The Kite Runner

By Khaled Hosseini

Reviewed by Maxwell Chien

REVIEW: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

ISBN#: 978-1-59448-000-3

THE STORY:

Amir recalls an event many years ago, when he was still a 12 year old boy in Afghanistan, that made him into who he is now. Amir lives in a house with his two servants and his wealthy father, Baba. During his early years, Amir constantly struggled to earn his father’s praise. Everything he did was never extraordinary enough for his father to be proud of him. Amir’s best friend, his servant that goes by the name of Hassan, always seemed to be the center of Baba’s attention. The same year as when the Russians invaded

Afghanistan, the most significant event in the entire story was held, the annual kite fighting tournament. This year, Amir decided that no matter what, he had to win the tournament to win his father’s praise. Despite his worries about the outcome, Amir eventually comes out as the winner and in result also wins his father’s attention. However, shortly after winning, Hassan tells Amir that he will run the last fallen kite for him to express his loyalty and dedication. Sadly, after Hassan finds the kite in an alleyway, he becomes cornered by three boys whose leader is not found of him. In the end, Hassan gets very physically and emotionally hurt, all with Amir watching and not interfering with the harassment. That day is told by Amir as the last day he ever saw Hassan smile. Because of his guilt, Amir eventually gets Hassan and his father to leave his mansion resulting in more eventual guilt. Even after moving to America, Amir never succeeds in burying or overcoming his guilt about Hassan. After getting a phone call from an old friend of his father’s, Amir has to go on a mission to bring back Hassan’s son or else he might never overcome his guilt. (300)

MY OPINION:

In the first few pages of the book, I didn’t understand much about what was going on until I reread the beginning a few times. After reading for awhile, it became easier to understand what was going on in the story. Some aspects of the author’s writing that I especially enjoyed were the ways he slowed or sped up the moment depending on what was needed, and how specific and descriptive his imagery was. There were not many weaknesses with the book except for the high reading level because of how confusing some parts of the story were. The author’s word choice is very sophisticated and contributes to dramatic scenes very well. I would personally recommend this book to high school students and older middle schoolers because the language and events that occur in the story get very violent and explicit. Because of how well the author describes imagery, many people might be unable to handle or comprehend certain key events in the story. I would definitely read the book again to clearly understand all of the small subtle messages sprinkled around in the story.  Considering everything, I would give the story a nine out of ten stars. The only reason I did not give the book a ten the minor difficulty in understanding the plot. (216)

STUDY QUESTIONS AND VOCABULARY:

FIRST SECTION

1. How did Hassan lose his mother?

1a. Hassan’s mother ran off with a clan of traveling singers and dancers. (pg.6)

2. Why did Baba say that he wouldn’t have believed that Amir was his son if he didn’t see the doctor pull him out of his wife?

2a. Amir and Baba are different in almost every way. Baba is the type of person who is brave, strong, and leader like. However, his son Amir enjoys reading poetry but gets beat up often without even defending himself. (pg. 23)

3. What are the ironic similarities between Assef and Hitler?

3a. Assef, like Hitler, is considered to be a bit insane and ruthless. He also shares the same mindset with Hitler of exterminating certain races of people from their home country. (pg.40)

4. Since Hassan is praised by Amir as the greatest kite runner he has ever seen, what might the title of the book be hinting?

4a. The title could hint that Hassan plays a very large role in the story. The very first sentence of the book is “I became what I am today at the age of twelve…” The kite fighting tournament may be the even where Hassan plays his big role in the story. (pg.67)

5. Why does Hassan lie about stealing the watch even though he knew Amir deliberately put the watch under the rug?

5a. Hassan’s loyalty has been mentioned from the start of the story multiple times. When Hassan said the phrase “For you a thousand times over!” it showed his loyalty to Amir. (pg. 105)

Unatoned (pg.1)

Coup (pg. 36)

Sallow (pg. 66)

Testily (pg. 97)

Carburetor (pg. 120)

MIDDLE SECTION

6. Why does Baba, the only republican in their building, have the desire to vote for Ronald Reagan?

6a. Baba wants a president who will take action instead of “standing around wringing his hands.” When Reagan called the Shorawi “the Evil Empire,” Baba immediately endorsed him. (pg. 126)

7. Why didn’t Baba accept to take the chemo medication?

7a. Like how most proud men are, Baba refused to take the medication because he knew that it wasn’t a solid cure and that he would die one way or another. It would have been better for his dignity to face death head on than hiding behind medication. (pg. 156)

8. What was the reasoning for the general to have Soraya cut off all of her hair?

8a. After Soraya came home from her drug addicted ex’s house, the general needed a way to keep Soraya from going outside. After cutting of all of her hair, Soraya had to wait until her hair grew back before going outside unless she wanted to face the embarrassment of walking around publicly without hair. (pg. 179)

9. Why did the words “Come. There is a way to be good again,” strike so deeply with Amir.

9a. After all the years of living with the guilt of what happened in the alleyway and how he sent away Hassan and his father, Amir can finally redeem himself. After spending so many years having to deal with his actions, Amir can finally release it all and feel good about himself again (pg.192)

10. Who is Hassan’s biological father? What might prove this claim?

10a. Hassan’s biological father is Baba. This makes Hassan and Amir half brothers. Many subtle signs were planted along Amir’s life, events like the surgeon, Baba’s reaction to Amir asking about new servants, and Baba’s actions after Ali and Hassan announced they were leaving. (pg.222)

Ire (pg. 125)

Insinuation (pg. 148)

Chastise (pg. 165)

Soliloquies (pg. 193)

Cholera (pg. 240)

                               

LAST SECTION

11. While in the hospital, Amir has a dream in which he sees his father wrestling a bear, but finds out that the man was not his father. It was him. What could the bear in the dream represent?

1. The bear in his dream represents two things, Amir’s guilt and Assef. In the dream, he sees himself wrestling and defeating but not not completely exterminating the bear. Amir’s guilt about what happened to Hassan has not been fully overcome yet because Sohrab is not safe home with Amris and Soraya yet. Assef could always become a problem, but for now he has been overcome. Similar to the fight with Assef, Amir describes the fight with the bear as with “spittle and blood fly; claw and hand swipe.” (pg.295)

12. Amir receives a scar down the middle of his lip “like a harelip.” What is the significance of the scar?

12a. The scar is a symbolic symbol of Hassan’s own harelip and is a little ironic because Amir’s is Hassan’s half-brother. The scar also represents Amir’s life going full circle as he is making up for his actions when he was young. (pg.297)

13. Why did Rahim Khan lie about knowing about a couple that would take in Sohrab?

13a. Rahim Khan was a very religious man who believed in making up for one’s sins. He needed a way to force Amir to rescue Sohrab so Amir could make up for his past sins. Rahim was a fairly certain that if he told Amir that he would have to adopt Sohrab, he would have turned down the offer as soon as he heard it. (pg.308)

14. Why did Sohrab sneak out of the hotel room to go to the mosque?

14a. Sohrab was thinking a lot about mosques because of the things Assef did to him. He thinks that he will go to hell because he is dirty and full of sin. Sohrab didn’t know if what he did to Assef was right or wrong. According to his father, “it is wrong to hurt even bad people.” (pg.316)

15. Referencing back to the title, why is kite running such an important symbol of the book?

15a. Hassan, one of the most impactful characters in the story, was considered by Amir as the best kite runner he has ever knew. Kite running was also the same event that cause him to get into the incident that “damned” Amir. Now that Amir has been given a second chance “to be good again,” he decides that this time he will be the one running for the kite and Sohrab, who resembles a second Hassan, will be the one receiving it. The quote “For you, a thousand times over,” shows how Amir learned a lesson about loyalty and is determined to be loyal to Sohrab as Hassan was to him many years ago. (pg.371)

Unadulterated (pg.247)

Benevolence  (pg. 248)

Epiphany (pg. 282)

Pneumothorax (pg.296)

Irrevocably (pg. 320)