Chapter Summary: The Kite Runner

While the two are having fun the infamous bullies of the neighbourhood show up: Assef, Wali and Kamal. Assef has fascist features and truly believes Afghanistan is for the Pashtuns, the true Afghan race, and not for the Hazaras. He wants to punish Hassan for being a Hazara and beat Amir for being a Hazara’s friend. At this moment Amir freezes and the only thing he can think about is saying that Hassan is his servant, not his friend. He doesn’t say it but he doesn’t have the courage to stand up for him and Hassan either. Hassan however, takes his slingshot when Assef puts on his brass knuckles and fends off the bullies. Amir is aware that if Baba will know about this incident, he would have been proud of Hassan, but be ashamed of Amir for not protecting Hassan and

When Khaled Hosseini wrote The Kite Runner, he made several important choices involving narration. He chose to write the story in first person from a limited point of view. This is a very fitting decision because, writing in the first person adds a sense of intimacy that is crucial to this story; writing from a limited perspective allows the reader to make their own conclusions about what the characters are thinking. The way Hosseini writes The Kite Runner makes it very intimate, and feels like a person telling their life story. If The Kite Runner had been written in third person, or omnisciently, the story would not have impacted readers as much, and would have been too cold and impersonal to create emotional connections with the reader.

Thesis: Betrayal leads to feeling of guilt which forces the person in search of redemption either directly or through indirect actions and gestures.

While Amir is lying in the dark, with nothing but his own thoughts, he feels that his guilt is taking over his life. He realizes that he is going to get away with his betrayal and yet he feels terrible. He decides that the only way he is going to live with his remorse is to ignore Hassan, blot him out, so he does not have to think about his sin. Amir’s guilt is so great that he cannot bear to have Hassan under the same roof, so he commits another sin. He lies to his father and accuses Hassan of stealing. “…I took a couple of the envelopes of cash from the pile of gifts and my watch, and tiptoed out…I lifted Hassan’s mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it…I knocked on Baba’s door and told what I hoped would be the last in a long

Once back in Kabul, Amir takes steps he would never have imagined, which truly define his character. On his venture back to Afghanistan he learns the truth about Hassan’s connection with Baba. After hearing this Amir feels robbed of the truth and is angry at how his own father could hold this back from him. Despite his feelings, Amir realizes he must not only pay for his betrayal of Hassan but for Baba’s betrayal of Ali too. Amir knows he must face his fears and he understands this when he reveals, “I remembered Baba saying that my problem was that someone had always done my fighting for me" (Hosseini 239). Following this he undertakes a personal mission to find Sohrab and finds the courage to stand up to the Taliban, nearly dying in the process. During his quest Amir comes face to face with the disturbing Assef and fights him for Sorab, the ultimate sacrifice for his dead half-brother. While he is beaten he begins to laugh, which angers Assef even more. Amir explains that, “What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace" (Hosseini 303). After successfully bringing Sohrab back to California, Amir defends his Hazara nephew when General Taheri insults him. Over the dinner

Further in the novel, in Pakistan, Amir learns in redeeming himself and Baba’s sins while talking with Rahim Khan. Rahim Khan then summons Amir in talking about Baba’s past deeds; how Baba tries redeeming himself by building an orphanage and helping the poor. Amir thinks about his life back in America, how he is a prolific author, writing stories and novels. Amir realizes that Hassan may have saved from being raped by Assef if his father has told him that they were related. Hurled around during the fight with Assef, Amir redeems himself of getting the punishment he feels he deserves.

Furthermore, Amir forgives Baba for not telling him that Amir and Hassan are half-brothers. Hassan gets treated very well by Baba, considering he is a server at Baba’s house. Hassan gets great birthday presents, and he is always welcome to father-son activities with Amir and Baba. Sometimes Amir is jealous and doesn’t understand why Hassan gets treated the same as himself. Amir wants to be treated better, because he is Baba’s son, and Hassan is Baba’s servant. What Amir doesn’t know is that Hassan is his half-brother. Years later, Rahim Kahn tells him this when Amir visits him in Pakistan. Amir learns that a long time ago, Baba had an affair with a Hazara woman, which was socially unacceptable. Out of this affair, a child was born: Hassan. Hassan is not Ali’s son; Hassan is Baba’s son. Baba never tells Amir, and this makes Amir very angry and disappointed. For Amir, his father is a hero and not a liar. However, when Rahim Kahn explains Baba’s situation and why he acted this way, Amir starts to

Amir and Baba eventually leave Afghanistan as well, forced out by the Russian invasion of their beloved country. Everything he does at this point proves that he truly loves Amir; he sacrifices his wealth, business, and life to bring Amir to the safety of the United States. In response to this new country, filled with new people and languages, Amir and Baba’s relationship drastically transforms. Before, Baba was all powerful and knowledgeable, but now, Amir guides his father in the American way. Nowhere is this more evident than when Baba vandalizes the Nguyen’s store after they ask

Amir’s guilt for not interfering, however, is quickly replaced with disgust with Hassan for being the object of the horrendous act. As a result, the rape of Hassan becomes the ultimate turning point in the novel more for Amir than Hassan, because while Amir is irrevocably changed, Hassan seems to have kept some of his innocence. In addition, Hosseini also comments on the loss of innocence by introducing Kamal, a character who was present during the rape of Hassan, and was raped himself shortly after. While sitting on the bus to Pakistan, Amir overhears the conversation his father has with Kamal’s father, while making observations of his own, stating “He had withered – there was simply no other word for it. His eyes gave me a hollow look and no recognition at all registered in them.

There, Amir met Soraya and quickly married her before Baba had the chance to die from lung cancer. Their opportunity of having a baby slipped, especially when Amir’s ‘caretaker’ calls him and tells him about Hassan’s wife and son – Faranza and Sohrab. Amir went to fetch Sohrab so he can be taken care of since Hassan and Faranza got shot to death, but failed when Amir was notified that someone else adopted Sohrab. Both the movie and book depicts Amir’s struggles of getting Hassan’s son back from the bully who raped Hassan and sexually abused Sohrab. Finding Sohrab with makeup and feminine touches, Amir tries to save him but Sohrab ended up sparing both of their lives by aiming his slingshot to Assef’s – the bully’s –

Amir recalls memories back from his childhood in Afghanistan, where he lived with his father as well as his friends and servants, Hassan and Ali. Amir and Hassan did everything together as if they were friends, but Amir never admitted to it and teased Hassan for being uneducated. He was a Hazara, which was an ethnic minority in Afghanistan. After a kite flying contest, Hassan ends up getting raped by a neighborhood bully, Assef. Amir and Hassan’s friendship drift apart. soon , Ali and Hassan move away and so do Amir and his father.

The victory in this Chapter is Amir winning being the last one stating in the kite competition. • From this win, he has gained his father’s affection and pride, which is something that he has longed for all his life.

Social conditions are what shape a country. Over the years, people, not only in Afghanistan, but around the world create norms that define people’s roles in life, their future, and how they should be treated based on their gender and beliefs. Khaled Hosseini’s first novel, The Kite Runner, comments on the social conditions of Afghanistan through telling a story about the lives of two Muslim boys; a privileged Sunni Pashtun, Amir, and his long-time friend and servant, Hassan, a loyal but disadvantaged Shia Hazara. Hosseini expresses Amir’s uncertain feelings toward Hassan which form the decisions he makes throughout the book. These choices result in Amir destroying his relationship with Hassan. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini is a commentary on the social conditions in Afghanistan as shown through the roles of women and men in society and the ideals of Afghan culture. Unfortunately, these problems are still active in most of Afghanistan.

Throughout the novel, Amir endeavors to be approved by his father, Baba, who is admired by people in Kabul. Unfortunately, Baba believes that Amir, unlike him, is very unmanly “and [that he] never fights back. He just... drops his head ” (Hosseini 24). Since Baba wishes for a son who would stand up for himself, he can’t help but observe that Amir’s friend Hassan, as the guy who “steps in and fends the [bullies] off” (Hosseini 24) is his idea of the ideal son. Though aware of his father’s expectations, Amir is unable to change himself and instead envies Hassan and the fact that Baba treats him like his own son by“[patting]Hassan on the back. [and even putting] his arm around his shoulder [like a fatherly figure]”(Hosseini 15). Despite the manifestation of this hatred in Amir, he continues to recognize the bond that he shares with Hassan, “ brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast” (Hosseini 11) which is because both their mothers died during birth. The confusing emotions he feels for Hassan has Amir face a situation in which he acts inappropriately and allows the guilt to manifest upon him. After winning a very important kite tournament for the first time and “seeing Baba on that roof, proud of [him] at last” (Hosseini 71) Amir begins to search for Hassan who had gone to run his kite earlier. Finally, Amir finds him in a dark alley and as he “peeks around the corner” (Hosseini 75) he witnesses a sight that eradicated not only his relationship with Hassan but also Baba’s brotherly relationship with Ali, Hassan’s father. Peeking through the corner of the alley, like a bystander, he watches his one and only friend getting raped. The guilt that came upon him was for two reason; one, his lack of courage to stand up to

Amir, representing the Pashtuns and high-society Afghanis, allows himself to degrade Hassan, the face of the mere Hazaras of the lowest class rank. Through the eyes of Amir, it seems as though Baba preoccupies himself passing time with his comrade Rahim Khan; when he sporadically attempts to involve Amir in his life, Baba always suggests that Hassan accompany them in their daily adventures leaving Amir questioning why his father tries desperately to avoid alone time and bonding moments with his son. The initial occurrences in which Amir witnesses Baba's immediate affection for Hassan drive Amir's negative mental attitude and envy towards his only companion Hassan.