02_422762-book.qxd
2
11/17/08
5:37 PM
Page 2
CliffsNotes On Hosseini’s The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner follows the maturation of Amir, a male from
Afghanistan who needs to find his way in the world as he realizes that
his own belief system is not that of his dominant culture. As an adult,
Amir also needs a way to atone for a childhood indiscretion, when an
act of cowardice costs him more than just a friendship. Set in
Afghanistan and the United States, The Kite Runner is a bildungsroman
that illustrates the similarities as well as the differences between the two
countries and the two vastly different cultures. It is the story of both
fathers and sons and friends and brothers, and it is a novel about right
and wrong and the nature of evil. Published in 2003 to great critical
and popular acclaim, The Kite Runner is considered a contemporary
classic.
WRITTEN BY: Khaled Hosseini
FIRST PUBLISHED: June 2003 by Riverhead Books (hardcover
edition). First trade paperback edition: May 2004. First Riverhead
Essential Edition: September 2005. The Library of Congress has cataloged the novel with the following fiction categories: Käbol
(Afghanistan); male friendship; social classes; Afghanistan; betrayal.
TYPE OF WORK: novel
GENRES: bildungsroman; historical novel
SETTING: Opens in San Francisco, and then flashes back to
Afghanistan and Pakistan.
MAIN CHARACTERS: Amir; Baba; Hassan; Ali; Sohrab; Rahim
Khan
MAJOR THEMATIC TOPICS: alienation; betrayal; class issues
(both cultural and socioeconomic); the emotional intensity of childhood affections; fear serving as a motivator; forgiveness; friendship; the
inherent nature of human evil; jealousy; lost innocence; love; manipulation; redemption; the role of religion; revenge
MOTIFS: death; desires; doubling; dreams; education; fears; passion; resentment; revenge; violence
MAJOR SYMBOLS: kites, kite fighting, kite running; myths;
pomegranate tree; scar; slingshot
02_422762-book.qxd
11/17/08
5:37 PM
Page 3
Swift Cliff
3
The three most important aspects of The Kite Runner:
■
This is an historical novel about the pre-Russian invasion and preTaliban rule of Afghanistan, as well life in Afghanistan under Taliban rule and life in a post-Taliban Afghanistan. Although the story
is fictitious, the information about the political, social, and cultural systems of this Middle Eastern country provides a contrast
to the contemporary headlines about Afghanistan primarily being
home to terrorist cells. The Kite Runner paints a realistic portrait
of a country about which most readers probably know very little
and enables readers to separate the people of a country from its
leaders (the Taliban) and/or groups (terrorists) associated with it.
■
The Kite Runner is a coming-of-age novel about finding one’s place
in a world of turmoil and transition. It explores the difficulties of
developing into an adult relationship with your parents while
simultaneously exploring ideas about the human capacity for good
and evil, and the relationship between sin, forgiveness, and atonement. Its setting in both Afghanistan and the United States illustrates the universality of its characters and themes. In addition to
these topics, The Kite Runner also touches on social awareness, religion, and philosophy.
■
The combination of Hosseini’s narrative technique (the combining of flashback and flashforward in a somewhat linear timeline),
his character development (having even his best characters demonstrate flaws and shortcomings), stylistic devices (including the
insertion of Afghani words, his sentence patterns and sentence
structure, the use of rhetorical figures, as well as his subtle use of
foreshadowing), and his extensive incorporation of symbolism
resulted in both critical accolades and popular success of The Kite
Runner, a novel that is simultaneously embraced by academia and
the general reading populace.