LRB #7: The Kite Runner

In Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, many elements come into play that influence the book and are significant in some way. The most significant thing to this book is quite honestly it's title. The Kite Runner is not simply some catchy title used to draw in readers - it actually holds relevance to the entirety of the story. While the title does draw in readers, it also emphasizes a certain character's role in the story.

Anyone who has read the book is aware of the fact that the kite runner is Hassan, Amir's best friend who always runs the kites Amir pushes out of the sky. The title of the book underscores Hassan's importance in the story; from the very beginning to the very end of the book, Hassan is always in Amir's thoughts and influences some of the things Amir himself does.

The story that starts out with boys being boys and flying kites eventually ends with Amir and Hassan's son, Sohrab, flying kites, which is basically an instance of history repeating itself.

Next to me, Sohrab was breathing rapidly through his nose. The spool rolled in his palms, the tendons in his scarred wrists like rubab strings. Then I blinked, and, for just a moment, the hands holding the spool were the chipped-nailed, calloused hands of a harelipped boy. I heard a crow calling somewhere and I looked up. The park shimmered with snow so fresh, so dazzling white, it burned my eyes. It sprinkled soundlessly from the branches of white-clad trees.

This flashback may be the most important one of the book; despite everything Amir had lived through and the absence that Hassan had taken in his life - at his own hands - he still thought of him throughout everything. This scene of bonding with Sohrab sent Amir back to bonding with Hassan, back to his childhood and back to his best friend. This is why the book's title is important. The Kite Runner symbolizes Hassan and what he meant, and still means, to Amir, and how he holds a place in his heart.

LRB #6: Summary

In Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, chapters twenty two and twenty three are definitely two of the most hard hitting of the entire book. Basically what happens is this: Amir has already traveled back to Afghanistan in search of his nephew, Hassan's son, Sohrab. After being sent to an arena and meeting with a man from the Taliban, Amir finds himself in quite a predicament. He comes face to face with a man from his childhood - the infamous Assef that used to bully both him and Hassan when they were children.

This is where the question of Amir's strength comes into play. All throughout his childhood, Amir was a weakling, having Hassan defend him when someone would try to push him around. Assef agres to let Amir leave with Sohrab on one condition - he has to fight him for him.

"We have some unfinished business, you and I," Assef said. "You remember, don't you?" 
He needn't have worried. I would never forget the day after Daoud Khan overthrew the king. My entire adult life, whenever I heard Daoud Khan's name, what I saw was Hassan with his slingshot pointed at Assef's face, Hassan saying that they'd have to start calling him One-Eyed Assef instead of Assef Goshkhor. I remember how envious I'd been of Hassan's bravery. Assef had backed down, promised that in the end he'd get us both. He'd kept that promise with Hassan. Now it was my turn. 

This part of the book highlights Amir's inner struggle; he's been weak all of his life and now he finally has the chance to stand up and take Sohrab back with him. Does he take it? It's sad to say that he does try, but fails miserably and is nearly beaten to death by Assef before Sohrab stops him by shooting his eye out with a slingshot. The two of them then escaped and Amir stayed in a hospital for a few days until he is well enough to at least walk again before they leave once more.

Alas, it is eventually revealed that there was never a couple to adopt Hassan like Rahim Khan said there was, and Amir finally figures out what he's supposed to do. "A way to be good again" for him, he realizes, is to adopt Sohrab.

LRB #5: Amir

Though Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, there are many characters that are important to the story. The most important character, Amir, is the main character of the story as it chronicles his life from his childhood in Afghanistan to his adult life in America. The viewers get to follow Amir on a journey of a lifetime; they get to see him grow from a rude, defenseless child to a man that finally stands on his own two feet.

The journey begins in Afghanistan and follows the friendship of Amir and Hassan, both children at this time. Even as a child Amir subconsciously saw the societal roles of his people and Hassan's and treated him as a servant without fully realizing he was doing so. This makes the audience wary of Amir and his behaviors and leads them to be more sympathetic for Hassan as he endures Amir's actions.

To fully understand the character of Amir, one must first look at his personality and the traits he seems to have. From the beginning, Amir possesses jealousy and spite toward Hassan, simply because he is jealous of the relationship he has with Baba. This jealousy pushes Amir into some awkward situations; coupled with the guilt of witnessing what happened to Hassan, Amir makes a decision that changes everyone's lives forever. He decides to frame Hassan for stealing, which ultimately leads to his departure with his father.

I flinched, like I'd been slapped. My heart sank and I almost blurted out the truth. Then I understood: This was Hassan's final sacrifice for me. If he'd said no, Baba would have believed him because we all knew Hassan never lied. And if Baba believed him, then I'd be accused; I would have to explain and I would be revealed for what I really was. Baba would never, ever forgive me. And that led to another understanding: Hassan knew. He knew I'd seen everything in that alley, that I'd stood there and done nothing. He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time. I loved him in that moment, loved him more than I'd ever loved anyone, and I wanted to tell them all that I was the snake in the grass, the monster in the lake.

This is Amir's response to Hassan taking the fall for 'stealing', and it is extremely important because at this point the audience realizes that Amir actually does have a heart. He does feel pain and grief over what he has done. Maybe he isn't all that horrible after all.

Moving along, when Amir's father dies of cancer, a weaker side of Amir is revealed. Though he was weak throughout most of his life, he is nearly in shambles with Baba's passing and begins to lean on Soraya for support, something he isn't accustomed to. This is depicted in the funeral scene where Amir doesn't cry until he is embraced by Soraya.

Married life begins to take a toll on Amir, as well. What began as a fairy tale love story - despite Baba's death - soon became an empty void in his life. Sure things remained the same and a pattern was created, but Amir feels the emptiness more prominently upon the discovery that Soraya was unable to have children.

Sometimes, Soraya sleeping next to me, I lay in bed and listened to the screen door swinging open and shut with the breeze, to the crickets chirping in the yard. And I could almost feel the emptiness in Soraya's womb, like it was a living, breathing, thing. It had seeped into our marriage, that emptiness, into our laughs, and our lovemaking. 

This highlights Amir's feelings at this point in his life; he had planned on being a happily married father but this dream was shattered by the realization that his wife could not bear children. And that emptiness became a void haunting both of them, weakening Amir even more.

Next comes the point of the book where Amir goes back to Afghanistan to redeem himself, or in the words of Rahim Khan, 'to be good again'. Upon arriving, Amir learns of the tragic passing of Hassan, his wife, and his father at the hands of a land mine and the Taliban. Guilt returns; if Amir had never sent them away, would things have turned out differently? It seems Amir is compassionate after all. But upon learning the news that Hassan was in fact his illegitimate brother, Amir is angered beyond words. He is angry at his late father for hiding it and angry at everyone else who knew. Baba had committed the worst crime; thievery was a sin, the worst of all, and Baba robbed him of having a brother.

Moving further along, Amir sets out to find the son of his brother, to make things okay and to be good again. He feels he owes this to Hassan, one final respect for his best friend. And at this point in the book, Amir's character seems to have finally come together. He is many things; weak, cowardly, strong, compassionate, guilty, forgiven ... and it's all coming together and he is learning who he is and how to be good again.

LRB #4: The Roles of Soraya

In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, there are many characters that play an important part in moving the story along. This book contains a large amount of minor characters, ones whose one purpose is to fill in the blanks and help the main characters move on with their lives. The most important minor character thus far, hands down, is Soraya, Amir’s love interest turned wife. Though her introduction was nothing extravagant, it’s pretty much love at first sight and the two fall head over heels, getting married quickly due to Baba’s impending death from cancer. 

We walked in silence down a winding gravel path lined by a row of hedges. We sat on a bench and watched an elderly couple kneeling beside a grave a few rows away and placing a bouquet of daisies by the headstone. “Soraya?”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to miss him.”

She put her hand on my lap. Baba’s chila glinted on her ring finger. Behind her, I could see Baba’s mourners driving away on Mission Boulevard. Soon we’d leave, too, and for the first time ever, Baba would be all alone.

Soraya pulled me to her and the tears finally came.

This quote is very important in the aspect that it perfectly highlights the role Soraya takes on in Amir’s life. From the beginning of their relationship to where we are currently in the book, she has become his other half; she voluntarily took care of her dying father in law to help Amir and show her respect to Baba and she becomes Amir’s sole source of comfort after his passing away. I think this shows what a marriage is supposed to be like; I think you’re meant to be each other’s rock, which is what Soraya is to Amir and vice versa. 

Soraya also has another role to fill – soon enough, she goes from being the comforter to the one who needs comforting. After finding out that she is for some reason infertile, it is her turn to fall apart in a sense and Amir is there to comfort her just as she always does for him. I think this is another reflection on how love works; you’re there for each other no matter what the circumstances. 

Ultimately, I think Soraya is placed in Amir’s life because she fulfills the purpose of becoming his strength and comfort when bad things happen. She’s sort of like his lighthouse, guiding him through the fog of life, never failing, even when they’re both pushed to their limits, which is beautiful.

LRB #3: Baba and Cancer [aka The Part of the Book That Made Me Want to Tear My Heart Out]

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner contains many scenes that are meant to affect the reader’s thoughts and feelings. Chapter twelve is pretty much one big heart wrenching scene with a primary purpose being to get to the reader and make them feel. It does just that. The chapter begins innocently enough; Amir and his father are seemingly closer and living in America. His father has sold his car to buy a van and they now go to yard sales and swap-meets on the weekends. Amir meets a love interest who later becomes his wife, but this is not the point of the chapter. The important part appears about mid chapter – Baba is sick.

Though it is not revealed right away, it is eventually stated that Baba has terminal cancer, and it’s in a stage where there is no fixing it. No cure. Essentially this means that without treatment, Baba will die in a very short amount of time. Baba knows this and refuses treatment anyway; I think this is more a matter of pride and custom than anything else. He is a Pashtun by nature. Pashtuns don’t need charity or help with anything; they fight their fights and win on their own. Baba merely sees cancer as another fight, another obstacle to overcome – except this time, he’s not winning. 

“That’s a clear answer, Dr. Amani. Thank you for that,” Baba said. “But no chemo medication for me.” He had the same resolved look on his face as the day he’d dropped the stack of food stamps on Mrs. Dobbins’s desk.

“But Baba-“

“Don’t you challenge me in public, Amir. Ever. Who do you think you are?”

This was Baba’s response to being told he had terminal cancer and would die without treatment. This further backs the theory that he is a man of pride and refused to have help fighting his own battles, even if this battle would ultimately (spoiler alert) take his life in the very near future. 

They discharged Baba two days later. They brought in a specialist called a radiation oncologist to talk Baba into getting radiation treatment. Baba refused. They tried to talk me into talking him into it. But I’d seen the look on Baba’s face. I thanked them, signed their forms, and took Baba home in my Ford Torino. 

It is at this point in the book that Amir finally understands why his father is doing what he is doing. Baba sees cancer as his final battle, one he knows he is going to lose, but he would rather go out fighting on his own than have someone else fighting it for him. Amir can’t persuade him or change his mind or course of action. He can only honor his father’s wishes as it is obvious that his demise is impending and imminent. 

As for my thoughts on this portion of the book, I am completely devastated. I am first devastated by the fact that Baba has cancer to begin with because of his characterization. Baba is described all throughout the book as a big, strong, hardworking man that fights his own fights and succeeds by way of his own two hands. Cancer breaks this mold that was created for the character and changes everything; he goes from being the image he once had to being a sickly, weak, dependent man, much to his own dismay. This alone was enough to make me feel sad for Baba and sympathize for him throughout this part of the book. Furthermore, the cancer was foreshadowed earlier in the book by Amir himself when he mentioned in passing in the beginning. Though I knew it foreshadowed that someone would have cancer, I never thought it would be Baba. I found that one of the most devastating parts of the entire plotline. 

As you read through this part of the story, you accompany both Amir and Baba on Baba’s journey throughout this difficult part of his life; the cancer is getting stronger, Baba is getting weaker, and he doesn’t have much time left. Despite this, he does one last thing for his son – he asks for the General’s daughter to marry Amir. This part, despite being sad, made me happy. Even though he is in a severe amount of pain and is slowly wasting away, he still puts his son first, even if his earlier attempts at this were unorthodox and he wasn’t always the best father. This act of selflessness cleans Baba’s slate, at least for me it does. 

I’ve honestly grown to really like the character of Baba and witnessing him breaking down and dying because of something out of his control was painful to witness. Nevertheless, that is how I know I like this book. It has the ability to make me really feel and sympathize with the characters.  

LRB #2: Foils Continued and A Short Analysis of Hassan

In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, the two main characters are a perfect example of foils. As I said in my last LRB, Amir and Hassan are complete opposites in both personality and actions. This is proven again between pages 80 and 109 of the book. The personalities of the two boys are put on display once again when Amir and Hassan grow distant after the incident in the alley and Amir ultimately decides to frame Hassan for thievery to get him kicked out of his life. Amir is shown to be a conniving, deceitful little boy that frames his best friend for a crime he didn’t commit just so he wouldn’t have to feel bad about what he witness and ran away from. Hassan, being the loyal and obedient friend he is, goes along with everything Amir says, condemning himself and his father to uprooting from their home and going elsewhere.

After Hassan says that he stole the money and the watch from Amir, Amir has a revelation. I flinched, like I’d been slapped. My heart sank and I almost blurted out the truth. Then I understood: This was Hassan’s final sacrifice for me. If he’s said no, Baba would have believed him because we all knew Hassan never lied. And if Baba believed him, then I’d be accused; I would have to explain and I would be revealed for what I really was. This quote is the most important so far at showcasing both Hassan and Amir’s true natures. Despite the pain Amir has put Hassan through, he is sacrificing himself one last time to end the struggle his friend is dealing with. Even in the end he remains loyal and obedient to the boy he considers his best friend. Meanwhile, Amir is revealed to be a liar and to have caused a lot of pain for his ‘best friend’, the one person who stuck around for him despite his callous attitude and how caught up he is in seeking his father’s approval. Hassan even disregards the fact that Amir is slaying him like a lamb to get on Baba’s good side. These two characters are exact opposites, and the stealing scene highlights that better than anything else in the book has. 

Moving along, the character of Hassan really intrigues me now. Despite the fact that he is teased by other kids simply because of what class of Afghanistan he comes from, he chooses to remain a humble person, fully accepting of his life and what it entails. And despite the fact that his only real friend bosses him around like a slave, he remains completely and utterly loyal to him, submissive to a fault and willing to do whatever it takes to make his friend happy. Take for example the kite running scene that leads to the alley scene. Hassan didn’t have to run the kite for Amir; he simply wanted to make his friend happy by getting the kite for him. He put Amir’s feelings ahead of his own, which shows that he is selfless as well. Hassan is overall a kind hearted, obedient, wonderful friend that knows what to do for his friends and even steps out of the way if it’s necessary and in some aspects I would like to be more like him.

LRB #1 Foils in The Kite Runner

The first 80 pages of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner successfully went from being a boring snoozefest to heart-wrenching. The most obvious thing that stands out in the first 80 pages is the contrast in characters, especially Amir and Hassan. The two are foils, to say the least; they are almost exact opposites. Everything Amir is, Hassan is not, and vice versa. The easiest thing to point out is the personality contrasts between the two. Amir is a weak, jealousy prone, betraying Pashtun. Hassan is a loyal, strong, fighting Hazara. These differences become more and more apparent throughout the pages we’ve read so far in the book.

A very important quote appears in chapter 6 of the book when Amir asks Hassan if he would eat dirt if he told him to. “If you asked, I would,” he finally said, looking right at me. I dropped my eyes. To this day, I find it hard to gaze directly at people like Hassan, people who mean every word they say. This quote is relevant to the discussion of foils because it shows Hassan’s true nature. Regardless of how Amir treats him, he is going to be a loyal friend and do anything he can for his best friend. Examples of this include running the final kite for Amir and taking a beating and rape in order to securely bring back said kite. Hassan goes to extremes to do whatever his best friend wants, which is a quality of his people, the Hazaras, servants of Afghanistan.

Amir, on the other hand, is the opposite of Hassan. Having grown up wealthy, Amir is a spoiled child who seems to have no regard for others aside from fooling himself into believing he was really friends with a Hazara. Amir is a Pashtun, who are seen as the upper class in Afghanistan, and subconsciously, he also sees Hassan as a servant. The first relevant quote to this appears in chapter 5. But he’s not my friend! I almost blurted. He’s my servant! For the first time, Amir is admitting to himself that deep down, he sees his friend as a simple servant. Feelings cannot unbind the ties created by the roles that society creates for us. 

One more relevant quote appears in chapter 7. In the end, I ran. I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt. That’s what I told myself as I turned my back to the alley, to Hassan. This may very well be the most important quote of the first 80 pages of the book. Amir turns his back to the gruesome act he sees being inflicted upon his ‘best friend’ and runs, simply because he wants his father’s approval and realizes that in order to do this, he must slay his best friend, his lamb, Hassan. Both of these quotes work together to show Amir’s true nature; as  a Pashtun, he sees himself as better and more of a person than his Hazara friend, even if he didn’t consciously admit it until chapters into the book. 

Furthermore, the characters being foils helps to underline an emerging theme and possible meaning of the work in the story. Though both boys try hard to be friends and to accept the other for who he is, Amir seems to have a rougher time with this simply because of the fact that they come from two different groups. This highlights the fact that social roles – roles that society creates for people to fill – are always going to prevail despite effort and wanting things to be different. It is impossible to fully break the ties to these roles that are ingrained in our minds, and Amir is slowing learning that throughout the first 80 pages of the book.