The Kite Runner: Themes & Analysis
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Ana Losada PérezThe Kite Runner: Themes & Analysis
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Ana Losada PérezTHE KITE RUNNER By: Khaled Hosseini
a. General Overview
1. What was your overall impression of the novel?
2. Which character did you like the most? Why?
3. Which was your favourite part of the story?
4. What does the title mean? Do you think the kite running was
meant to symbolize anything? If so, what?
5. Which do you believe to be the main theme(s) of this novel:
a. Good vs. Evil
b. Father-Son relationship
c. Sibling rivalry
d. Betrayal
e. Guilt – Redemption
f. Cowardice vs Courage
b. Read the excerpts below and locate them within the novel’s storyline. What’s their
significance?
“Hey, Babalu, who did you eat today?” they barked to a chorus of laughter. “Who did you eat, you flat-nosed Babalu?” (p.8)
“Then I’ll tell you,” Baba said, “but first understand this and understand it now, Amir: You’ll never learn anything of value from
those bearded idiots… “Good,” Baba said, but his eyes wondered. “Now, no matter what the mullah teaches, there is only one
sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft. Do you understand that?” (pp.16-17)
“So he’s not violent,” Rahim Khan said. “That’s not what I mean, Rahim, and you know it,” Baba shot back. “There is
something missing in that boy… If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my
son.” (pp 21-22)
I was stunned. That particular point, so obvious it was utterly stupid, hadn’t even occurred to me. I moved my lips soundlessly.
It appeared that on the same night I had learned about one of writing’s objectives, irony, I would also be introduced to one of
its pitfalls: the Plot Hole. Taught by Hassan, of all people. Hassan who couldn’t read and had never written a single word in his
entire life. (p. 32)
In Kabul, fighting kites was a little like going to war… I remember how my classmates and I used to huddle, compare our battle
scars on the first day of school. The cuts stung and didn’t heal for a couple of weeks, but I didn’t mind. They were reminders of
a beloved season that had once again passed too quickly. (p.47)
“Remember, Amir agha. There’s no monster, just a beautiful day.” (.58)
“For you a thousand times over!” (p.63)
“But before you sacrifice yourself for him, think about this: Would he do the same for you?” (p. 68)
He moved his head slightly and I caught a glimpse of his face. Saw the resignation in it. It was a look I had seen before. It was
the look of the lamb. (p.71)
In the end, I ran. I ran because I was a coward. (p.73)
“Hit me back, goddamn you!” … But Hassan did nothing as I pelted him again and again. “You’re a coward!” I said. “Nothing
but a goddamn coward!” (p.86)
Baba stunned me by saying, “I forgive you.”… Why--“We are leaving, Agha sahib,” Ali said. “What?” Baba said, the color
draining from his face. (p.98)
I envied her. Her secret was out. Spoken. Dealt with (p.152)
It wasn’t meant to be, Khala Jamila had said. Or, it was meant not to be (p.173)
Come. There is a way to be good again (p. 2, p. 177, p. 209)
Hassan wore black for the next forty days. (p. 193)
This was a man who thought the world had been good to him (p. 199)
Here is another cliché my creative writing teacher would have scoffed at; like father, like son. But it was true, wasn’t it? As it
turned out, Baba and I were more alike than I’d ever known. We had both betrayed the people who would have given their
lives for us. And with that came this realization: that Rahim Khan had summoned me here to atone not just for my sins but for
Baba’s too. (p. 209)
“That’s the real Afghanistan, Agha sahib. That’s the Afghanistan I know. You? You’ve always been a tourist here, you just
didn’t know it.” (p. 215)
They only let you be this happy if they’re preparing to take something from you,’ and I said, ‘Hush up, now. Enough of this
silliness.” (p- 231)
You think I don’t have family in Pakistan and Iran? I could have run like everyone else. But I didn’t. I stayed. I stayed because
of them.” (p. 237)
John Lennon walked back to the mound. (p. 250)
“WHAT’S SO FUNNY’?” (p. 287)
“Why did people want to hurt my father?” Sohrab said in a wheezy little voice. “He was never mean to anyone.” “You’re right.
Your father was a good man. But that’s what I’m trying to tell you, Sohrab jan. That there are bad people in this world, and
sometimes bad people stay bad. Sometimes you have to stand up to them. (pp. 292-93)
Soon after the attacks, America bombed Afghanistan, the Northern Alliance moved in, and the Taliban scurried like rats into
the caves. (p. 333)
I ran. A grown man running with a swarm of screaming children. But I didn’t care. I ran with the wind blowing in my face, and a
smile as wide as the Valley of Panjsher on my lips. I ran. (p. 340)
1. One of the underlying forces of this novel is the relationship between Amir and Hassan. Why
does Amir constantly test Hassan's loyalty? Why does he resent Hassan? How does the turmoil
between Amir and Hassan mirror the tumultuous history of Afghanistan? Why do you think
minority groups are oppressed so often?
2. Amir and Hassan have a favourite story, “Rostam and Sohrab” Does the story have the same
meaning for both men? Why does Hassan name his son after one of the characters in the story?
If thou art indeed my father, then hast thou stained thy sword in the life-blood of thy son. And thou didst it of thine obstinacy.
For I sought to turn thee unto love, and I implored of thee thy name, for I thought to behold in thee the tokens recounted of my
mother. But I appealed unto thy heart invain, and now is the time gone for meeting...
3. How true is the statement, “Like father, like son,” for Baba and Amir?
4. The narrator very often uses the religious symbol of the sacrificial lamb to refer to Hassan
and, therefore, to reflect on the Good and Evil dichotomy. How do different characters approach
such an opposition? What do you think the message of the novel is?
5. Do you think simply rescuing and adopting Sohrab is enough for Amir to fully redeem
himself, at least in his own eyes?
6. Some Afghan Americans consider this book to be offensive because of the unpleasant scenes
that it portrays. How do you stand on this issue? Do you think it can be a difficult book to cope
with at times?
