The Kite Runner is a book that was written by Khaled Hosseini from a young boy’s perspective named Amir who lived with his father, Baba, and two Hazaras named Ali and Hassan in Kabul, Afghanistan. They lived here during the Russian War and had escaped to America to find peace and happiness. We learn about Amir’s childhood struggles and his efforts to be what his father wanted him to be and to be a good friend like Hassan is to him. Amir knows that Hassan is better than what he deserves; he knows he is guilty through his secrets and his selfishness. Materialistically, Amir and his father had a good life and treated Ali and Hassan quite well, but we discover that there is a reason for the good treatment that they receive from mainly Baba. …show more content…
Amir begins to attempt to catch her, Soraya’s, attention since he thinks of her as a beauty and wants to get to know her a bit. He goes to her booth and talks to her about books and always avoids being there when her father is in the booth. This friendship eventually begins to sprout into a marriage. Baba asks General Taheri, Soraya’s father, if it is okay with him if she marries Amir and the General accepted. They have a traditional Afghanistanian marriage and begin to live with each other and Baba. At this point, Baba is in terrible condition. He is getting smaller and weaker every day. Soraya suggested to stay living with him and to take care of him for as long as possible. After Baba loses his grip on life, Soraya and Amir move out and find a decent home for themselves to finally start anew. In this new home, Soraya and Amir are constantly trying and trying for a baby. Soraya’s reproductive system fails and the depressive mood of their life begins to set in. Life becomes a dreadful thing and soon a change will come for them both. One day while at home, Amir gets a call from Rahim Khan telling him that he needs to come to Afghanistan because he is sick and he wants Amir to get his redemption. He tells him that there is a way for him to be good again. He goes to Pakistan and meets up with Rahim and everything seems to be rundown and soldiers are everywhere. Rahim tells the whole story to
The Kite runner is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini, published in 2003 by Riverhead Books . It takes place before Afghanistan’s revolution and its invasion by Russian forces. The kite runner is a vivid and engaging story that gives a picture of how long Afghanis struggled to triumph over the forces of violence, forces that threaten them even today. In this novel , four themes have been introduced, first of all Redemption is a way to make up sins committed , secondly, Adversities contribute to a person’s personality , thirdly , Fear can lead to severe mistakes and long term consequences, before last, After pain and struggles come survival and lastly, Friendship is the essence of a bond that seek the best mutually.
The Kite Runner is the first novel of Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It tells the story of Amir, a boy from Kabul, Afghanistan, whose closest friend is Hassan, a young Hazara servant. Novel turns around these two characters and Baba, Amir’s father, by telling their tragic stories, guilt and redemption that are woven throughout the novel. Even in the difficult moments, characters build up to their guilt and later on to their redemption. Their sins and faults alter the lives of innocent people. First, Amir and Baba fail to take action on the path to justice for Ali and Hassan. Moreover, Amir and Baba continue to build up their guilt due to their decisions and actions. Although Amir builds up more guilt than Baba throughout the novel, he eventually succeeds in the road to redemption unlike his father. After all, Amir and Baba have many chances to fix their atonements but Baba chooses not to and Amir does. Baba uses his wealth to cover up his sins but never atone himself while Amir decides to stand up and save Sohrab and finally finds peace. Amir and Baba’s reaction to sins essentially indicate their peace of mind and how they react to guilt and injustice.
Amir’s mother, Sofia, dies in childbirth; Amir inherits her love of literature and probably her looks to some extent, but, her being dead, never receives any motherly love or guidance, which could have helped him out of the cowardly hole he later digs himself into. Amir’s father’s best friend and business partner, Rahim Khan, tries to give Amir the motherly love he clearly needs, fostering Amir’s love of writing and steadfastly standing up for him when Amir’s father, Baba, criticizes him, but Rahim Khan does not do enough to instill honesty, courage, and strength of conviction in young Amir. Amir’s best friend, Hassan, a servant a year younger than Amir, is everything Amir is not: athletic, brave, loyal, honest, and kind, inciting jealousy in Amir. Assef, a local bully, poses a real threat to Amir, hating Amir for the crime of befriending a Hazara (oppressed ethnic minority), but Amir is protected by Hassan, allowing young Amir to freeze and not stand up for himself in Assef’s presence. Last, but most importantly, is Amir’s father, Baba, and his views on Amir: he blames Amir for Sofia’s death,
Eventually, Amir received a call from his old mentor, who told him to come back to Afghanistan because "there is a way to be good again." What Amir learned while he visited his mentor would lead him to what he considered redemption. Hassan had been killed, which Amir partially considered his fault, but Hassan's son, Sohrab, was still alive. With the idea of giving him to a good placement organization, Amir set out to save Sohrab. Amir found Sohrab in the possession of a Taliban member, the same man who had raped Hassan when they were children. In order to save Sohrab, Amir had to fight the man, and he was injured very badly in doing so. Despite his injuries, he felt better about himself. He felt free, at peace. He finally had the courage to tell his wife about what he had done, and that took a weight off of his shoulders, as well. Even though Hassan had forgiven him long ago, Amir refused anything less than Hassan's fate.
The Kite Runner is a film based on the first novel of Khaled Hosseini, which was published in 2003 and became a bestseller, thus was translated to many different languages and spread around the world, becoming a discussion topic for quite a while. One of the reasons why this book is so rich and attractive is the variety of characters, which are all born in Afghanistan and spent at least most of their childhood there, but at the same time have different views, virtues and experience. And those characters, depending on the generation they belong to, are shaped by particular circumstances, political and historical events.
19). Since Amir thought that he had killed his mother, he always believed that his father, Baba, hated him for it. Amir uses this perceived reason as explanation for why Baba stayed distant from him, and never addressed this issue, keeping the shame for something that he should not feel guilty for. Adding on, Amir also felt guilty for allowing Hassan to get attacked by Assef and not saving his best friend. After the attack occurred near the beginning of the book, Hosseini continuously mentions the event and how terrible Amir feels, even years after. This shame motivated Amir to go back to Afghanistan and find Hassan’s son, as well as bringing him back to America (Hosseini, 2003). Finally, Baba also had guilt to bear in the novel. Baba was Hassan’s biological father. “How had Baba brought himself to
The desire to feel loved and wanted by your parents can drive a person to go to extreme limits to get that love. One boy that goes to these extreme limits is Amir. All Amir wants is to have a good, strong relationship with his father. He feels the death of his mother was his fault, and he needed to make it up to his father. In doing so, Amir let’s horrible things happen to his friend Hassan. Many many years later, after fleeing to America, Amir returns to Afghanistan in search of redemption of his actions all those years ago. The theme of The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini is redemption. Through Amir’s life, that’s what he’s been doing to himself, trying to redeem himself from his acts that have brought pain
As a foreword, the story of The Kite Runner focuses on a man named Amir. In his childhood, he enjoyed a high-class life in Kabul, Afghanistan, living with his father Baba. They have two servants, Ali and his son Hassan. They are Hazaras, a lower class ethnic minority in Afghanistan. In one Winter of their childhood, Amir and Hassan participate in a kite-fighting tournament; the goal is to be the last kite flying. When a kite is cut, boys chase after it as a
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.
The Kite Runner is a powerful book contrasting selfishness and selflessness. The book follows the life of Amir, a character who experiences guilt and tragedy throughout his life. While growing up in Kabul, Amir witnesses the imperfect and prejudice society in his country. Within an imperfect society, there are many who are self-invested, and among those, there are those who are selfless. Characters Amir and Hassan possess selfish and selfless traits. The traits that these characters possess are influenced by fear, victimization, and loyalty, ultimately leading them to inaction and action.
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
When Amir finds out that Sohrab has been captured by the Taliban, he sets out on a mission to save him and preserve his life at all costs. Amir eventually elects to personally confront the Taliban about the release of Sohrab. As he fights to ultimately save Sohrab from physical harm, he also saves himself from the past bondages he has been captured by. Amir redeems himself from a sense of guilt by saving Sohrab, "My body was broken—just how badly I wouldn't find out until later—but I felt healed. Healed at last.
First, Amir’s relationship with his father, Baba, helped create Amir’s identity. Their intricate relationship often left Amir feeling worthless as if he could not live up to the standards of a Pashtun. This negatively impacted Amir growing up; his values constantly changed as he tried to form a close bond with his father. Baba raised Amir to believe that everyone in Afghanistan had a certain role to play in life, but they should all be treated with respect. Baba’s values made Amir think he had disappointed his father. The high expectations that Baba had for Amir showed that he cared about their reputation. Being the child Amir was, he translated Baba’s hardness as though his father were unhappy to have a child such as Amir. Amir recounts the emotion displayed on his father’s face after an afternoon together; he laments, “Mostly I will never forget Baba’s valiant efforts to conceal the disgusted
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a historical fiction novel set mostly in Kabul, Afghanistan and Fremont, California. The novel spans the time periods before, during, and after the reign of the Russians (1979-1989) and the Taliban’s takeover (1996) of Afghanistan. It is told through the first person perspective of Amir alongside his father, Baba, his half-brother, Hassan, and Baba’s companions Ali and Rahim Khan. Growing up, Amir and Hassan are practically inseparable, as they are always playing games, reading poetry, or simply spending time together. Hassan’s mother, Sanaubar, is never present during the children’s youthful years, but they both have Baba as a shared father figure in their lives. The themes of betrayal and redemption