Kite Runner

924 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Women's rights in Afghanistan

The novel is told by Amir, one of the novel's main characters. Amir is an Afghan man living in Fremont, California remembering his childhood in Kabul in the 1970s.

He begins his story in pre-civil war Afghanistan. He and his Hazara servant Hassan spend many hours per day together. One of the most cherished times spent together was when Amir would read stories to Hassan, under a pomegranate tree. Amir had a love for literature, a trait similar to his mother, who died while giving birth to him. However, this troubles his father ("Bâbâ," Persian for father), who tries to make Amir more like himself, active and courageous. Baba puts Amir on a soccer team and tries to teach him to defend himself, but fails with every attempt.

Nevertheless, Amir continues to pursue his love for literature and eventually ends up composing his own short stories. Sadly, Amir's father has almost no interest in his stories, although his business partner and friend to Amir, Rahim Khan, is full of praise.

One day when Hassan and Amir are walking through Afghanistan, they come across Assef, a sociopathic bully known for his brass knuckles and his rancor towards Hazaras. He prepares to fight Amir and Hassan, but Hassan threatens to shoot out Assef's left eye with his slingshot, saying they'll call him "one-eyed Assef." Before the daunted bully backs off he warns them that he will have his revenge.

Assef's vow comes true during the day of Amir's favorite sport: "kite fighting". In this sport, children fly their kites and try to "slice" each other's kite. Amir wins the tournament, and Baba's praise, with his kite the last one flying, but when Hassan goes to fetch the last cut kite, a great trophy, Assef and two henchmen are there instead. Hassan tries to protect Amir's kite, but Assef beats Hassan and brutally rapes him. Amir hides and watches Hassan and is too scared to help him. Afterwards, Hassan becomes emotionally downcast. Amir knows why but keeps it a secret, and things are never the same between the two. After hearing a story from Rahim Khan, Amir decides it would be best for Hassan to go away. Amir frames Hassan as a thief but Baba forgives him, even though he admits to committing the crime. Hassan and his father Ali, to Baba's extreme sorrow, decide that it's time to leave.

A short while later, the Russians invade Afghanistan; Amir and Baba escape to Peshawar, Pakistan and then to Fremont, California.

Show More
Related

  • Swallows Of Kabul Sparknotes

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    When he finishes his prayer he wanders around the city passing through neighborhoods. Atiq ends up at a jailhouse and decides to spend the night there than going home to his wife which he had a fight with about her illness. Atiq lays there in the cell when a man named Nazeesh comes in asking if he can stay the night, Atiq agrees and Nazeesh offers him dried meat and some crab apples. Nazeesh starts talking about his hundred year old father and how he has lost most of his eye sight and use of his legs, but he is always complaining about something. He also mentioned how he thought he died and told all his family members about his death and when he woke up the next day he sees him alive complaining to everyone. At times Nazeesh can’t control his anger so he starts yelling back at his father but he knows that he doesn’t want to upset the god so he spends most of his time outside avoiding his father, he even brings his food outside on the streets with him. Nazeesh then tells Atiq about how he is going to go away and he has all his stuff ready to go, but he’s just waiting on his foot to heal. Atiq then says that he won’t go because he has been saying he is going to leave for the past months. They start arguing until Nazeesh gets fed up and decides to leave. After Nazeesh leaves Atiq then goes home to his wife after he realizes that he is not going to treat her

    Read More

  • Ptsd In The Kite Runner

    1667 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hassan and Amir were close, but were not “friends”. There was once a kite fighting tournament that Amir won and Hassan was the kite runner. Hassan went after the last kite and while returning to Amir from capturing the kite, Hassan ran into a known bully, Assef. Amir was looking for Hassan. When Amir finds Hassan, he sees Assef with him.

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

    1710 Words  | 4 Pages

    On his journey to save Sohrab, Amir discovers that a Taliban official took him from the orphanage. When meeting with that Taliban official, who turns out to be his childhood nemesis Assef, Amir is placed in a situation where he is forced to choose between fleeing from the enemy and saving Hassan’s son. The structure of this scenario is analogous to one earlier in the book when Amir had to choose between saving Hassan by standing up for him and repairing the relationship with his father by bringing the blue kite back. The author uses the similar setting with Assef and the similarities in characterization of father and son in order to provide Amir with the opportunity to make the choice to stand up for what he believes in. When Amir allowed Hass...

    Read More

  • The Kiterunner: Status In Afghanistan

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel, “The Kiterunner”, the reader follows the life of a boy named Amir and we dive into his life in Afghanistan. In the beginning of the book, we follow Amir and his young life in Afghanistan with his father, Baba. Amir’s father is a very rich businessman and the two of them live alone in a large home because Amir’s mother died in childbirth with him. The only other people who play a major role in the novel are Baba’s friend and business partner, Rahim Khan, Amir’s family servant, Ali, and his son, Amir’s best friend, Hassan. The reader quickly learns that Ali and Hassan are a different type of Afghan called, Hazara. In this time period of Afghanistan Hazara people were treated poorly for their appearance and because most Hazara people have such a low status in society that they can only usually get a job as a house servant. Although Ali and his son Hassan are Hazara, later on the reader learns that Baba’s father took in Ali as his own son and cared for him, which is why Baba looks after him now like a good brother.

    Read More

  • The Influence Of The American Dream In Shakespeare's The Kite Runner

    1164 Words  | 3 Pages

    Amir now has the skills needed to continue his life in America as being independent and the man of the house. The future is bright for Amir, as one can see a fortified, relieved, and joyful version of him compared to the accustomed one in Kabul. Amir is able to purge his sin of silence and lying by using his newfound life to forget all that has occurred in Kabul. This new land of opportunity also brings Baba and Amir closer, for they need to look out for each other as a way to be successful and survive in the land of the free.

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    The other source of tension in Amir’s life is his relationship with Baba, his hard-driving and demanding father. Desperate to win his father’s affection and respect, Amir turns to the sport of kite flying, and at the age of 12, with the assistance of Hassan, he wins the annual tournament in Kabul. Amir’s victory soon is tarnished when he witnesses a vicious assault against his friend, who raced through the streets of Kabul to retrieve the last kite, Amir had sliced from the sky, and fails to come to his aid. Amir’s cowardness is compounded by a later act of betrayal that causes Ali and Hassan to leave their home, and he now faces the nightmare, bearing the burden of his poor choices for the rest of his life.

    Read More

  • How Does Amir Change In The Kite Runner

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    Amir, from The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a very unique character, that undergoes many changes in his personality, and the way he views things. In the beginning of the story, he always wanted to please his father, and would stop at nothing to accomplish this. Amir’s change from a boy to a man was in response to a series of events in the story, which are very riveting and moving. Therefore, Amir realizes what his father really expected from him, and he behaved like the way that his father had always wanted him to act. Amir’s character was sculpted into a masterpiece of a personality that was shown throughout his growing up, and the radical events he was put through.

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Quotes And Techniques

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    Then again, it's easy to be clever when you're holding a loaded weapon”.Before Hassan had protection with a weapon a slingshot with rocks he said people are going to call him one eyed Assef saying basically he’s gonna shoot his eye out with a rock but now with no weapon Hassan can’t scare Assef with a slingshot. After this Aseef says “but today is your lucky day, Hazara” “ I’m in a mood to forgive. What do you say to that boys”This is saying Aseef is going to be nice and forgive him but he wants the blue kite the same kite that is so significant to Hassan because he thinks its the key to baba's heart. But after this he says “Of course, nothing is free in this world, and my pardon comes with a small price. His sidekicks reply with a “that’s fair” by Kamal and “nothing is free” by Wali. Following this Assef says “ your a lucky Hazara” “ because today it is only going to cost you that lie kite”. A fair deal boys isn’t it?” Hassan relies with “Amir agah won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly. This is his kite.” Aseef then goes on to Hassan about how he is loyal like a dog and his if Hassan would ever do this for him and

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Critic Roland Barthes's 'The Kite Runner'

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    Amir is, to be put bluntly, a coward. He is led by his unstable emotions towards what he thinks will plug his emotional holes and steps over his friends and family in the process. When he sought after Baba’s invisible love, Amir allowed Hassan to be raped in an alleyway just so that the blue kite, his trophy that would win his father’s heart, could be left untouched. In the end, he felt empty and unfulfilled with the weight of his conscience on his shoulders comparable to Atlas’ burden. Unable to get over his fruitless betrayal, he lashes out and throws pomegranates at Hassan before stuffing money and a watch under his loyal friend’s pathetic excuse for a bed, framing Hassan for theft and directly causing the departure of both servants from his household. Even after moving to America, finding a loving wife, and creating a career for himself in writing, he still feels hollow when thinking of his childhood in Afghanistan. Many years later, he is alerted of Hassan’s death and sets out on a frenzied chase to find his friend’s orphaned son. He feels that he can somehow ease his regrets from all of those years ago if he takes in Hassan’s son, Sohrab. He finds Sohrab as a child sex slave for Assef, who coincidentally was the one to rape Hassan all of those years ago. After nearly dying in his attempt to take back Sohrab, he learns that he can take the damaged child back to the states with him. Sadly, Hassan’s son is so

    Read More

  • Kite Runner Sacrifice

    430 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the Hassan had been raped by Assef to get the blue kite that Amir cut for Amir to be the winner of the whole tournament which is set out exactly the same in the film. "Maybe Hassan was the price i had to pay, the lamb i had to slay to

    Read More

  • Redemption Of Childhood In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

    1366 Words  | 3 Pages

    Amir’s childhood is quite unusual compared to most children in Afghan. Amir’s father, Baba, is a very rich and successful individual in his lifetime. This success allows Amir to live a wealthy lifestyle with access to western commodity as well as servants. In novel, Amir is risen mostly by his servants Hassan and Ali, as well

    Read More

  • Baba In The Kite Runner

    1265 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Amir takes Baba to the doctors, the doctor suggests chemotherapy for Baba to prolong the cancer but Baba did not want any medication. Amir tells the reader, “He had the same resolved look on his face as the day he’d dropped the stack of food stamps on Mrs. Dobbins’s desk” (156). Baba did not want help even if his life was on the line. Baba also starts to take pride in Amir when he tells General Taheri, “Amir is going to ne a great writer,” Baba said. I did a double take at this” (139). Amir is starting to realize that his father who was untouchable and was a legend in Kabul was truly human. When Amir tells Baba that he wants to marry Soraya, Baba calls General Taheri to set up a meeting between the two men. As Amir dropped off Baba at the Taheri’s for the meeting, he says, “Baba was hobbling up the Taheri’s driveway for one last fatherly duty” (163). In this instance, Amir sees Baba as a true father. Amir feels Baba’s acceptance when Baba tells Amir on lafz, “It’s the happiest day of my life Amir” (166). Baba is telling Amir that through everything in his life from him marrying Sophia, to Amir winning the kite tournament, all the way to Amir graduating high school, Baba has never been prouder. After Baba’s death, Amir says, “As words from the Koran reverberated through the room, I thought of the old story of Baba wrestling a black bear in Baluchistan. Baba had

    Read More

  • Theme Of Assef In The Kite Runner

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Assef appears again in Amir's life, it seems as if his brass knuckles had predicted this. He had remained a hateful and arrogant man throughout the story – having tortured, killed and molested many children, Assef makes Amir fight for Hassan's son named Sohrab. He had not changed and...

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Amir and Hassan have a beautiful friendship between them except that they are from two different social classes. Amir is the son of “Baba” who is a very wealthy Sunni man. Hassan is the son of “Ali.” Ali is the servant of ‘Baba”; he is a Hazara, which is a Persian-speaking Shia Muslim who is an ethnic minority in Afghanistan. Later in the story, Amir discovers that Hassan is his half-brother.

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Betrayal Research Paper

    2156 Words  | 5 Pages

    All of Amir's life he has tried and tries to get Baba’s attention and to make him happy. Amir is the very opposite of his dad and vise versa. His dad is very outgoing, the town's hero, well spoken, and sporty. On the other hand Amir is exactly like his mother quiet, serene, a poet, and likes reading and writing. The one thing that his dad and him have in common is that they both enjoy kite running/fighting. As time goes on in the book “Amir still struggles to fulfill his father’s exacting standards (Miles 1).” Babe sometimes believes Amir isn’t his real son if he hadn’t “... hadn’t seen [his] own wife push him out (Hayes 2).” Amir sees how his father looks at him with a boorish look. So Amir comes up with a lucid plan, to win the kite runner contest and he is bound to win his father’s attention and heart and in due time he does. “He does get Baba's approval when he wins the kite fighting contest (Hayes 2).” For a while him and his dad start getting along and spending loads of time together but that doesn’t last long at all. They both came to their senses and realize that kite runner is the only thing they have in common and that is what gets them talking but they still will always love each other. After that Amir tries everything in his power to reconnect with his dad, to regain what he always wanted with his father. Amir

    Read More

More about Kite Runner

Open Document