The Kite Runner Analysis

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.

The Kite Runner is a novel that is considered to be a fictional memoir throughout the life of the main character, Amir. Starting in 1975 Afghanistan, the sentiments between the Hazaras and the Pashtuns were very negative and violent. Afghanistan as a country was experiencing a lot of hardships as the two main races and religions that resided in the country began to fight, eventually leading to the war that is still going on today. As a nation, Afghanistan has a long and interesting history. The Kite Runner itself is written by an Afghan man, Khaled Hosseini, who himself lived in Afghanistan throughout these years. Growing up in Kabul, Hosseini grew up in an area later to be considered as more fortunate and more wealthy than those who lived elsewhere in the country. Khaled’s father worked as a diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul, and his mother worked as a persian language teacher at a high school for girls. Later on, after his father got a job in Paris, France. Hosseini’s family moved to France and were unable to return to Afghanistan due to the saur revolution, the initial segment leading to the Afghan civil war. The Kite Runner was written in California as Hosseini was studying in medical school, in order to become a doctor. The book itself is fictional, however much of the occurences in the novel are influenced based upon real-life scenarios and situations that occur during parts of the war. Specifically, this is portrayed via the arguments between the

The idea of self pride and doing what’s right for your family have a large impact our decisions and actions. Amir was in a situation where he could either help his best friend Hassan, or impress his father with a kite. Unfortunately, Amir believed “Hassan was the price {he} had to pay… to win Baba”(77) Amir had a hard time impressing Baba so he took this selfish chance, one that he regretted forever. Later when Rahim Khan, a well trusted family friend, asks him to take Sohrab from the orphanage to the Caldwell’s, Amir’s first decision was “I can’t go to Kabul, I have a wife in America”(226) and is sure because he wants to do what will make his wife happy, go home. However, quickly changing his mind, Amir returns to Rahim and “told him [he] was going to Kabul”(227). Once he realises that just like the day in the alley the reason he doesn’t want to go on this mission is because he is afraid, he returns and does what’s right for his half-brother and late best friend. Baba, just like his son, wants to be respected and show love for his family.

Amir’s journey begins in Kabul where he grows up with Hassan, his servant. In Kabul, life revolves around Amir’s father, Baba. “Baba saw the world in black and white. And he got to decide what was black and what was white” (Hosseini 15). The rich and powerful Baba is able to control nearly every aspect of his life during Amir’s youth. As a late teen, he moves to America as a result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Baba and he descend from the top of the social hierarchy to the nearly bottom as their surroundings change. “Six days a week, Baba pulled twelve-hour shifts pumping gas, running the register, changing oil, and washing windshields” (Hosseini 130). They are poor and work extremely hard for everything they have. Finally, when Amir returns to Afghanistan in June 2001, he finds everything he used to know had changed. He is treated just as poorly as the rest of the Afghans. “I feel like a tourist in my own country” (Hosseini 231). He does not feel welcome and eventually leaves again for his “new” home, San

Religion tends to be followed by many citizens but may be interrupted differently amongst many people in societies. The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, illustrates how individuals may hurt other with their own personal choices and beliefs. The book portrayed how the characters were divided into two major sects in Afghanistan, Hazara’s and Pashtun’s. The culture classified the nation into two groups which elucidated the society. When distinguishing between the two major casts, being a Pashtun meant that their respect and pride is valued and is kept with them. However, being a Hazara meant the society is lower class who are treated with hate and are unaccepted by their standard way of living. Although the two sectors follow the same

Baba was viewed in the town of Kobal as a great person who everyone in the town looked up to and strived to be. Baba was the example of what a man should be in this story. With Baba always doing the heroic things and putting his life on the line instead of sitting back watching to see what happens. While Baba and Amir are leaving Afghanistan a Russian soldier will let the bus pass if only he gets some time with a young woman. Baba stands up a says “Tell him I’ll take a thousand of his bullets before I let this indecency take place” (Hosseini 116). Baba shows how he is willing to do anything even giving up his own life to try to help a woman in need. At the beginning of the story Amir is talking about what good deeds his father has done such as building an orphanage. Amir says, “Baba paid for the construction of the two-story orphanage… personally funded the entire project” (13). This shows how generace Baba is and what he has done for his home town. He was willing to pay for the entire orphanage not asking for money from

Throughout the story The Kite Runner an important central theme displayed by the other is the idea that it is important to be able to confront your past mistakes or else those mistakes will torture you for the rest of your life. Many of the main characters came face to face with this idea and each of them dealt with their mistakes in different ways. Despite this, it was made clear that the characters that were able to deal with their problems ended up much better off mentally than those of them that were unable to. Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, teachers the reader that confronting past mistakes is better than running from them through Amir’s feelings following his betrayal of Hassan, how Soraya felt after telling Amir about her past, and Amir’s reaction to finding out Baba was Hassan’s father.

The film version of The Kite Runner omitted a scene from the book that vividly described a suicide attempt by a child. This scene was likely cut due to time constraints and the reality that a suicide attempt by a child would be very upsetting to many viewers. A scene as harsh as child suicide is not something that can be quickly processed and move on to the next scene. I believe the audience would require ample time to absorb what happened from beginning to end through the emotions of the characters; no doubt this scene would be too lengthy to include as a side-note to the main story. In addition, the scene might be so disturbing to some people they may not wish to see the film at all.

In the book The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses both simple and complex sentences, along with intriguing dialogue, to create a thought-provoking story. “My body was broken—just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later—but I felt healed” (Hosseini 289). A very simple, yet meaningful sentence, that displays an underlying irony. From the moment Amir witnesses Hassan’s rape, he is riddled with a guilt-he cannot escape. Finally, when he is brutally beaten by Assef, Amir starts to feel a sense of healing. This punishment is something he was somewhat looking forward to, because he felt that he deserved it.

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.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, a story of a boy as he unravels his journey throughout his life. The novel consists of multiple themes such as love, friendship, betrayal, guilt, , secrets, loyalty, and redemption. As the main character, Amir recalls his past events, all of these themes start to unravel specific events that occurred in his life. “There is a way to be good again” (Hosseini 2) is where the novel unfolds the deep dark life of Amir’s regret and guilt, Baba’s secret, and Hassan’s devotion. The book is a true masterpiece which keeps the readers glued to the story as it unfolds. One of the reasons, the story attracts many readers is due to The United States recent conflict with Afghanistan. However, the story has a personal

The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, depicts the life of Amir. The novel is fueled by the constant cycle of betrayal to redemption, Amir completes this cycle throughout the novel. His sense of guilt and critical need for redemption were a perpetual part of his life, not only during his formative years, but also during his adulthood.

People say that everyone makes mistakes to justify their wrongs in the past. Some people have spent their entire lives trying to make up for something they did in their younger years, while others have preferred to suffer. Many have carried the guilt of their past actions and have only felt relief when they had done something about it. People and the way they involve themselves in other people’s lives can cause much turmoil and guilt depending on how their relationship turns out. In the novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the author uses Amir’s journey to portray that past mistakes will haunt a person until he is forced to seek redemption. Amir’s betrayal of Hassan and the result of that betrayal illustrate this idea.

The book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a story about two brothers who develop both emotional and physical scars that in the end shape them as individuals. This amazingly written novel will leave the reader sobbing at times of sorrow, and smiling and laughing at times of joy. This

In his novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini depicts his homeland Afghanistan as a host to many different cultures and classes, such as Pashtun and Hazara, Sunni and Shiite, with this dichotomy of beliefs and attributes being powerful enough to shape diverse, sometimes negative relationships amongst the characters of the novel and their behavior to each other, as well as establish that individual’s identity. Each person interprets the impact of the role of belief and social status differently, while all living in the same setting, adding to their complexity and depth as a character in the novel with many different figures tied together by the same geographical and cultural conditions.