Kite Runner Study Guide

Character List

Amir: The main character of the story also the narrator of the book. Born into a rich life living with his father and his two workers. Is known as a gifted story teller, but is torn of his path by his dire need to please his father.

Hassan: Amir’s best friend, slave, and also known to be secretly Amir’s half brother. Plays as the major reason Amir faces so many struggles, but also gives Amir a reason to repent and move on.

Ali: Hassan’s fake father. Plays a role as Hassan’s father and shows great affection not only to Hassan but to Amir as well being kind and courteous to both. Although Ali is partially paralyzed he plays the role as not only a great servant but as a father and friend to Hassan.

Baba: Father of Amir, is the reason Amir lives as a child. Very judgmental character. Refususes to show love towards Amir throughout the story. Follows his dreams and thinks for himself first.

Sofia Akrami: Amir’s mother who died during child birth.

Rahim Khan: Baba’s closest friend who knows all about Baba. Serves as a father figure for Amir.

Assef: Cruel boy who is the cause for Amirs guilt. He rapes Hassan at a young age with the help of Kamal and Wali.

Farid: Amir’s friend and driver.

Sanaubar: Hassan’s mother and Ali’s temporary wife before abandoning them both. Comes back later to play as a grandma to Hassan’s child.

Soraya: Amir’s wife, supports Amir throughout the story while being a strong and intelligent woman.

Farzana: Hassan’s wife.

General Taheri: Soraya’s father and a friend of Baba’s.

Jamila: Wife of General Taheri.

Plot Events
Ch. 13
-Amir and Soraya get married
-Baba dies. Amir realizes how Baba defined who he was
-Amir finishes his first novel, starts working on second
-Amir and Soraya try to have a baby, but are unsuccessful
Ch. 14
-Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan. He is ill so Amir will go visit him
-Rahim Khan tells Amir there is a way for him to be good again.
Ch. 15
-Amir arrives in Pakistan and learns about how bad things in Afghanistan have gotten.
-Rahim Khan looks very sick and says he will die before the end of summer
-He has been taking care of Baba's house.
-Needs to ask Amir for a favor but will first tell him about Hassan.
Ch. 16
-Rahim Khan found Hassan, to help him care for Baba's house.
-Hassan is now married to Farzana, first daughter is a stillborn.
-After learning of Baba's death Hassan and his wife live in servants hut on Baba's property
-Hassan's mother finds him and Hassan nurses her back to health
-Farzana is pregnant again and this time has boy, Sohrab
Ch. 17
-Amir reads a letter from Hassan, talking about love for his son and waiting for Hassan's arrival
-Taliban goes to Baba's house and shoot Hassan and his wife because he is a Hazara and they think he's lying about taking care of the house
-Sohrab sent to an orphanage
-Amir must go and bring Sohrab to Pakistan
-Amir finds out that Hassan was his brother
Ch. 18
-Amir goes to a tea house and contemplates everything he learned
-Realizes him and Baba were both alike, betrayed truest friends
-Amir will go find Sohrab and atone for his and Bana's sins
Ch. 19
-Rahim Khan arranges travel to Afghanistan for Amor with Farid
-When arriving in Afghanistan Amir feels like a tourist in his own country, but then realizes he has always been one
-They stop that night at Wahid's house, Farid's brother, to rest for the night
-Amir tells them of his purpose for being here
-Wahid's three sons stair at Amir as he eats so he gives them a watch, they are uninterested in it and Amir realizes later they didn't eat that night because of him
-Before Amir and Farid leave, Amir stuffs a wad of money under Wahid's mattress
Ch. 20
-They reach Kabul, which is been reduced to piles of rubble and dust
-Amir stares at group of Taliban, and is told they will use any excuse for violence by Farid and beggar
-Amir questions the beggar about his mother
-They reach the orphanage and Sohrab has been taken by a Taliban official
-Zaman, is the orphanage director, and tells them they will find the official at the Ghazi stadium tomorrow
Ch. 21
-They visit Baba's house and Amir has flashbacks of many memories between him and Hassan
-They stay in a hotel and go to the stadium the next day
-Witness the stoning of a man and a woman during halftime of the soccer game
-Farid talks to a Taliban and gets the official to agree to meet with them that afternoon
Ch. 22
-Farid and Amir drive to the officials house
-Amir goes inside and the guards tear off his fake beard
-He goes in and begins speaking with the official who talks about the stoning and massacre of Hazaras
-Amir asks for Sohrab who is brought in
-Amir realizes the official is actually Assef, he says he will pay for Sohrab but Assef wants no money
-Assef wants to rid the world of filth, ethnic cleansing
-Assef tells Amir they have unfinished business and begins beating Amir with pair of brass knuckles
-Sohrab holds a slingshot up to Assef then shoots him in his eye
-Amir and Sohrab run to Farid's car then flee, Amir becomes unconscious
Ch. 23
-Amir wakes up in a hospital in Pakistan, he has suffered many injuries from the beating
-Rahim Khan leaves Amir a note, talking about how he was to hard on himself for what happened and how it connected with how Baba treated him
-Rahim Khan leaves a key to a deposit box to cover expenses for Amir
-Amir learns there was not an American couple willing to adopt Sohrab so Amir takes him to Islamabad with him.
Ch. 24
-Amir and Sohrab arrive in Islamabad. They discuss then their families.
-Sohrab feels dirty for all the sexual abuse he suffered
-Amir asks if Sohrab wants to live in America and he takes a week to reply, but finally agrees.
-Amir goes to the American Embassy but finds out there will be issues in adopting Sohrab
-Sohrab may have to go back into an orphanage, so he attempts suicide before Amir can tell him of another possible plan.
Ch. 25
-Sohrab is rushed to the ER, he survives and tells Amir he wants his old life back
-They arrive in America but Sohrab doesn't speak
-Amir tells General Taheri about the Taliban and about Sohrab
-After 9/11 Amir and Soraya raise money for a hospital at the Afghan-Pakistani border, General Taheri returns to Afghanistan
-Amir takes his family to a gathering of Afghans at the park
-Amir buys a kite for Sohrab who fights another kite and wins, Amir then runs down the kite for Sohrab
Major Themes in Novel


Redemption
-Amir wants to redeem himself in Baba's eyes for the death of his mother during birth
-After standing by during Hassan's rape, and forcing Hassan and Ali to move, cause much guilt and another reason for redemption
Past Affecting the Future
-Amir is defined by his past, lets his mistake as a child control his life during adulthood and continues to follow him
-Sohrab has a traumatizing past filled with sexual and physical abuse by Taliban, causes him to be very disconnected from Amir and hard to speak to