Summary and Analysis of The Kite Runner

Based on the Book by Khaled Hosseini

• Publisher: Worth Books
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781504043113
• Topic: Study Aids
• Subtopic: Study Guides

So much to read, so little time? This brief overview of The Kite Runner tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Khaled Hosseini's book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini includes:

• Historical context
• Chapter-by-chapter summaries
• Analysis of the main characters
• Themes and symbols
• Important quotes
• Fascinating trivia
• Glossary of terms
• Supporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work

About The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini: Khaled Hosseini's New York Times –bestselling novel is an epic and powerful story of love, unconditional support, and forgiveness. Chronicling the friendship of a boy raised with privilege and another living a life of servitude, the spellbinding tale spans thirty years of Afghanistan's troubled history—from the Soviet invasion to the days of Taliban control. With characters who demonstrate incredible loyalty, cruelty, and redemption, The Kite Runner is an astonishing testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of fiction.

Summary

Chapter One

After receiving a call from his old friend Rahim Khan, Amir goes out for a walk along a lake near his home. Looking up, he sees a pair of kites fluttering in the sky above his adopted city of San Francisco. Rahim’s words and the image of string and paper soaring in the wind open a floodgate of memories that he thought were long buried. In that moment, Amir realizes that the man he is today is a result of what happened one fateful winter’s day in 1975.

Chapter Two

Two families from different worlds are closely intertwined: Baba is a rich merchant who lives in a nice house with his sensitive son, Amir. In a mud hut resides Baba’s Hazara servant Ali, and his harelipped son, Hassan. Both boys are motherless: Amir’s mother dies in childbirth and Hassan’s runs off with a traveling dance troupe. The boys form the kind of friendship that will stay with them for a lifetime.

Chapter Three

Baba has a towering stature and forceful nature. A successful businessman once married to a well-educated descendant of the royal family, he’s a formidable figure in the community. In sharp contrast, Amir is a sensitive and meek boy who carries the burden of his mother’s death on his shoulders.

Chapter Four

In 1933, a drunk-driving incident kills a Haraza couple, leaving their baby son orphaned. Amir’s grandfather, a judge on the case, takes the boy in and raises him. That baby was Ali. Like Amir with Hassan, Baba and Ali are childhood playmates, however Baba never refers to Ali as a friend: Afghan society frowns on privileged Pashtuns mixing with lowly Hazaras.

Amir and Hassan do everything together; they can often be found sitting in a pomegranate tree reading and inventing stories. Baba doesn’t understand his son’s creative, sensitive side. Baba’s close friend Rahim Khan takes Amir under his wing and offers encouragement and support that Amir’s father withholds.

Chapter Five

A Soviet coup marks the end of the king’s forty-year rule. While outside playing, Amir and Hassan come across three schoolyard bullies: Assef, Wali, and Kamal. Assef is the sadistic ringleader with a reputation as a savage tormentor. He often taunts Ali on the street, calling him names like Babalu (Boogeyman).

Assef is offended by Amir’s friendship with a boy of inferior ethnicity and decides to teach him a lesson using brass knuckles. When Assef comes face-to-face with the business end of Hassan’s slingshot (and the prospect of losing an eye), Assef retreats, but not before promising revenge.

Chapter Six

Winter is kite-flying season in Kabul, and Hassan is the greatest kite runner Amir has ever seen. The two work diligently to prepare for battle. The winter of 1975 is the last time Amir would see Hassan run a kite.

Chapter Seven

The boys prove to be an extraordinary kite-flying team and win an important competition. Hassan takes off to run the kite, but when he doesn’t return, Amir sets out looking for him. He finds him trapped in an alley by Assef and his henchmen. Paralyzed with fear, Amir stands by and watches Assef brutally rape his best friend.

Chapter Eight

Amir hides his shame by sometimes acting with indifference and sometimes becoming hostile toward Hassan, damaging their longtime friendship. A constant reminder of his own dishonor, Amir wishes Hassan were out of the picture.

On his thirteenth birthday, Baba throws Amir a lavish party and invites schoolmates that include Assef and Wali. Hassan endures further humiliation by having to serve drinks from a silver platter to his smug molesters.

Chapter Nine

The party and presents bring no joy and his father’s attention feels empty. Choosing selfish desires over the welfare of Ali and Hassan, Amir hatches a plan to frame Hassan for a theft he didn’t commit.

His plan backfires. Hassan admits to the crime and Baba graciously forgives him. Ali knows of Amir’s betrayal and decides to leave their employ. It’s a relief to Amir, but brings great pains to Baba, who openly weeps in sorrow.

Chapter Ten

The Russian invasion renders Afghanistan unrecognizable. Baba and Amir flee the city, smuggled in trucks across the Pakistani border. Kamal, one of Hassan’s assailants, is among the refugees, looking broken and withered. Kamal’s father whispers that the young man was once brutally sodomized by four men.

To endure the last leg of the trip inside a fuel tanker, Amir recalls happier times flying kites with his best friend. He and Baba survive the arduous journey, but Kamal isn’t so lucky. He dies in transit. Grief-stricken, Kamal’s father grabs a gun, shoves the barrel into his own mouth, and pulls the trigger.

Chapter Eleven

Baba likes the idea of America, but living in Fremont, California, in the 1980s is a different story. The antithesis of their cushy life in Kabul, the two settle in a small, dingy apartment and work menial jobs. After nearly two years, Baba isn’t adjust...