The Kite Runner Chapters 1-5
Summary
•Currently in San Francisco (December 2001)
•Amir recalls events that happened in his past
•Amir (Pashtun) & Hassan (Hazara) are brothers/friends/ servant (inconsiderate relationship)
•Hazaras were segregated- called “mice-eating and flat nosed”(Hosseini,9)
•Pashtuns are Sunni muslims while Hazaras are Shi’a muslim
•Baba built an orphanage and tells his son there is only one sin which is theft
•Baba worried about his son as he is not like other boys
•Amir likes poetry, once he makes a story and shows Rahim Khan who responds saying he is talented
•Amir & Hassan grew up together
•In 1978 the communist take-over
•1979: Russia invaded
Themes
Social class
•The Kite Runner has much to do with the issue of social class because the characters’ relationships with one another revolve around their placement on the social spectrum.
•Amir is privileged just because his father is a wealthy and respected man.
•Hassan is considered ‘only a servant’ because that’s exactly what his father Ali is.
Brotherhood
•We see in the novel that Amir and Hassan are like brothers as they share many experiences. However, because of different values, their friendship is not one of brotherhood. Amir feels superior to Hassan and is jealous of him at times. Hassan, however shows complete loyalty to Amir
Characterization
Amir
•Protagonist •Round character
•Pashtun •Privileged
•Selfish •Deprived of love from his Baba •Insecure
Baba
•Flat character •Amir’s Father •Wealthy man
•Has a strained relationship with his son, Amir •Kind/ generous man- built an orphanage
•Determined •Pashtun
•Fearless (only scared when his family could have been killed- Russian invasion)
Hassan
•Static character •Amir’s friend/servant/brother •Hazara
•A very good son to Ali •Constantly made fun of by Assef •A very LOYAL friend
•Intelligent •Caring •Contains lisp (harelip)
Ali
•Loyal •hazara •Life long servant of Baba
•Has polio •Proud man
Rahim Khan
•Baba’s best friend/corporate partner •Friendly •Reasonable
•When Amir showed his story, he was actually kind enough to care to read it
•Determined •Helpful
Assef
•Mean/Cruel Bully •Half German, half Afghan
•Considers Hitler his idol, “Too late for Hitler. But not for us.” (Hosseini, 35)- wants all Hazaras to leave
•Hates Amir and especially Hassan •Antagonist •Flat character
Conflict
Person vs. Person
Amir & Baba
•Though not shown directly, Baba and Amir have a conflict, a clash in views.
•Baba wanted a more athletic, strong and physically capable boy
•Amir is not the boy that he has always wanted and he cant believe his offspring would be like that.
•“If I hadnt seen the doctor pull him out of my wifewith my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son”
Assef & Hassan
•Assef being a Pashtun hates the Hazara, especially Hassan
•He views the hazara as a filthy race that should be eliminated from this world
•Hassan normally wouldn’t have stood up to Assef and fought back if Amir’s life wasn’t at risk either.
•Assef and Hassan’s true conflict/ fight started when Hassan stood up to him in Chapter 5
Person vs. Self
Amir •Jealous of Hassan
•Feels guilty about being mean to Hassan when he sees Hassan’s status against assef’s Pashtun power
•In chapter 5 when he heard Hassan call Assef Agha he realised how low Hassan’s status was compared to his his and Assefs that he had to call, of all people, Assef “agha”
•Insecure: just wants Baba to love him, feels he does not satisfy him
•Fearful: cannot stand up for himself
Person vs. Society
Hassan •Hassan’s life and also Ali’s is an everyday struggle against society
•Being Hazara, they are mistreated in the only world familiar to them and they have to live it out daily.
•Hassan’s unwavering loyalty to Amir and Baba could also be fueled by the fact that they are one of the only people who really accept them
Baba •In chapter 3, Amir describes Baba, in which he mentions all the times Baba has wanted to do something and the society dicouraged him each time but Baba fought it through. •This not being an aggressive conflict with the society still shows baba’s want to fight the system
Literary Devices
Allusion
•An allusion is a reference to a well- known person, event, literary work.
•“He would take the mirror & tell us what his mother told him, that the devil shone mirrors too, shone them to distract Muslims” (Hosseini, 2)
•The reference to the devil makes this passage and allusion
•“Tell him what I told my mother. About Hitler. Now, there was a leader. A great leader. A man with a vision.” (Hosseini, 43)
•Reference to Hitler
Foreshadowing
•In the novel there are many times where the author has put foreshadowing, actually the whole first chapter is foreshadowing.
•It tells us that though the book has now gone into flash back, there will be a point where Amir will return to Afghanistan present day and ‘try to be good again’
•Also on chapter 5 when the narrator says “marking the start of a still ongoing era of bloodletting” We know that the war will not be over soon
Setting
•“…my Baba built the most beautiful house In all of Wazir Khan District, a new and affluent neighbourhood in the northern part of kabul” (Hosseini, 4)
•Sets mood for story- Amir is from a wealthy family
•In contrast when the narrator describes Hassan’s house: “…the servants’ home, a modest little mud hut where Hassan lived with his father.”(Hosseini,6) they are showing the differences in both of their lives.
Irony
•“Which was ironic, because that was the winter that Hassan stopped smiling”(Hosseini, 50)
•It is ironic that once the hare lip would be removed, one would think that Hassan would smile more as he will be gladly able to. Yet, some situation occurred causing him to never smile again
Imagery
•Imagery is pretty common in the novel, the author uses it to get people more familiar with the setting because a lot of people wouldn’t know what exactly the author is talking about.
•In chapter two Amir describes his house in very descriptive ways and that is one of the many places the author used imagery
•“The Poplar trees lined the red brick driveway…pair of wrought iron doors…The house sat on the left side of the brick pathway, the backyard at the end of it.” (Hoseini, 4)
Symbolism
•In the novel the kites can symbolize Amir in a way
•like the way kites can just afloat, Amir too wants to be free and be loved by all he see him but the string symbolizes something always holding him down
Simile
•“He wrinkled his nose when he said the Shi’a, like it was some kind of disease” (Hoseini, 10)
•The narrator, through a simile, compared the Shia’s with a disease
Metaphor & Colloquialism
•“What a tight little sugary c she had!”
•(Hosseini, 7)
•‘Sugary c’ is informal
•“…eyes are the windows to the soul” (Hosseini, pg.8 )
•Comparison between eyes and the reflection of the inner soul