kite runner setting essay

The Kite Runner

Introduction of the kite runner.

The Kite Runner is based on the childhood memories of Khaled Hosseini of his homeland, Afghanistan. It was published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, and immediately created ripples on the US shelves. The unusual appearance of the story seems to present the Afghan background, culture, and ethnic tensions in the city of Kabul and the country on a wider scale. Though it also encompasses the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Afghan cultural erosion, and Pakistan’s support of the refugees . The story revolves around the character of Amir and his friend Hassan in the same backdrop.

Summary of The Kite Runner

The storyline starts with Amir recalling 26-year old Afghanistan and picturing himself as a boy, living at a luxurious home with  Baba,  his father. Two servants, the father and the son, Ali, and Hassan from the Hazara community of northern Afghanistan are serving both of them. Even though Hassan was a servant boy, Baba would always let Hassan sit on his lap leaving no room for affection for Amir. Amir always wanted to win Baba’s validation since he was always condemned by him for being feminine because he was more interested in writing. Then he recalls, Rahim Khan, a friend of his Baba, who often visits them who Amir considered as a father figure as he felt more appreciated by him. Meanwhile, Assef the kid from the neighborhood who was half Pashtun himself who has a German mother always picked on Hassan because of his Hazara community.

The story, then, moves to the kiteflying tournament in which the boys participate using different tactics on the kite strings to cut off the kites of the opponents. The boys running after the cut-off kites are the kite runners. When Amir cuts off a kite, Hassan runs to catch it but finds himself trapped in a blind alley when Assef sodomizes him, and Amir pretends as nothing has happened as he feared his father’s anger for showing the act of cowardice. Later, he tries to get Hassan and Ali expelled by Baba by orchestrating the money stealing issue as he puts some money under the pillow of Hassan as he couldn’t live with the guilt. This incident makes them move away from each other.

It happens in 1981, then, when Baba and Amir are leaving Kabul after the USSR invasion. They reach Pakistan from where they leave for Fremont where Baba starts working and educating Amir who attends a college. With the passage of time, they meet other such immigrants among which General Taheri is important whose daughter Soraya also visits them. Both of them start meeting but their elders tell them that they would decide the issue of their marriage which is settled amicably. Although they start wedding preparations, Baba’s health suddenly deteriorates due to terminal cancer. Shortly, after the wedding, Baba dies. Amir and Soraya, then, face another misfortune of not able to bear children.

Time passes by quickly. It happens that Rahim Khan, after getting sick, calls Amir to visit him when he is in Pakistan. He tells him about the situation in Kabul. The departure of the Soviets and arrival of the Taliban has further played havoc with the city and life in general, he tells him adding when they left Kabul, he coaxes Hassan to come with his wife, Farzana live in Baba and Amir’s house and be a caretaker but the Taliban shot him and his wife dead in front of the whole street when he tried to stop them from confiscating the house. They left a baby Sohrab behind. Now Rahim wants Amir to bring Sohrab to Pakistan and who will be taken care of by a couple. He also reveals that Hassan was his half-brother, as he was Baba’s son from a Hazara lady, though Baba handed him over to Ali to bring him up, living close to him, to keep the issue under the carpet. Amir soon leaves for Afghanistan but finds nothing as he runs from pillar to post to find Sohrab after watching a gruesome scene of stoning a woman to death. The next day, he meets an official who takes him to meet Sohrab who appears feminine after having suffered several sexual attacks. Suddenly Amir senses that the official is Assef who starts beating Amir, while Sohrab shoots him with his slingshot in his eye. Meanwhile, they flee from the scene and reach Pakistan where he finds out that after all there was no one to take care of Sohrab.

Finally, Sohrab becomes their adopted son as Soraya and Amir take him in their fold. However, before taking him to the United States, they would have had to prepare papers for him. . When Amir tells Sohrab he’s going to put him briefly in an orphanage, Sohrab tries to commit suicide. When they take him to California after finally becoming successful in getting a visa for him, they visit a park where Sohrab who is his old mate Hassan’s son is now his son. flies a kite and starts a kite-cutting contest where he runs the kite for him saying, ‘For you, thousand times over.

Major Themes in The Kite Runner

• Homeland: Love for one’s homeland is the major theme of the novel as Amir shows that though they live in luxury in Fermont in California, he longs to return to his land, Kabul, where he spent his childhood despite living and enjoying the freedom and open-minded society for having a choice. However, pangs of nostalgia force him to respond to the calls of Rahim from Pakistan and return to get Sohrab back to the United States. Amir later adopts him as a son. He does it wholeheartedly to compensate for the cruelty he demonstrated toward Hassan during his childhood – his own flesh and blood. Both Soraya, his wife, and he become quite happy and satisfied after making Sohrab a part of their family and teach him to fly a kite in California. At that moment, he finds that he feels at home after visiting his homeland.
• Betrayal: The Kite Runner shows the thematic strand of betrayal through the characters of Baba, Amir, and Hassan. Baba betrays his wife from the Hazra community, and then leaves his son Hassan with Ali to fend off themselves. Amir betrays Hassan by leaving him in the cul de sac to fend off himself, though, Hassan has always stood by him through thick and thin. Unfortunately, Hassan dies leaving his son Sohrab to take care of himself. Although it is not a betrayal in that sense, yet Sohrab is left alone in the world.
• Guilt and Redemption: The theme of guilt and its redemption occurs through the character of Baba who has a wife and a child in the city, living with him yet he does not dare own them publicly. However, later, he tries to redeem it by demonstrating his love for Hassan, yet that, too, does not prove fruitful, or of any use to him. It rather causes jealousy to Amir which he later redeems by taking Hassan’s son, Sohrab, out of Kabul to California.
• Familial Relationships: The novel allows the readers to discover twisted familial relations through Baba, Hassan, Amir, and Sohrab. Baba has two sons, but he could only claim Amir and not Hassan who is from the mother , having considered lowly ethnic background. Therefore, Hassan becomes an outcast in the Kabul society despiting the son of an aristocrat, while Amir leaves for California with Baba. Later, when Amir and Soraya do not have their own children, Amir comes to take Sohrab back after the latter loses his father in the war-torn Kabul. These familial relations and their interaction become another theme of the novel.
• Memory and Nostalgia: When Amir remembers Kabul while living in California, America , Baba narrates to him about Kabul and Afghan stories. Baba recollects those memories that keep haunting the old man and his son in the United States. The nostalgia forces Amir later to seek immediate flight to Pakistan, meet Rahim in Peshawar and pick up Sohrab in a daredevil feat. Even the taking of Sohrab to California is an action of effort to forget the nostalgia of leaving Kabul.
• Kite Flying: The game of kite flying shows human effort, growth, aspirations, and love for each other. When Amir loves flying kites, Hassan stands by him in the flying contest and runs after kites for him. However, when it comes to Amir, he abandons Hassan with fear and hurry. Later, he redeems by rescuing Sohrab, Hassan’s son, when he takes him to California adopting him as his son.
• Politics: The novel shows global politics at work due to its references to Communism, jihad , departure of Baba, and Amir to the United States and the free society of California. It tries to portray the United States as a paradise that extends refuge to people like Baba and Amir, from the war-torn Afghanistan, where even generals are roaming around. It also shows the ethnic fissures between the Pashtun, Hazara, and sectarian issues of Shia and Sunni that have led to the devastation of Afghanistan.
• Racial Discrimination: Racial and ethnic discriminations continue to destroy the social fabric of Kabul and Afghanistan. Although Baba is quite liberal and possesses good fortune, he cannot dare to own Hassan as his son from a Hazara lady due to the reprisals from the Pashtuns. He can only extend his love. However, Amir does not fear taking Sohrab who is from Hazara ethnicity and brings him to live in the United States.
• Marginalization of Femininity: The novel shows the marginality of the ethnicity and minority through the character of Hassan and Sanaubar. Hassan represents the ethnicity of Hazara and its significance in the Afghan social structure, while Sanaubar’s role and her story show the marginality of femininity.

 Major Characters in The Kite Runner

• Amir: The main character and protagonist of The Kite Runner , Amir is Baba’s representative of the elite structure of Kabul having all the luxuries and privileges. Despite this, he feels detached from the existing realities and does not show bravery which Baba desires him to show when it comes to human contests. For example, he does not extend protection to Hassan or protects Hassan when others violate his honor, while Baba does not express pleasure over this betrayal. His attempt of insulting Hassan, though, emerges from his jealousy of Baba’s love for Hassan. Later, Amir repents and realizes his flaw, when he comes to meet Rahim in Peshawar to redeem himself from this guilt. Hence, he redeems himself when he takes Sohrab with him to California and plays kite flying with him in a park.
• Hassan: Despite being subservient to Amir, Hassan’s character does not seem subdued by the circumstances. Belonging to a marginal ethnicity rather makes him a favorite character in the novel as he grows up under the shadow of Amir yet makes him seek Hassan’s support where he does not think himself fit to fight others. Even the end of the novel makes him repent over his prejudicial attitude toward Hassan, who is not present, yet his son Sohrab wins love from Amir as his adopted son.
• Baba: Baba is a highly esoteric character in those several aspects of his personality emerge on the scene after his death. Amir comes to learn that Hassan was his son too, and he cannot reconcile with this idea. He wonders why he had never expressed the truth or treated him on equal footing with Amir as a son. However, he senses that his love for Hassan must have a cause behind it that he sees himself. Amir later learns that the old aristocrat from Kabul, perhaps, failed to adapt himself to the urban setup of Kabul where prejudice and malice still existed at that time. However, Baba might have seen that California would dispel these negative emotions from Amir and it proves right when Amir comes back to take Hassan’s son.
• Rahim Khan: Rahim Khan’s character is also an important one. He asks Amir to visit Peshawar as he has some important news for him. He utilizes his old business terms with Baba and when Amir comes to meet him, he tells him the whole story behind Hassan and Baba’s relation and tries to make him understand the significance of Sohrab and his safety.
• Sohrab: Hassan’s son Sohrab becomes significant in the novel in that Amir considers him his own son instead of just the son of his stepbrother, Hassan. Therefore, he does not leave any stone unturned to save him from the clutches of Assef when he visits Afghanistan for this very purpose at the request of Rahim Khan. Later, he provides Soraya and Amir a chance to win happiness.
• Assef: Despite belonging to double ethnicities, Assef becomes a bully as well as a villain of The Kite Runner. His brass knuckles and his bullying makes him the bad character who demonstrates his anti-Hazara sentiments whenever an opportunity arises. He sexually molests Hassan, however, proves dear to him when it comes to Sohrab who is timely saved by Amir. In fact, he shows the unpleasant and dangerous side of life among the good characters of Amir, Soraya, and others.
• Soraya: The significance of Soraya lies in that despite being a daughter of an ex-general, she happily marries Amir and agrees to adopt Sohrab when she knows that she can never bear a child. This kind act of the lady wins the heart of the readers by the end.
• Ali: Despite being a secondary character, Ali has two drawbacks that force Baba to show his humane character. Not only is he limped, but also is a Hazara, and to top all this, he is a Shia. Almost all of these drawbacks make him a target during the melee following the chaos after the USSR invasion. However, he wins the love of Baba which reveals its cause later when Amir comes to take Sohrab to California.
• Sanaubar and Farid: Sanaubar, though, appears for a brief period, is significant. She is Hassan’s mother and belongs to the Hazara community after marrying secretly to Baba, while the significance of Farid lies in his assistance extended to Amir when he comes to take Sohrab.

Writing Style of The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini adopted the personal and direct style in his novel, The Kite Runner. The main character, Amir, brings recollections out of his sunken memory presented as long flashbacks , bordering hyperbolic use of personal memories. As Khaled is an ESL speaker , his diction is mostly formal, though, occasionally he has resorted to shaping English to demonstrate the true Afghani cultural nuances in the globalized American value structure. However, the self-translation of one cultural construct might have hampered his abilities. Therefore, the novel mostly seems written in formal language though somewhat broken and choppy dialogs of Assef and other characters living in the vicinity of Kabul shows Khaled Hosseini’s real intention in writing personal memories in the global language. Therefore, this style of writing in formal English suits his requirements.

Analysis of Literary Devices in The Kite Runner  

• Action: The main action of the novel comprises Amir’s migration to California with Baba and then return to Kabul through Peshawar to take Sohrab, Hassan’s son with him. The rising action occurs when Amir sees that Hassan becoming the victim of bullying, yet he does not come to help him. The falling action occurs when Baba and Amir leave Kabul for the United States.
• Anaphora : The Kite Runner shows the use of anaphora . For example, i. I looked up at those twin kites. I thought about Hassan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul. I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. (One) The sentence shows the repetitious use of “I thought.”
• Antagonist : The Kite Runner shows the character of Assef, Russian soldiers, and the Kabul elite as the main antagonists on account of their bad behavior toward Baba, Hassan, and the ethnic Hazra community.
• Allusion : There are a good number of examples of allusions in the novel. i. After I hung up, I went for a walk along Spreckels Lake on the northern edge of Golden Gate Park. (One) ii. … can still see Hassan up on that tree, sunlight flickering through the leaves on his almost perfectly round face, a face like a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood: his flat, broad nose and slanting, narrow eyes like bamboo leaves, eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green, even sapphire. (Two) iii. Gold-stitched tapestries, which Baba had bought in Calcutta, lined the walls; a crystal chandelier hung from the vaulted ceiling. (Two) iv. I remember the day before the orphanage opened, Baba took me to Ghargha Lake, a few miles north of Kabul. (Three) v. He told us one day that Islam considered drinking a terrible sin; those who drank would answer for their sin on the day of Qiyamat, Judgment Day. (Three) vi. We saw Rio Bravo three times, but we saw our favorite Western, The  Magnificent Seven, thirteen times. With each viewing, we cried at the end when the Mexican kids buried Charles Bronson—who, as it turned out, wasn’t Iranian either. (Three) The first two allusions are related to geographical points, while the third and fourth are related to Indian and Afghan landmarks and the last one is related to the theological concept of Islam. However, the last one shows cross -cultural allusions; American, Mexican, and Iranians.
• Conflict : The are two types of conflicts in the novel . The first one is the external conflict that is going on between the local Afghan elite society and the foreign conspirators. Another conflict is in the mind of Amir about his position as a boy, his gentlemanly learning, and his behavior toward Hassan, his half-brother.
• Characters: The Kite Runner presents both static as well as dynamic characters. The young man, Amir, is a dynamic character as he faces a huge transformation during his growth and migration from Afghanistan to the United States. However, the rest of the characters do not see any change in their behavior, as they are static characters like Sanauber, Ali, Rahim Khan, Baba, and even Hassan.
• Climax : The climax takes place when Amir returns to Kabul to take Sohrab, son of Hassan, his half-brother, to the United States.
• Foreshadowing : The novel shows the following examples of foreshadowing . i. I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. (One) ii. When we were children, Hassan and I used to climb the poplar trees in the driveway of my father’s house and annoy our neighbors by reflecting sunlight into their homes with a shard of mirror. (Two) iii. It was Rahim Khan who first referred to him as what eventually became Baba’s famous nickname, Toophan agha, or “Mr. Hurricane.”. (Three) These quotes from The Kite Runner foreshadow the coming events.
• Hyperbole : Hyperbole or exaggeration occurs in the novel at various places. For example, i. At parties, when all six- foot -five of him thundered into the room, attention shifted to him like sunflowers turning to the sun. (Three) ii. The generation of Afghan children whose ears would know nothing but the sounds of bombs and gunfire was not yet born. (Five) These sentences are hyperboles. The first one shows how Baba’s figure has been exaggerated by comparing him with the sun, while the second shows exaggeration about the Afghan nation.
• Imagery : Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, i. Sitting cross-legged, sunlight and shadows of pomegranate leaves dancing on his face, Hassan absently plucked blades of grass from the ground as I read him stories he couldn’t read for himself. (Three). ii. Something roared like thunder. The earth shook a little and we heard the rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire. “Father!” Hassan cried. We sprung to our feet and raced out of the living room. We found Ali hobbling frantically across the foyer. (Four) iii. The streets glistened with fresh snow and the sky was a blameless blue. Snow blanketed every rooftop and weighed on the branches of the stunted mulberry trees that lined our street. Overnight, snow had nudged its way into every crack and gutter.(Seven) The imagery shows the use of images of sound, color, and nature.
• Metaphor : The Kite Runner shows good use of various metaphors such as, i. My father was a force of nature, a towering Pashtun specimen with a thick beard, a wayward crop of curly brown hair as unruly as the man himself. (Three) ii. Just before sunrise, Baba’s car peeled into the driveway. (Five) iii. Outside the walls of that house, there was a war raging. (Sixteen) The first example shows the father compared to a model, the second sun to a knife, and the third war to a furious person or bull.
• Mood : The novel shows various moods in the beginning; nostalgic, neutral, and indifferent, but it turns out tragic and at times darkly humorous when the tragic tale of Farzana, Hassan, and Sanauber are told, and when Rahim calls Amir to save Sohrab from abuse.
• Motif : Most important motifs of the novel are pomegranate, kite, kite contestants, migration, and seasons.
• Narrator : The novel is narrated from the first-person point of view , Amir.
• Protagonist : Amir is the protagonist of the novel. The novel starts with his entry, reminiscing about Kabul and his life in that city and ends with his memories of the same thing after looking at Sohrab flying his kite.
• Parallelism : The novel shows parallelism in the following examples, In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi’a, and nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing. (Four).
• Rhetorical Questions : The novel shows good use of rhetorical questions at several places such as, i. She had a large purple bruise on her leg for days but what could I do except stand and watch my wife get beaten? If I fought, that dog would have surely put a bullet in me, and gladly! Then what would happen to my Sohrab? (Seventeen) ii. How could I have been so blind? The signs had been there for me to see all along; they came flying back at me now:  (Eighteen) iii. In his rearview mirror, I saw something flash in his eyes. “You want to know?” he sneered. “Let me imagine, Agha sahib. You probably lived in a big two- or three-story house with a nice backyard that your gardener filled with flowers and fruit trees.  (Nineteen) This example shows the use of rhetorical questions posed but different characters not to elicit answers but to stress upon the underlined idea.
• Setting : The setting of the novel spread over three countries; Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United States.
• Simile : The novel shows good use of various similes. For example, i. So I read him unchallenging things, like the misadventures of the bumbling Mullah Nasruddin and his donkey. (Four) ii. Something roared like thunder. (Five) iii. Flanked by his obeying friends, he walked the neighborhood like a Khan strolling through his land with his eager-to-please entourage. (Six). These are similes as the use of the word “like” shows the comparison between different things.

Related posts:

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The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Essay

Introduction, the kite runner: summary of the novel, the main characters and themes of the narrative, personal opinion about the composition.

The Kite Runner is a novel written by an Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. When Hosseini was a child, his family moved from Afghanistan to France, and then to the USA. This experience is partially reflected in the narrative of the author. Hosseini has written three novels, and The Kite Runner “has sold millions of copies worldwide and been classified as one of a classic” (Khadawardi 2017, 88). In this essay, the summary of the story, information on the main characters and themes, as well as a personal opinion about the composition will be presented.

The story revolves around the life of a young boy from Kabul, Amir. He lives with his father, Baba, a wealthy man who never has time to spend with his son. Amir feels jealous when he notices Baba’s cordial treatment of his friend, Hasan, the son of their servant. To deserve his father’s love, Amir decides to take part in the kite competition with Hassan. Even though the two boys could keep their kite in the sky for a long time and won the first part of the competition, the event ended tragically. Hassan runs away, trying to find a place where the kite fell. After waiting for him for a long time, Amir decides to follow his friend and becomes a witness to the rape of Hassan by his enemy Assef. Amir is scared to interfere and help his friend and decides to go away and pretend he did not see anything. Feeling guilty for what he did, Amir stops talking to Hassan and does not want to be his friend anymore. He blames him for being a thief, and Hassan and his father leave their home.

Soon, the Soviet Union troops intervene in Afghanistan. To save their lives, Amir and his father immigrate to the USA. Many years later, after his parent’s death, Amir receives a letter from a family friend. From this letter, he learns that Hassan was his brother and that he knew about Amir’s betrayal but still loved him until the end of his life. Unfortunately, Hassan died with his wife during demonstrations in their country, but their little son, Sohrab, managed to survive. He was sent to an orphanage, and the author of the letter asks Amir to save the child and take him to the USA. Amir decides to go to Afghanistan and finds his nephew there. Even though it turns out to be difficult for Amir to adopt him, he promises Sohrab never to send him to an orphanage again. One day, when Sohrab notices that Amir is about to break his promise, he tries to commit suicide. Even though the boy survives, he starts to keep to himself being silent most of the time. One day, Amir buys a kite for Sohrab, and, for the first time, he sees a smile on his face. Thus, it is not entirely clear if the story has a happy ending or not. Even the protagonist of the story mentions that he does not know for sure if the story of Hassan and his nephew, Sohrab, ends happily (Hosseini 2013). However, the author gives readers the hope that the characters of the story will eventually find peace and harmony.

The protagonist of the story is Amir, a young boy who was born in a wealthy Afghan family. It is not possible to tell if the personage of Amir is positive or negative. On the one hand, his sneaky nature allows him to betray his best friend. On the other hand, he is capable of feeling guilty and admitting his mistakes. Trying to make amends, Amir uses “a chance to put to rest his tortured past” ( Summary and Analysis of The Kite Runner 2016, 8). He puts much effort into taking Sohrab to the USA and giving him a better life.

Baba, the father of Amir and Hassan, also feels guilty for his affair with a servant’s wife. He considers it the worst sin he ever committed, and, in his desire to redeem himself, helps other people until the last days of his life. In contrast to his son Amir, Baba is a very independent and decisive person. However, it turned out that he was not brave enough to tell Amir and Hassan that they were brothers.

It is evident that Hassan and Amir have many differences. Even being unaware of the fact that Amir was his brother, he loved him and considered his best friend. He forgave Amir for his betrayals and was always ready to spend time with him. Amir, on the contrary, “never displayed his feelings toward Hassan” (Hosseini and Zohdi 2016, 37). It remains unclear if it is caused by the lack of Amir’s love for Hassan or by peculiarities of his personality. Being a very kind person, Hassan also forgave his mother, who left him when he was a child and sheltered her at his house during the war in the 1970s.

The main themes of the book are forgiveness and friendship. The author shows that for friendship, it does not matter if people have or do not have much in common. Hassan and Amir are two boys from two different worlds. Amir belongs to the aristocratic part of the society, while Hassan is from a low-income family of servants. Baba is a handsome man, and Hassan’s father is miserable and limp. Hassan has an ugly harelip, while the deformity of Amir is not noticeable from the outside. Despite all these differences, the two boys become soul mates and real friends. Unfortunately, Amir’s weakness and villainy trigger the end of their friendship. However, nothing can make Hassan stop communicating with his friend, even Amir’s betrayal. Being aware of every harmful deed done by Amir, Hassan is still looking up to Amir, ready to forgive him for everything. Thus, the author shows that forgiveness is the main element of people’s lives that helps individuals to build happiness.

The Kite Runner is one of the rare novels that invite readers to feel all the mental experience of the protagonist. This novel evokes a strong emotional response of readers and teaches them to be braver in some situations to avoid regrets in the future. It also shows that sometimes people neglect those who are sincere with them, and when they realize that they made a mistake, it is sometimes too late. This book shows the weaknesses and vices of human nature and makes readers think about their behavior.

It can be concluded that the novel The Kite Runner contains many significant ideas about people’s relationships. It teaches how important it is to forgive betrayals, love despite all, and bring goodness to this world. It also makes readers think about protagonists’ emotions and feelings and involves them in the process of reflections on their life. The author created an engaging narrative that should be read by both youth and adults because it raises questions that are always topical for all generations.

Hosseini, Akram, and Esmaeil Zohdi. 2016. “ The Kite Runner and the Problem of Racism and Ethnicity.” International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, vol. 74, 33-40.

Hosseini, Khaled. 2013. The Kite Runner. 10th ed. London: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.

Khadawardi, Hesham. 2017. “Superego Guilt, Redemption and Atonement in Khaled Hosseini’s the Kite Runner .” International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education 4 (2): 88-99.

Summary and Analysis of the Kite Runner: Based on the Book by Khaled Hosseini. 2016. New York: Worth Books.

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IvyPanda. (2020, July 8). The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-kite-runner-by-khaled-hosseini/

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini." July 8, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-kite-runner-by-khaled-hosseini/.

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The Kite Runner

By khaled hosseini, the kite runner essay questions.

Could the story of the novel exist without the class difference between Amir and Hassan? Make a case, using specific plot points and historical facts to ground your argument.

Examine the concept of circularity in the novel. What important cycles exist in the characters' lives and histories? How is circularity connected to redemption?

Explore the way in which courage is portrayed in the novel. What constitutes true bravery? What are the key moments when characters are brave and who is the bravest character, if any? Use specific examples from the text to support your argument.

Each character in the novel is shaped not only by his particular circumstances, but by the historical and political events that occur during his life. Consider Sohrab, the only character of his generation; how is he different from the other characters and how are these differences a function of what he has experienced?

Consider the idea of a homeland or "watan." How do you think the novel defines a homeland? Make sure to consider the opinions of Farid and Assef. Also, consider this question in terms of Amir and Sohrab, two characters who leave Afghanistan when they are still growing up.

Even though countless events occur in the novel, the title refers to kite fighting and kite running. What do these activities represent in the novel and why are they so important? To whom or what does the title, "The Kite Runner," refer?

Examine what it means to be American in the novel. How do different characters see America and is there one perspective that comes across most definitively? Some characters you may want to consider: Amir, Baba, General Taheri, Omar Faisal, Farid.

Think about the fathers in the novel. According to the novel, what does it mean to be a father? How can one measure one's success at fathering? Some characters to consider: Baba, Ali, Amir, Hassan, General Taheri, Farid, Wahid, Raymond Andrews.

"Like father, like son." "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." "Monkey see, monkey do." Use one of these cliches as a starting point to consider the way characters in the story behave. Characters to consider: Amir, Hassan, Assef, Baba, Sohrab, Rahim Khan.

Make a list of instances in the novel where someone is forgiven. What constitutes true forgiveness? Why is forgiveness so important? You may want to consider moments between Hassan and Amir, Baba and Hassan, Hassan and Sanaubar, Amir and Sohrab, General Taheri and Soraya, and Amir and himself.

Think about acts of violence in the novel individually and as a whole. Why is violence so essential to the story? Could the story occur without so much violence? Using your answer from the previous question, explain what you think Hosseini is using violence to say. You may want to consider: Hassan's rape, Sohrab's rape, the stonings at Ghazi Stadium, Assef and Amir's fight, Sohrab's suicide attempt, the story of Kamal and his father, Hassan and Farzana's murders, Sanaubar's appearance at the house, and the activity of kite fighting.

The Kite Runner Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Kite Runner is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini chapter 2&3

I'm not sure what your question is here.

Baba gets lung cancer. What has Baba been trying to teach Amir?

He wants to teach Amir how to be on his own.

What must grooms do before they ask a girl to wed?

Grooms must ask the father's (of the bride) permission first.

Study Guide for The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner is a novel by Khaled Hosseini. The Kite Runner study guide contains a biography of Khaled Hosseini, 100 quiz questions, a list of major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Kite Runner
• The Kite Runner Summary
• Character List

Essays for The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

• Amir’s Quest for Salvation in The Kite Runner
• A Journey for Redemption in The Kite Runner
• Redemption in Kahled Hosseini's The Kite Runner
• Assef: Why Is He the Way He Is?
• Emotional Intertextuality Between Death of a Salesman and The Kite Runner

Lesson Plan for The Kite Runner

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Kite Runner
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Kite Runner Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Kite Runner

• Introduction
• Composition and publication
• Plot summary

The Kite Runner

Khaled hosseini, everything you need for every book you read..

The betrayal of a loyal friend by a wealthier, more corrupt “master” is a recurring motif in The Kite Runner , and Amir and Baba ’s feelings of guilt for their betrayals drive much of the novel’s action. The central betrayal comes when Amir watches and does nothing as Hassan , who has always stood up for Amir in the past, gets raped by Assef . Amir then worsens the betrayal by driving Ali and…

The quest for redemption makes up much of the novel’s plot, and expands as a theme to include both the personal and the political. Throughout his childhood, Amir ’s greatest struggle was to redeem himself to Baba for “killing” his mother during childbirth, and for growing up a disappointing son who was unlike Baba himself. After Hassan ’s rape, Amir spends the rest of his life trying to redeem himself for his betrayal of his…

Fathers and Children

The most important relationships in The Kite Runner involve fathers and their children, usually sons. The central relationship is between Baba and Amir , as Amir struggles to win his father’s affections and Baba tries to love a son who is nothing like him. When Amir learns that Baba is Hassan ’s father as well, he realizes that Baba also had to hide his natural affection for Hassan – an illegitimate son who was also…

Violence and Rape

Rape occurs several times in The Kite Runner as the ultimate act of violence and violation (short of murder) that drastically changes the lives of both the characters and the country. The central act of the novel is Amir watching Hassan ’s rape by Assef . There are more peripheral instances of rape as well – it is implied that Kamal , one of Hassan’s tormentors, was raped by soldiers, and Baba saves a woman…

Memory and the Past

Throughout The Kite Runner , many characters are haunted by memories of the past. Amir is constantly troubled by his memory of Hassan ’s rape and his own cowardice, and it is this memory that leads Amir to his final quest for redemption. Baba is also haunted by his past sins of adultery with Ali ’s wife Sanaubar , and his memories cause him to be both strict with Amir and charitable and selfless with…

Politics and Society

The movements of history are constantly interfering with the private lives of characters in The Kite Runner . The Soviet War in Afghanistan interrupts Amir ’s peaceful, privileged life and forces him and Baba to flee to America. After the fall of the USSR, Afghanistan continues to be ravaged by violence, and when Amir does finally return to find Sohrab , the Taliban regime rules the country with violent religious laws. It is the Taliban…

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Kite Runner — The Kite Runner: Violent Scene Analysis

The Kite Runner: Violent Scene Analysis

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Published: Mar 20, 2024

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