The Kite Runner (synopsis)
by : Khaled
Hosseini
First
published: 2003
“ for you a thousand times over “
SETTING : The story takes place in
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United States from 1975 until 2003.
CHARACTER LIST:
Amir, He is the narrator of the story who
tells how he grew up in Afghanistan and the sins he had committed against his
friend and half-brother, Hassan. It is his journey to redemption that is the
premise of this tale.
Hassan, He is the
best and kindest character in the story. He is Amir’s best friend and as Amir
later learns, he is also his half-brother. He faces discrimination every day,
because he is a Hazara, a minority whom the Pashtuns treat like slaves. The
sins committed against him - being raped by Assef while Amir does nothing to help
him - are immediately forgiven, because he loves Amir so much.
Baba, He is Amir and Hassan’s father, but
because it would be shameful to admit Hassan, a Hazara , was his son, the
secret remains hidden long after his death. In Amir’s mind, he is larger than
life, the man who was supposed to have wrestled a bear. But, in reality, he was
a man tormented by his secrets. He dies in America, never again going home to
his beloved Afghanistan. While he lives there, he is poor and often dirty from
his job. So the way he is forced to live and the fact that he can never go home
again may be his punishment for what he did to both Amir and Hassan. Amir
knows, however, that like him, his father is basically a good man who finds a
way to be good again.
Ali, His character is that of the loyal
servant to Baba and a father figure to both Hassan and Amir. He often suffers
humiliation at the hands of Pashtun boys like Assef, but he never bends his
will to them and continues to be a figure of goodness.
Sohrab, He is
Hassan’s son and the boy for whom Amir faces the Taliban to free. Like his
father, he is raped by Assef and later betrayed by Amir. He even tries to
commit suicide after Amir breaks his promise not to put him in an orphanage.
However, Amir’s willingness to help Sohrab face life again saves them both.
Soraya, Amir’s wife,
she, too, suffers from mistakes she made as a young woman, but accepts her
humiliation for running away with a man and becomes a good, decent human being.
She is denied motherhood, perhaps because that is how she must expiate her own
sins. However, she is rewarded when Sohrab becomes her son and she and Amir
finally have a complete family.
Rahim Khan, He was
Baba’s best friend and business partner and was a major part of Amir and
Hassan’s life. He seems to understand Amir’s desperate need for his father’s
approval and tries to fill the gap Baba leaves in their relationship. He knows
all along how Amir betrayed Hassan and is the one to call him and tell him
there is still time to be good. He also sets into the motion the plan to get
Sohrab out of Afghanistan; he knows that this is the only way to make up for
never telling Amir and Hassan that they were brothers. Like Amir, he too finds
a way to be good. He goes away to die alone, knowing that calling Amir back to
his homeland was the right thing to do.
Assef, He is the villain of the story, a
Pashtun boy who bullies Amir and Hassan and tries to humiliate Ali. He has a
sociopathic nature even as a boy and admires Hitler for what he had done in
eliminating the Jews. He wants to emulate this evil German by destroying all
the Hazaras. He never forgets a slight from anyone and plots revenge. He
becomes a Talib when the Taliban takes over Afghanistan and uses his power to
kill innocent Afghans, especially Hazaras. He kills Hassan when he won’t give
up his home and he tries to kill Amir. It is only Sohrab’s slingshot that
finally defeats this evil man.
Plot:
The two main
characters of the story are Amir, a well-to-do Afghan boy from the dominant
Pushtun ethnic group, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant Ali, who
belongs to the historically downtrodden Hazara minority. The boys spend their
days in a peaceful Kabul, kite fighting, roaming the streets and being boys.
Amir's father, Baba, loves both the boys, but seems often to favor Hassan for
being more manly. He is critical of Amir. Amir's mother died in childbirth, and
Amir fears his father blames him for his mother's death. However, he has a kind
father figure in the form of Rahim Khan, Baba's friend, who understands Amir
better, and is supportive of his interest in writing stories.
A notoriously violent older boy with Nazi sympathies, Assef, blames Amir for socializing with a Hazara, who he claims is an inferior race that should only live in Hazarajat. He prepares to attack Amir with his brass knuckles, but Hassan bravely stands up to him, threatening to shoot Assef in the eye with his slingshot. Assef and his henchmen back off, but Assef says he will take revenge.
Hassan is a "kite runner" for Amir: he runs to fetch kites Amir has defeated by cutting their strings. He knows where such a kite will land without even seeing it. One triumphant day, Amir wins the local tournament, and finally Baba's praise. Hassan goes to run the last cut kite (a great trophy) for Amir, saying "For you, a thousand times over." Unfortunately, Hassan runs into Assef and his two henchmen. Hassan refuses to give up Amir's kite, so Assef exacts his revenge, assaulting and anally raping him. Wondering why Hassan is taking so long, Amir searches for Hassan and hides when he hears Assef's voice. He witnesses what happens to Hassan but is too scared to help him. Afterwards, for some time Hassan and Amir keep a distance from each other. When Hassan wants to pick up their friendship again, Amir holds it off. When people ask what is the matter, Amir reacts indifferently. He feels ashamed, and is frustrated by Hassan's saint-like behavior. Amir worries that Baba loves Hassan more, and would love him even more if he knew what happened to Hassan and about Amir's cowardly inaction.
To force Hassan to leave, Amir frames him as a thief, and Hassan falsely confesses. Baba forgives him, despite the fact that, as he explained earlier, he believes that "there is no act more wretched than stealing". Hassan and his father Ali, to Baba's extreme sorrow, leave anyway. Hassan's departure frees Amir of the daily reminder of his cowardice and betrayal, but he still lives in their shadow.
A short while later, the Soviets invade Afghanistan. Amir and Baba escape to Peshawar, Pakistan and then to Fremont, California, where Amir and Baba (who lived in luxury in an expensive mansion in Afghanistan) settle in a run-down apartment and Baba begins work at a gas station. Amir eventually takes classes at a local community college to develop his writing skills. Every Sunday, Baba and Amir make extra money selling used goods at a flea market in San Jose. There, Amir meets Soraya Taheri and her family; Soraya's father is contemptuous of Amir's literary aspiration. Baba has lung cancer but is still able to do Amir a great favor: he asks Soraya's father to grant permission for Amir to marry her. He agrees and the two marry. Shortly thereafter Baba dies. Amir and Soraya learn that they cannot have children.
Amir embarks on a successful career as a novelist. Fifteen years after they said goodbye, Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan, now dying from an illness, who asks him to come to Pakistan. He enigmatically tells Amir "there is a way to be good again". Amir goes.
From Rahim Khan, Amir learns the fates of Ali and Hassan. Ali was killed by a land mine. Hassan had a wife and a son, named Sohrab, and had returned to Baba's house as a caretaker at Rahim Khan's request. One day the Taliban ordered him to give it up and leave, but he refused, and was murdered, along with his wife. And the secret truth about Hassan is that Ali was not his father. Hassan is the son of Baba, and thus Amir's half-brother. Finally, Rahim Khan reveals that the true reason he has called Amir to Pakistan is to go to Kabul to rescue Hassan's son, Sohrab, from an orphanage.
Amir returns to Taliban-controlled Kabul with a guide, Farid, and searches for Sohrab at the orphanage. However, he does not find Sohrab there. The director of the orphanage tells them that a Taliban official has recently taken the boy. He tells Amir to go to a football match and look for aTaliban official wearing sunglasses; this will be the man who took Sohrab.
Amir goes and secures an appointment with him at his home. There he finds out that the Taliban official is actually his childhood nemesis Assef. Sohrab is made to dance dressed in women's clothes, and it seems Assef might have been sexually assaulting him (Sohrab later says: "I'm so dirty and full of sin. The bad man and the other two did things to me"). Assef agrees to relinquish him, but only if Amir can beat him in a fight to death, with Sohrab as the prize. Assef brutally beats Amir, but Amir is saved when Sohrab uses his slingshot to shoot out Assef's left eye, fulfilling the threat his father had made years before.
Amir tells Sohrab of his plans to take him back to America and possibly adopt him, and promises that he will never be sent to an orphanage again. Sohrab is emotionally damaged and refuses to speak. This continues on for about a year until his frozen emotions are temporarily thawed when Amir reminisces about his father, Hassan, while kite flying. Amir shows off some of Hassan's tricks, and Sohrab begins to interact with Amir again. In the end Sohrab only shows a lopsided smile, but Amir takes to it with all his heart as he runs the kite for Sohrab, saying, "For you, a thousand times over." This is an echo of the last words spoken to Amir by Hassan before the rape, and signifies the sense of atonement that permeates the novel.
A notoriously violent older boy with Nazi sympathies, Assef, blames Amir for socializing with a Hazara, who he claims is an inferior race that should only live in Hazarajat. He prepares to attack Amir with his brass knuckles, but Hassan bravely stands up to him, threatening to shoot Assef in the eye with his slingshot. Assef and his henchmen back off, but Assef says he will take revenge.
Hassan is a "kite runner" for Amir: he runs to fetch kites Amir has defeated by cutting their strings. He knows where such a kite will land without even seeing it. One triumphant day, Amir wins the local tournament, and finally Baba's praise. Hassan goes to run the last cut kite (a great trophy) for Amir, saying "For you, a thousand times over." Unfortunately, Hassan runs into Assef and his two henchmen. Hassan refuses to give up Amir's kite, so Assef exacts his revenge, assaulting and anally raping him. Wondering why Hassan is taking so long, Amir searches for Hassan and hides when he hears Assef's voice. He witnesses what happens to Hassan but is too scared to help him. Afterwards, for some time Hassan and Amir keep a distance from each other. When Hassan wants to pick up their friendship again, Amir holds it off. When people ask what is the matter, Amir reacts indifferently. He feels ashamed, and is frustrated by Hassan's saint-like behavior. Amir worries that Baba loves Hassan more, and would love him even more if he knew what happened to Hassan and about Amir's cowardly inaction.
To force Hassan to leave, Amir frames him as a thief, and Hassan falsely confesses. Baba forgives him, despite the fact that, as he explained earlier, he believes that "there is no act more wretched than stealing". Hassan and his father Ali, to Baba's extreme sorrow, leave anyway. Hassan's departure frees Amir of the daily reminder of his cowardice and betrayal, but he still lives in their shadow.
A short while later, the Soviets invade Afghanistan. Amir and Baba escape to Peshawar, Pakistan and then to Fremont, California, where Amir and Baba (who lived in luxury in an expensive mansion in Afghanistan) settle in a run-down apartment and Baba begins work at a gas station. Amir eventually takes classes at a local community college to develop his writing skills. Every Sunday, Baba and Amir make extra money selling used goods at a flea market in San Jose. There, Amir meets Soraya Taheri and her family; Soraya's father is contemptuous of Amir's literary aspiration. Baba has lung cancer but is still able to do Amir a great favor: he asks Soraya's father to grant permission for Amir to marry her. He agrees and the two marry. Shortly thereafter Baba dies. Amir and Soraya learn that they cannot have children.
Amir embarks on a successful career as a novelist. Fifteen years after they said goodbye, Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan, now dying from an illness, who asks him to come to Pakistan. He enigmatically tells Amir "there is a way to be good again". Amir goes.
From Rahim Khan, Amir learns the fates of Ali and Hassan. Ali was killed by a land mine. Hassan had a wife and a son, named Sohrab, and had returned to Baba's house as a caretaker at Rahim Khan's request. One day the Taliban ordered him to give it up and leave, but he refused, and was murdered, along with his wife. And the secret truth about Hassan is that Ali was not his father. Hassan is the son of Baba, and thus Amir's half-brother. Finally, Rahim Khan reveals that the true reason he has called Amir to Pakistan is to go to Kabul to rescue Hassan's son, Sohrab, from an orphanage.
Amir returns to Taliban-controlled Kabul with a guide, Farid, and searches for Sohrab at the orphanage. However, he does not find Sohrab there. The director of the orphanage tells them that a Taliban official has recently taken the boy. He tells Amir to go to a football match and look for aTaliban official wearing sunglasses; this will be the man who took Sohrab.
Amir goes and secures an appointment with him at his home. There he finds out that the Taliban official is actually his childhood nemesis Assef. Sohrab is made to dance dressed in women's clothes, and it seems Assef might have been sexually assaulting him (Sohrab later says: "I'm so dirty and full of sin. The bad man and the other two did things to me"). Assef agrees to relinquish him, but only if Amir can beat him in a fight to death, with Sohrab as the prize. Assef brutally beats Amir, but Amir is saved when Sohrab uses his slingshot to shoot out Assef's left eye, fulfilling the threat his father had made years before.
Amir tells Sohrab of his plans to take him back to America and possibly adopt him, and promises that he will never be sent to an orphanage again. Sohrab is emotionally damaged and refuses to speak. This continues on for about a year until his frozen emotions are temporarily thawed when Amir reminisces about his father, Hassan, while kite flying. Amir shows off some of Hassan's tricks, and Sohrab begins to interact with Amir again. In the end Sohrab only shows a lopsided smile, but Amir takes to it with all his heart as he runs the kite for Sohrab, saying, "For you, a thousand times over." This is an echo of the last words spoken to Amir by Hassan before the rape, and signifies the sense of atonement that permeates the novel.
CONFLICT:
Protagonist, Amir is the protagonist, because it is his story - a story that details his childhood in Afghanistan and the terrible sin he commits against Hassan, a Hazara boy who also happens to be his half-brother. It also details how he eventually returns to his homeland to atone for that sin by finding Hassan’s son, Sohrab, and bringing him home.
Protagonist, Amir is the protagonist, because it is his story - a story that details his childhood in Afghanistan and the terrible sin he commits against Hassan, a Hazara boy who also happens to be his half-brother. It also details how he eventually returns to his homeland to atone for that sin by finding Hassan’s son, Sohrab, and bringing him home.
Antagonist, The
antagonist is, on the surface, the man named Assef, who is a bigoted childhood
acquaintance of Amir and Hassan. He torments them both, but actually attacks and
rapes Hassan. Later, when the Taliban gains control of Afghanistan, he becomes
one of them so he can continue to torture others he finds inferior to himself.
He also takes Sohrab as his sexual plaything and Amir must defeat Assef to
bring Sohrab home and to the family he deserves. the other antagonist is Amir’s
sin which he mmust expiate before he can find redemption.
Climax: Amir meets
Assef, now a Talib, in hand-to-hand combat and Sohrab, like his father before
him, saves Amir with a slingshot.
Outcome: Amir
recovers from his terrible beating and they get out of Afghanistan and flee to
Pakistan. There, he tries to find a way to take Sohrab to the United States.
However, he runs into many bureaucratic walls and snafus. He is finally told
that if he places Sohrab into an orphanage temporarily, he might have an easier
time getting the necessary paperwork. Sohrab tries to commit suicide at this
news and even though he is saved and they find a way to get him to America, he
retreats from any trust in Amir or anyone else. It is only when they
participate in a kite flying contest in America that Sohrab comes out of his
silence and begins to heal. It is also the moment when Amir makes his final
atonement for the sins he committed against Hassan, Sohrab’s father. .
THEMES:
Strength of Character
Strength of Character
The theme of strength of character
is the most prevalent theme. Amir commits terrible sins against his friend and
half-brother, Hassan. The story of what he does and how he seeks and finds
atonement is a lesson for everyone who wants to do find a way to be good again.
The Resilience of the Human Spirit
The theme of the resilience of the human spiritis also
an important idea. Even though Amir has committed these sins, the inner
strength that he had all along, but thought was somehow missing from his
character, breaks though to allow him to find Sohrab and free him from the
clutches of Assef. In this same way, when Sohrab falls into a great inner
depression and tries to commit suicide, the spirit within him emerges and he
finds his way to happiness again.
Man’s Inhumanity To Man
The theme of man’s inhumanity to manis a theme which
makes the reader think about how we torture each other because of our need for
power in our lives. It is true as seen in this novel that there are essentially
evil individuals who are impossible to redeem and that the evil they do affects
all people around them. Assef is such a character. He enjoys hurting others
physically, emotionally, and psychologically. If there is a Hell, he is bound
for it. However, there is also the evil found in all of us, no matter how good
we are most of the time, which allows us to do bad things to those we love the
most. The reasons may vary for why we commit such sins, but in the end, it is
all about needing some sort of power in our lives. Fortunately, this evil is
redeemable when we are ready to atone and right the wrongs we have committed.
Amir is such a man. He is essentially good, but the evil he does as a child
follows him into his adulthood and he must find a way to expiate those sins for
his own sake and also for the sake of Sohrab.
The Fragile Relationship Between
Fathers and Sons
Another theme that is emphasized throughout is that of
the fragile relationship between fathers and sons. Amir spends his entire life
trying to be the son who will not disappoint his father and making up for the
death of his mother who died while giving birth to him. Many of the sins he
commits are in the hopes that his father will believe in him, embrace him, and
tell him how proud of him he is.
It is only when Amir grows up, watches how valiantly
his father faces his own death, and then returns to Afghanistan to right the
wrongs he had committed that he realizes that his father had always loved him
and was proud of him. It is unfortunate that men find it difficult to show
their love to their sons for fear of somehow being less of a man. Amir would
have loved to have had such a relationship all of his life and we who watch him
struggle to find it identify with his need for parental approval.
Loyalty and Devotion
Another theme would be loyalty and devotion. This is
especially evident in the relationship between Amir and Hassan. Despite the
fact that Hassan is actually Amir’s half-brother, he is his servant, because no
one but Baba and Ali know the truth. Nonetheless, even though Hassan is the
victim of discrimination and class structure, he is completely devoted and
loyal to Amir, both as his servant and as his friend. It takes Amir many years
to atone for how terribly he treated the loyalty and love that Hassan always
offered no matter what the circumstances.
The Discrimination, Bigotry, and
Class Structure of Afghan Society
A final theme involves discrimination, bigotry, and
class structure in Afghan society. Hassan and Ali are members of the Hazaras, a
minority group of Afghanis who follow Islamic beliefs called Shi’a. Amir and
his father are Pashtuns, the majority, who believes they are a better class
than the Hazara and who follow the Sunni sect of Islam. Because of this bigotry
and basic class structure, it is very difficult for anyone to marry into
another class and the Hazara are often victims of physical, emotional and
psychological abuse at the hands of Pashtuns. This is partly why Amir does not
come to Hassan’s rescue when he is attacked by Assef.
The event
that i don’t like is when
Hassan fetches a kite for Amir, sadly Assef and frends force to get it fraudulently.
Instinctively, Hassan refuses to give up Amir's kite, so Assef exacts his
revenge, assaulting and anally raping him. Wondering why Hassan is taking so
long, Amir searches for Hassan and hides when he hears Assef's voice. He
witnesses what happens to Hassan but is too scared to help him.
The
event that i do like is when hassan run to fetch the kite
and he knew where the kite will land so he didn’t see the kite just run to the
opposite way of other kite runners. After a while he stopped in a place and
waited for the kite landed. Finally, the kite came slowly followed by the other
kite runners.
The moment
KEY FACTS:
Meaning of the Title
It refers first to Hassan who runs down the kite cut
by Amir in the tournament. It also refers to Amir who must make up for
betraying his friend by taking on the task of bringing Hassan’s son out of
Afghanistan. In the final analysis, it is a symbol of the loyalty and devotion
one shows to the friend he loves.
Mood
At times, the mood is tragic, filled with despair, and
very sad; at other times, it is uplifting and hopeful; finally, it is a
triumphant commentary on the human spirit.
The kite runner
By: khaled hosseini
10535472510
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