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The Kite Runner
• When Published: 2003
INTR
INTRODUCTION
ODUCTION • Literary Period: Contemporary literature
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF KHALED HOSSEINI • Genre: Historical fiction, Drama
Khaled Hosseini was born in Afghanistan, where his father • Setting: Kabul, Afghanistan, Pakistan (mostly Peshawar), and
worked as a diplomat and his mother as a teacher. When San Francisco Bay Area, California
Hosseini was eleven the family moved to France, and later they • Climax: Amir’s fight with Assef
were unable to return to Afghanistan because of the Soviet • Antagonist: Assef
War. Hosseini’s family then applied for asylum in the United • Point of View: First person limited, from Amir’s point of view
States, and they moved to California when Hosseini was fifteen.
Hosseini went to medical school at the University of California EXTRA CREDIT
and worked as a doctor for ten years, until the success of The
Kite Runner allowed him to work full time as a writer. Much like Kites. Hosseini was inspired to write a short story that would
Amir, Hosseini did not return to Afghanistan until he was 38 later become The Kite Runner when he heard that the Taliban
years old. The Kite Runner is his first and best-known novel, but had banned kites in Afghanistan. This seemed especially cruel
his other works are A Thousand Splendid Suns and And the and personal to him, as Hosseini, like Amir, grew up flying kites
Mountains Echoed. Hosseini lives in California with his wife and in Kabul.
two children.
Sohrab. Like Amir and Hassan, the young Hosseini’s favorite
literary character was the tragic son Sohrab from the ancient
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Persian poem Shahnameh.
The Kite Runner progresses through much of the historical
turmoil of contemporary Afghanistan, starting with King Zahir
Shah, who was overthrown by his cousin Daoud Khan in 1973. PL
PLO
OT SUMMARY
The communist party then took power in 1978, which led to
The Soviet War involving Russian forces and US-backed The narrator, Amir, grows up in a luxurious home in Kabul,
mujahideen guerillas. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Afghanistan, with his father Baba. They have two Hazara (an
country became the Islamic State of Afghanistan, but violent ethnic minority) servants, Ali and his son Hassan, who is Amir’s
infighting between parties continued. In 1996 the Taliban, an closest playmate. Amir feels he is a disappointing son to Baba,
ultra-conservative Islamic group, took control of the country but he is close to Baba’s friend Rahim Khan. Amir and Hassan
and began imposing a strict and violent religious rule. The Kite fly kites and read stories together, though Hassan does chores
Runner ends soon after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the while Amir goes to school. One day three boys named Assef,
World Trade Center by al-Qaeda terrorists, the subsequent Wali, and Kamal threaten Amir, but Hassan scares them away
U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, and the fall of the Taliban. with his slingshot.
In the winter there is a big kite-fighting tournament where boys
RELATED LITERARY WORKS try to cut each other’s kites with glass-covered strings, and
then “kite runners” chase after the fallen kites. Amir wins the
As a child, Hosseini was greatly influenced by ancient Persian
tournament, and then Hassan goes to retrieve the losing kite.
poets like Rumi and Hafez. West of Kabul, East of New York is
When Amir goes after Hassan he finds him in an alley, trapped
another popular contemporary book (though non-fiction) about
by Assef, Wali, and Kamal. Amir watches as Kamal and Wali
an experience emigrating from Afghanistan to America. Sixteen
hold Hassan down and Assef rapes him. Amir runs away, and
Days in Afghanistan is a documentary directed by Anwar Hajher
later both he and Hassan pretend nothing has happened.
that describes an Afghan man returning home after many years
abroad to rediscover his country. Amir and Hassan soon drift apart. Amir is tormented by guilt,
and he decides to make Hassan leave the house. He hides some
money under Hassan’s mattress and tells Baba that he stole it,
KEY FACTS and Hassan doesn’t deny it. Baba forgives Hassan, but Ali and
• Full Title: The Kite Runner Hassan leave the household.
• When Written: 2001-2003 In 1981, Baba and Amir flee Kabul, which has been invaded by
• Where Written: Mountain View, California the Soviets. They eventually make it to Pakistan, and months
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later move to Fremont, California. Baba works at a gas station being raped by local bullies after a kite-fighting tournament.
and Amir finishes high school and then studies writing at The rest of the novel deals with Amir’s guilt, his growing
college. Baba and Amir sell things at a flea market, where Amir maturity (as he and Baba move to the U.S.), and his quest for
starts noticing Soraya, the daughter of Baba’s friend General redemption.
Taheri. After much delaying, Amir starts courting her. Soon Baba – Amir’s father, a larger-than-life figure with wild hair and
afterward Baba is diagnosed with lung cancer. Amir asks Baba if a loud voice, who works hard and succeeds at all of his
he will ask General Taheri to let him marry Soraya. General endeavors, but stands by his strict moral principles. Baba’s
Taheri accepts, and Amir and Soraya get married soon after. great sin is committing adultery with Ali’s wife, and he is
Baba is pleased with Amir’s marriage, and he dies a month later. Hassan’s real father. Baba’s many works of charity and the
Amir gets his first book published and he and Soraya start orphanage he builds are part of his attempts to redeem himself.
trying, unsuccessfully, to conceive. Meanwhile, the Soviets are
driven out of Afghanistan. Hassan – Amir’s childhood playmate and companion, a Hazara
boy with a cleft lip. Hassan is an excellent kite runner, and is
One day Amir gets a call from Rahim Khan, who is dying and naturally intelligent, but illiterate because of his social class. He
asks Amir to come to Pakistan. Once Amir arrives, Rahim Khan is always loyal to Amir, even when Amir betrays him. Hassan
tells him about the horrors of the Taliban regime and war-torn eventually marries Farzana, and has a son named Sohrab.
Kabul. Rahim Khan says he had been watching Baba’s house for
a while, but then found Hassan and convinced him and his wife Sohr
Sohrab
ab – Hassan’s son, a boy who is sent to an orphanage when
Farzana to come back to Kabul. Later Farzana had a boy, Hassan and Farzana are killed. He is then taken from the
Sohrab. After Rahim Khan went to Pakistan he learned that orphanage and sexually abused by Assef, until Amir comes for
Hassan and Farzana were executed by the Taliban, and Sohrab him and brings him back to America. Sohrab is a symbol of all
was sent to an orphanage. the terrible things that have happened to both the characters
and the country of Afghanistan, but he also offers a chance for
Rahim Khan asks Amir to go to Kabul and find Sohrab, saying hope and redemption.
this is Amir’s chance to “be good again.” He also reveals that
Baba was Hassan’s true father. Amir agrees to go, and he finds
the orphanage where Sohrab was supposed to be, but learns MINOR CHARACTERS
that a Taliban official took him away a month earlier. Amir (and Ali – Hassan’s father, a Hazara who was orphaned as a boy and
his companion Farid) go to a soccer game, where at halftime then taken in by Baba’s father and raised as Baba’s playmate
the official they are looking for executes a man and woman. and servant. The lower half of Ali’s face is paralyzed, and he was
Amir meets the official and the man calls in Sohrab, who has crippled in one leg by polio, but Ali remains cheerful and kind.
clearly been sexually abused. The official then reveals himself Assef – The antagonist of the novel, a blue-eyed, sadistic boy
as Assef, and he beats Amir with his brass knuckles until Sohrab who idolizes Hitler, torments children with his brass knuckles,
shoots him in the eye with his slingshot. Amir and Sohrab and later rapes Hassan. As an adult Assef joins the Taliban,
escape and Amir recovers in Pakistan. Amir then asks Sohrab to where he is given free reign to exercise his violent and
come back to the U.S. with him, and Sohrab hesitantly accepts. pedophilic nature.
Amir discovers it will be almost impossible for him to adopt Sor
Soraaya – The daughter of General Taheri. As a young woman
Sohrab, and he tells him he might have to go back to an Soraya ran away with an Afghan man, “dishonoring” herself.
orphanage. Soraya figures out how to get Sohrab an American Amir falls in love with her and they get married, and Soraya
visa, but then Amir finds Sohrab has tried to kill himself. Sohrab later becomes a teacher.
survives, but stops speaking altogether. Amir brings Sohrab to Rahim Khan – Baba’s close friend and business associate, a
California, but he remains silent and withdrawn. One day they kind man who often seems to understand the young Amir
are at a park and some Afghans are flying kites. Amir buys one, better than Baba does. Rahim Khan encourages Amir’s writing,
and he and Sohrab fight another kite and cut it. Sohrab smiles, and as an old man he summons Amir back to Afghanistan for a
and Amir goes to run the kite for him. chance to redeem himself by rescuing Sohrab from
Afghanistan.
CHARA
CHARACTERS
CTERS Gener
Generalal T
Taheri
aheri – Soraya’s father and Baba’s friend, a former
general in the old pre-soviet regime of Afghanistan, he is a
MAJOR CHARACTERS conservative, traditional Afghan man who in the United States
collects welfare and refuses to labor beneath his station in
Amir – The protagonist and narrator of the novel, a wealthy
America.
boy who grows up in Kabul, Afghanistan along with his father,
Baba. Amir abuses his privileges over his servant and loyal Farid – A man who drives Amir back to Afghanistan from
friend, Hassan, and then fails to come to his aid when Hassan is Pakistan. At first Farid is bitter and sarcastic towards Amir, but
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when he learns about Sohrab Farid becomes a loyal friend and Hamid Karzai – The new president of Afghanistan after the
helps Amir on his journey. Americans and their allies drive out the Taliban.
Sanaubar – Hassan’s mother and Ali’s wife, Sanaubar had a
“dishonourable” reputation as a young woman. She despises Ali
and leaves after Hassan is born, but then returns as an older
THEMES
woman to take care of Sohrab. In LitCharts literature guides, each theme gets its own color-
Jamila TTaheri
aheri – Soraya’s mother and General Taheri’s wife, a coded icon. These icons make it easy to track where the themes
woman who can sing beautifully and likes to complain about her occur most prominently throughout the work. If you don't have
health. She adores Amir after he marries Soraya (whom she had a color printer, you can still use the icons to track themes in
feared would never marry). black and white.
Wahid – Farid’s brother, a man who is very poor and whose
children are starving, and who’s hospitality is such that he BETRAYAL
nonetheless feeds Amir before his own children. The betrayal of a loyal friend by a wealthier, more
Sofia Akr
Akrami
ami – Amir’s mother and Baba’s wife, a college corrupt “master” is a recurring motif in The Kite
professor of royal blood who dies giving birth to Amir. Amir Runner, and Amir and Baba’s feelings of guilt for
always believes that his father secretly hates him, at least a bit, their betrayals drive much of the novel’s action. The central
for his role in his mother’s death. betrayal comes when Amir watches and does nothing as
Kamal – One of Assef’s cronies, a boy who is later raped by four Hassan, who has always stood up for Amir in the past, gets
men and then dies on the journey to Pakistan. raped by Assef. Amir then worsens the betrayal by driving Ali
and Hassan from the household. Later in the book, Amir learns
Wali – Assef’s other bullying sidekick, Wali thinks raping
that Baba also betrayed his own best friend and servant – Ali,
Hassan is sinful, but he still helps hold him down.
Hassan’s father – by fathering a child (Hassan) with Ali’s wife
Sakina – The woman who nursed both Amir and Hassan. Sanaubar. This knowledge comes as another kind of betrayal
Karim – The man who drives Amir and Baba from Kabul to for Amir, who had always hero-worshipped Baba and is shocked
Pakistan. to learn of his father’s flaws.
Farzana – Hassan’s wife, who has a stillborn baby and then These low points in the two men’s lives create a sense of
gives birth to Sohrab. tension and guilt throughout the novel, but the betrayals of
Amir and Baba also lead to quests for redemption that bring
Thomas and Betty Caldwell – An American couple who Rahim
about some good in the end – as Baba leads a principled,
Khan says could take care of Sohrab in Peshawar, but who
charitable life, and Amir rescues Sohrab from Assef.
might not actually exist.
Zaman – The director of the makeshift orphanage in Kabul,
REDEMPTION
who occasionally sells a child to Assef because he has no other
choice and because the money he makes from the sales helps The quest for redemption makes up much of the
him to feed the other children. novel’s plot, and expands as a theme to include both
the personal and the political. Throughout his
Dr
Dr.. Faruqi – Amir’s doctor in Peshawar, who Amir thinks of as
childhood, Amir’s greatest struggle was to redeem himself to
“Armand.”
Baba for “killing” his mother during childbirth, and for growing
Ra
Raymond
ymond Andrews – An adoption official in the American up a disappointing son who was unlike Baba himself. After
embassy in Pakistan, who discourages Amir from trying to Hassan’s rape, Amir spends the rest of his life trying to redeem
adopt Sohrab. himself for his betrayal of his loyal friend. This ultimately
Omar Faisal – An immigration lawyer who tries to help Amir culminates in Amir’s return to Afghanistan and his attempts to
adopt Sohrab. save and adopt Hassan’s son Sohrab.
Dr.. Kumar – The doctor who Baba pays to fix Hassan’s cleft lip.
Dr After Amir learns of Baba’s betrayal of Ali, Amir realizes that
Baba was probably trying to redeem his adultery through his
Daoud Khan – The cousin of King Nadir Shah, who overthrows
many charitable activities and strong principles in later life.
the Afghan monarchy in a bloodless coup in 1973.
Amir is also able to find a kind of redemption in his bloody fight
Zahir Shah – The last king of Afghanistan, who rules for 40 with Assef (Hassan’s rapist), and his adoption of Sohrab.
years. Hosseini subtly connects these personal quests for redemption
Mullah Fatiulla Khan – Amir’s religious teacher, who says that to Afghanistan itself. Despite its violent and corrupted past,
drinking alcohol is punishable by damnation. Hosseini hopes for a redemption for his country someday.
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FATHERS AND CHILDREN his past sins of adultery with Ali’s wife Sanaubar, and his
memories cause him to be both strict with Amir and charitable
The most important relationships in The Kite Runner
and selfless with his work and money. Sohrab then becomes
involve fathers and their children, usually sons. The
another character tortured by past traumas – his abuse at
central relationship is between Baba and Amir, as
Assef’s hands – as he flinches when Amir tries to touch him, and
Amir struggles to win his father’s affections and Baba tries to
attempts suicide when he thinks Amir is going to abandon him.
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 There is also another kind of memory in the novel, which is
his natural affection for Hassan – an illegitimate son who was nostalgia for good things. Amir remembers his good times with
also a servant, but was in many ways more like Baba than Amir Hassan as a child, and the old, beautiful Kabul before it was
was. Later in the book the relationship between Soraya and her destroyed by war. These good memories bring sadness for
father General Taheri becomes important as well. As a girl the what was lost, but also hope for what could be.
independent Soraya had rebelled against her strict, traditional
father. POLITICS AND SOCIETY
Sohrab becomes the “son” figure of the latter part of the novel. The movements of history are constantly
We never see Sohrab and Hassan together, but it is explained interfering with the private lives of characters in
that Hassan was a good father before his death. The father/son The Kite Runner. The Soviet War in Afghanistan
relationship then becomes a principal part of Amir’s interrupts Amir’s peaceful, privileged life and forces him and
redemption and growth, as he tries to become a father to Baba to flee to America. After the fall of the USSR, Afghanistan
Sohrab by rescuing him from Assef and adopting him. The novel continues to be ravaged by violence, and when Amir does
ends without a neat conclusion, but it does imply that Sohrab finally return to find Sohrab, the Taliban regime rules the
will begin to open up to Amir, and that Amir will continue to find country with violent religious laws. It is the Taliban that give
redemption in fatherhood. Assef an outlet for his sadistic tendencies, and it is this political
state that facilitates Amir’s final meeting with Assef and his
VIOLENCE AND RAPE redemptive beating.
Rape occurs several times in The Kite Runner as the Hosseini also critiques the sexism and racism of Afghan society
ultimate act of violence and violation (short of throughout the book. Ali and Hassan are Hazaras, an ethnic
murder) that drastically changes the lives of both group that most Afghans (who are Pashtun) consider inferior,
the characters and the country. The central act of the novel is though Hosseini makes it clear that Hassan is Amir’s equal and
Amir watching Hassan’s rape by Assef. There are more in many ways morally and intellectually superior. When Amir
peripheral instances of rape as well – it is implied that Kamal, starts courting Soraya, both Hosseini and Soraya comment on
one of Hassan’s tormentors, was raped by soldiers, and Baba the double standard that Afghan society holds for women and
saves a woman from being raped by a Russian soldier. Both men. Men are forgiven for being promiscuous or flirting, but
these examples link the theme with the “rape” of Afghanistan by women will be shamed and gossiped about for life.
violence and war, beginning with the external Russian
oppressors, then the bloody infighting of different Afghan
groups, and then the brutal Taliban regime. SYMBOLS
The rape of Sohrab is never shown, but it reflects Hassan’s Symbols appear in teal text throughout the Summary and
horror and his role as a “sacrificial lamb” – but with Sohrab, Analysis sections of this LitChart.
unlike Hassan, Amir is finally able to stand up to Assef and
prevent more violence. As Baba told the young Amir, the only
real crime is theft, and rape is a theft of safety and selfhood, the KITES
ultimate violence and violation, and in The Kite Runner this Kites are obviously an important image in The Kite
brutality is inflicted upon both individual characters and the Runner, and for Amir they act as symbols of both his
country of Afghanistan. childhood happiness and his betrayal of Hassan. When he tries
to remember something happy in the fuel truck, Amir
MEMORY AND THE PAST immediately thinks of his carefree days flying kites with
Throughout The Kite Runner, many characters are Hassan. After Hassan’s rape, however, kites become a reminder
of Amir’s betrayal and guilt. In the novel’s political theme, kites
haunted by memories of the past. Amir is
represent Afghanistan’s “glory days” of the monarchy, as kite-
constantly troubled by his memory of Hassan’s
flying is later banned by the Taliban. At the end of the book
rape and his own cowardice, and it is this memory that leads
Amir flies a kite with Sohrab, symbolizing hope for redemption
Amir to his final quest for redemption. Baba is also haunted by
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