"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies...the man who never reads, lives only one." ~George R.R. Martin
The Kite Runner Overview
1st, 3rd Periods
Shame (click the name to download the short story and questions.)
2nd, 6th and 8th Periods
About the Author
Khaled Hosseini was born in Afghanistan, where his father worked as a diplomat and his mother as a teacher. When Hosseini was eleven the family moved to France, and later they were unable to return to Afghanistan because of the Soviet War. Hosseini’s family then applied for asylum in the United States, and they moved to California when Hosseini was fifteen. Hosseini went to medical school at the University of California 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 Amir, Hosseini did not return to Afghanistan until he was 38-years old. The Kite Runner is his first and best-known novel, but his other works are A Thousand Splendid Suns and And the Mountains Echoed. Hosseini lives in California with his wife and two children.
Character Profiles
Amir: The protagonist and narrator of the novel, a wealthy boy who grows up in Kabul, Afghanistan along with his father, Baba. Amir abuses his privileges over his servant and loyal friend, Hassan, and then fails to come to his aid when Hassan is being raped by local bullies after a kite-fighting tournament. The rest of the novel deals with Amir’s guilt, his growing maturity (as he and Baba move to the U.S.), and his quest for redemption.
Baba: Amir’s father, a larger-than-life figure with wild hair and a loud voice, who works hard and succeeds at all of his endeavors, but stands by his strict moral principles. Baba’s great sin is committing adultery with Ali’s wife, and he is Hassan’s real father. Baba’s many works of charity and the orphanage he builds are part of his attempts to redeem himself.
Hassan: Amir’s childhood playmate and companion, a Hazara boy with a cleft lip. Hassan is an excellent kite runner, and is naturally intelligent, but illiterate because of his social class. He is always loyal to Amir, even when Amir betrays him. Hassan eventually marries Farzana, and has a son named Sohrab.
Sohrab: Hassan’s son, a boy who is sent to an orphanage when Hassan and Farzana are killed. He is then taken from the orphanage and sexually abused by Assef, until Amir comes for him and brings him back to America. Sohrab is a symbol of all the terrible things that have happened to both the characters and the country of Afghanistan, but he also offers a chance for hope and redemption.
Baba: Amir’s father, a larger-than-life figure with wild hair and a loud voice, who works hard and succeeds at all of his endeavors, but stands by his strict moral principles. Baba’s great sin is committing adultery with Ali’s wife, and he is Hassan’s real father. Baba’s many works of charity and the orphanage he builds are part of his attempts to redeem himself.
Hassan: Amir’s childhood playmate and companion, a Hazara boy with a cleft lip. Hassan is an excellent kite runner, and is naturally intelligent, but illiterate because of his social class. He is always loyal to Amir, even when Amir betrays him. Hassan eventually marries Farzana, and has a son named Sohrab.
Sohrab: Hassan’s son, a boy who is sent to an orphanage when Hassan and Farzana are killed. He is then taken from the orphanage and sexually abused by Assef, until Amir comes for him and brings him back to America. Sohrab is a symbol of all the terrible things that have happened to both the characters and the country of Afghanistan, but he also offers a chance for hope and redemption.
Plot Summary
The narrator, Amir, grows up in a luxurious home in Kabul, Afghanistan, with his father Baba. They have two Hazara (an ethnic minority) servants, Ali and his son Hassan, who is Amir’s closest playmate. Amir feels he is a disappointing son to Baba, but he is close to Baba’s friend Rahim Khan. Amir and Hassan fly kites and read stories together, though Hassan does chores while Amir goes to school. One day three boys named Assef, Wali, and Kamal threaten Amir, but Hassan scares them away with his slingshot.
In the winter there is a big kite-fighting tournament where boys try to cut each other’s kites with glass-covered strings, and then “kite runners” chase after the fallen kites. Amir wins the tournament, and then Hassan goes to retrieve the losing kite. When Amir goes after Hassan he finds him in an alley, trapped by Assef, Wali, and Kamal. Amir watches as Kamal and Wali hold Hassan down and Assef rapes him. Amir runs away, and later both he and Hassan pretend nothing has happened.
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, and Hassan doesn’t deny it. Baba forgives Hassan, but Ali and Hassan leave the household.
In 1981, Baba and Amir flee Kabul, which has been invaded by the Soviets. They eventually make it to Pakistan, and months later move to Fremont, California...
In the winter there is a big kite-fighting tournament where boys try to cut each other’s kites with glass-covered strings, and then “kite runners” chase after the fallen kites. Amir wins the tournament, and then Hassan goes to retrieve the losing kite. When Amir goes after Hassan he finds him in an alley, trapped by Assef, Wali, and Kamal. Amir watches as Kamal and Wali hold Hassan down and Assef rapes him. Amir runs away, and later both he and Hassan pretend nothing has happened.
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, and Hassan doesn’t deny it. Baba forgives Hassan, but Ali and Hassan leave the household.
In 1981, Baba and Amir flee Kabul, which has been invaded by the Soviets. They eventually make it to Pakistan, and months later move to Fremont, California...