Kite Runner Study Guide:
1. Be able to identify the following characters and be familiar with key points of their lives:
Relationship to
other characters
Name
Characteristics (both physical and ideological) and key points
Amir
Baba
Hassan
Assef
Ali
Rahim Khan
Sohrab
2. Understand the differences between symbols, motifs, and themes. Be able to differentiate
between them, and explain the differences.
a. Sort the following into categories:
the bear, Father/son relationships, redemption, the pomegranate tree, guilt,
brotherhood/friendship, class structure, discrimination/bigotry, irony, regression in
time, rape, the lamb, the cleft lip, the intersection of political events in private lives,
the watch, childhood, kites, and alienation/belonging
Symbols
Motifs
Themes
b. Understand and be able to explain the significance of at least three from each category.
3. Know the geography of the story: Where does it take place.?
4. Know the cultural background of the story: What ethnic groups exist in Afghanistan? What
political changes have occurred there since the 1960s (especially as they relate to the events of
the story)? What groups have held power?
5. Know the following key quotes, including the context and the significance:
a. “I became what I am today at the age of twelve….That was a long time ago, but 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”
b. “There is a way to be good again.”
c. “A boy who can’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.”
d. “I ran because I was a coward….I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative,
the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world.”
e. “For you, a thousand times over.”
f. “I ran. A grown man running with a swarm of screaming children. But I didn’t care….
I ran.”
6. Understand the friendship between Hassan and Amir. What are the key points in their
relationship?
7.
8. Be able to discuss the role of media bias in Western views of the Middle East.
9. Be able to describe the relationship between Amir and Baba, and between Hassan and Baba.
10. Be able to discuss the Synthesis essay topic, including references to the sources from the packet:
Women in Islam.
11. Several events later in the story mirror earlier events. Identify the corresponding events, and see
how many more you can brainstorm:
Hassan threatens Assef “The Ear Eater” with
his slingshot
Amir dreams about Baba fighting a black bear
Amir runs a kite for Sohrab
Amir hides his watch and money under
Hassan’s mattress to make Baba think that
Hassan stole them