Zaman, tells Amir that Sohrab was taken by a Taliban
official, who takes children, usually girls, about once a month, for his “sexual pleasure.” The official
gives Zaman a great deal of cash. How does Zaman defend his actions? Do you think that sacrificing
one or two children for the sake of the greater good (i.e. saving other children) is justifiable?
5. Rahim Khan says:
“‘I thought about writing you and telling you before [that Hassan lived with me in your
father’s house after you left], but I wasn't sure you wanted to know. Was I wrong?’
[The narrator reflects] The truth was no. The lie was yes. I settled for something in
between. “I don’t know.” (p.213)
Does Amir’s honesty make us more sympathetic towards him?
6. What does Hassan’s letter reveal about Afghanistan? Himself?
7. In these chapters, how does Hosseini encourage us to see Amir in a positive light?
8. Why is there so much repetition of earlier events and conversations in chapter 18? What themes are
being developed?
9. Discuss the motif of dreams and memories in the novel? What purpose do they serve?
10. Comment on how true each of these statements is:
 Amir exercises religion in a private way
 Hassan is a victim of religious discrimination
 for Assef, Islam is a pretext for his pathological cruelty
 Baba is secular in a very traditional society.
11. In what way can The Kite Runner be seen as a modern novel?
 In what ways do time and place matter in the work?
 What was easy to understand and what was difficult in relation to social and cultural
context and issues?
 What connections did you find between issues in the work and your own culture(s) and
experience?
 What aspects of technique are interesting in the work?
Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner (2003)
Discussion Circle Questions
Group 5
Chapters 21- 25 (pp. 259--371)
1. In Chapter 22, we encounter many “full-circle” endings as we reach the climax, or turning point, of
the plot. What are they?
2. Why are the events in chapter 22 so important in defining Amir’s identity?
3. Is Farid’s humour (p. 279) appropriate in the context of the executions that follow? What is Hossieni
hoping to achieve here?
4. In his letter Rahim Khan, says “a man, who has no conscience, no goodness, does not suffer” (315).
Why is this important? Is it true?
5. Perhaps the most emotionally powerful words in the novel are present in chapter 23. If they are,
what is your opinion of them?
6. In this chapter, Amir remembers Rahim Khan saying “Your father was a man torn between two
halves” (378). Why is this echoing for him? In what ways do you see it to be true? Does this justify his
behaviour?
7. What is the significance of Amir’s gift of $2000 to Farid? Does it suggest that he always sees money
as the solution and Farid was right to criticize his upbringing or are you more sympathetic? Do you
have a sense of what Hosseini wants us to think?
8. On p. 380 Amir has a conversation with General Sahib about Sohrab. What is important about this
conversation? Does it prove that “the ending [is] all that matter[s]” (376)?
9. What do we learn about the significance of the title in the final scene? Is it an appropriate title?
10. Who is the hero of the novel Amir or Hassan? Why so?
11. Discuss the importance of story telling in the novel.
12. What issues are left unresolved at the end of the book?
13. With references to two passages, discuss why Hosseini's The Kite Runner is a criticism of its time.
 In what ways do time and place matter in the work?
 What was easy to understand and what was difficult in relation to social and cultural
context and issues?
 What connections did you find between issues in the work and your own culture(s) and
experience?
 What aspects of technique are interesting in the work?