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Kite runner character essay
The kite runner character analysis
Analysis for the story of the kite runner
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In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, we learn a lot about Amir the main character, and Hassan his servant/brother. In the beginning Hassan and Amir’s relationship was one of brotherly love despite the fact that Hassan was a Hazara and Amir a Pashtun. Back in the 1970’s race and religion played a big part in Kabul and these two races were not suppose to have relationships unless it was owner (Pashtun) and servant (Hazara). Baba Amir’s father had an affair with Hassan’s mother, but it was kept a secret until one day Rahim Khan let’s Amir know the whole truth. Hassan a loving, and loyal servant to Amir sacrifices himself many times for Amir, while Amir was disloyal, and cruel. Once Amir finds out the truth he embarks on a journey of atonement to right his wrongs.
Hassan’s love, and loyalty for Amir was never in question. Even through the sacrifices Amir was to naïve to ever understand it. Hassan starts showing from the beginning that he isn’t ever going to let any harm come Amir’s way, It starts off in the yard throwing pebbles at windows and at the neighbors dog. Amir says, “ Hassan never wanted to, but if I asked, he wouldn’t deny me. Hassan never denied me anything” (pg. 4&5). Hassan even lied to his father to protect Amir, “ Yes father, Hassan would mumble, looking down at his feet. But he never told on me. Never told that the mirror, like shooting walnuts at the neighbor’s dog, was always my idea” (pg. 5). Even when Assef first came around with his boys, it was Hassan who protected Amir from Assef’s little gang. One day while Amir and Hassan were walking up to the hill to the pomegranate tree where they carved, “Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul” (pg.24) which signified their friendship. They had an altercation with Assef...
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...g his ribs blood spewing all over the floor Amir dizzy from all the beating, and he just laughs. At the end sohrab saves him from the beating by launching a rock with the slingshot through Assefs’ eye. The final duty for Amir was to take Sohrab with him back to San Francisco, give him a new life.
Hosseini gives us an insight on how life in Afghanistan was in the 70’s. The difference in how people are treated because of your race or religion. The karma part of the book, of the evil Assef causing Hassan and Amir both harm. Amir laughing felling healed, making his father proud that he finally stood up for something. Paying back Hassan’s sacrifices, rescuing his nephew. With vivid details a look at a real life example of what possibly goes on in that country. The Afghanistan culture.
Works Cited
Hosseini, Khaled. "The Kite Runner." New York: Riverhead, 2003. Print.
The way our friends treat us in the face of adversity and in social situations is more revealing of a person’s character than the way they treats us when alone. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, ethnic tensions, nationality, and betrayal become the catalyst that drives and fuels Amir, Assef, and other characters to embark on their particular acts of cruelty. Serving as a way to illustrate the loss of rectitude and humanity, cruelty reveals how easily people can lose their morals in critical circumstances. Through Amir, Assef, and the Taliban’s actions, cruelty displays the truth of a person’s character, uncovering the origin of their cruelty. Amir’s cruelty spurs from his external environment and need for love from his father, choosing
At times Amir had trouble realizing that they were best friends because Hassan was a Hazara, he was of Asian descent and of the Shiite tribe, he resembles his ancestors, the Mongols. Amir is a Pashtun, of the Sunni tribe, a majority group in Afghanistan. Hassan was loyal and showed endless amounts of respect and praise to Amir. Though Hassan knew what Amir had witnessed and done to him, he covered up for him. He did not ever let Amir get into trouble with Baba, his father. Hassan was also the half brother of Amir, neither knew until Rahim Khan, a friend of Baba’s informed Amir. He and Hassan had a connection, both as friends but also as brothers.
Amir does not loves sports as much as Baba, but he does love participating in the kite-fighting tournament. In the winter of 1975, Amir and Hassan compete in the tournament. Amir feels that this is a way to gain some of Baba’s loves back, therefore winning is crucial. Hassan is a master at kite running. No matter the weather conditions or the amount of people running a kite, Hassan always knew where the kite was going to land. During the tournament, Amir fought the kites and Hassan ran them. Amir cut the string of the last kite and Hassan began to ran. That day, Amir witnessed Hassan being raped by a childhood bully and his friends. Amir ran away instead of helping Hassan escape. This is where Amir’s morals are first questioned in the
In his first historical fiction novel, Khaled Hosseini tells the story of a young boy growing up in Afghanistan. The Kite Runner is the story of Amir, the young boy, and the path his life takes because of the decisions he makes when he is a young child. Forgiveness is woven throughout the book as it takes Amir to places he might not have gone if he hadn’t been able to forgive.
In the novel “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini, Hassan is a loyal, selfless and compassionate young boy. Hassan is a small, dark haired, green eyed Hazara who has a cleft lip. Hassan and his father are servants to Amir and his father, Baba. Hassan’s mother abandoned him when he was newborn and since he has lived in a mud shack at the back of Amir and Baba’s mansion with his father, Ali. Hassan is illiterate, but smart and is also the best kite runner in Kabul. Hassan’s world is Amir! He loves and worships him; his first word was Amir. Although Hassan has many notable qualities, he lives a hard and sad life.
The experience of fatherhood begins at birth of the baby as it comes out to the world. The responsibility parenthood entails is realized when the mother is not fully healed yet or sadly has died in the tough delivery of the baby. Ideally, the child grows up to develop a close bond with their father, although this is not always the case. Sometimes it does not work that way in which in the other hand it may not be constantly full of love which fills the child with longing and pain. The relationship develop as the father prepares his son to understand his mistakes by helping him recognize right from wrong. In his novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini illustrates the importance of a father and son relationship which in turn affects the plot of the novel. Baba and Amir gains the ability to be a father as they demonstrate their differences of being a father to their son. Although Baba and Amir differ in facing their problems, which parallel, the enforcement of the empathetic fatherly figure they both suffer hardships for their sons’ benefit.
Amir and Hassan’s relationship is a recurring theme throughout the novel. In the ethnic caste system, Amir is a Pashtun and Hassan is a Hazara. Pashtuns are placed in a much higher caste than Hazaras, therefore Hazaras are treated as servants to the Pashtuns. Every morning, Hassan prepares Amir’s breakfast, makes his clothes and cleans his room for him. In the annual kite tournament, at least two people must work together in order to properly maneuver the kite, one to lead the kite, and another to feed the kite’s glass string. Hassan’s role is the latter. His role is to feed the kite’s string for Amir and run after any fallen kites. The glass string attached to the kite is dangerous as it is coated with shards of glass and leaves bloody marks and cuts on the hands. Although Hassan catches the fallen kites, he must always bring it back to Amir. One winter, when Hassan and Amir were waiting under a tree for the kite to come to them, Hassan asks Amir “Would I ever lie to you, Amir agha?” (Ho...
The Kite Runner focuses on the relationship between two Afghan boys Amir and Hassan. Amir is a Pashtun and Sunni Muslim, while Hassan is a Hazara and a Shi’a. Despite their ethnic and religious differences, Amir and Hassan grow to be friends, although Amir is troubled by Hassan, and his relationship with his companion, one year his junior, is complex. Amir and Hassan seem to have a "best friend" type relationship. The two boys, Hassan and Amir, are main characters in the book titled, The Kite Runner. The two boys have a relationship that is significantly different compared to most. There are many different facets that distinguish the relationship the boys possess. The boys do write their names in a pomegranate tree as the "sultans of Kabul" (Kite Runner 27) but, their friendship is not strong and it is one sided. Hassan has love for Amir. He loves him like a brother. Hassan is exceedingly loyal to Amir. The relationship between the two boys is emotionally wearing and rather gloomy for the most part. The main reason for their complicated relationship is the fact that Amir is Pashtun, and Hassan is Hazara. The Afghan society places Hassan lower than Amir. Hassan is Amir's servant. The placement of Hassan in the Afghan society disenables Amir from becoming Hassan's true friend. Amir sees Hassan as lower than human. Amir ruins the chance for friendship between himself and Hassan because he is jealous of Hassan, he thinks of Hassan as a lower human, and because Amir possesses such extreme guilt for what he has done to Hassan. Amir is an unforgivable person overall.
Writer Ayn Rand once said that, “Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.” This happiness is not what a person feels when common pleasures occur in their lives, such as the purchase of a new car, or a promotion at work and an increase in salary. The feeling of genuine inner well-being and peace is a completely separate state of being that can be witnessed in Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner. The two key characters to the story, Amir and Hassan, share a very unique relationship. They achieve the deepest longing of humanity to achieve happiness through the different choices they make and experiences they have. Hassan proves to be on the proper path to happiness early on with a strong moral conscience in his life, sense of purpose to serve others, and the self-confidence to be independent. On the other hand, Amir struggles to achieve these same qualities as Hassan; to do the right thing, to think of others, and to carry his own weight with confidence.
In The Kite Runner, Amir is the narrator and protagonist of the novel and is a Pashtun and Sunni Muslim. Throughout the course of the novel, Amir changes from envious, unloving, and resentful to a man of consciousness and humility with a desire to do right. He narrates the novel from the viewpoint of an adult reflecting back across his life. The story is fraught with political and emotional turmoil. Although, it is the depiction of characters that has allowed the novel to become so prosperous and the way in which Hosseini portrays the character of Amir.
The book’s opening chapter focuses on Amir's conversation with Rahim and Amir’s "way to be good again” (Hosseini 1). The reason Amir flies all the way to Pakistan leaving behind his wife and life in America is Rahim Khan. Amir desires to make up for what he did to Hassan, so he answers Rahim's quest to “be good again” (Hosseini 1). This meeting allows Rahim to tell Amir what he must do to make up for his past. Rahim tells him he must put his own life in danger to save Hassan’s son, Sohrab. At first, Amir wants to refuse Rahim Khan’s wish, thinking of his life back home. He also thinks about how Hassan’s life may have been different if Hassan had the same opportunities he had. Then he realizes, “ But how can I pack up and go home when my actions may have cost Hassan a chance at those very same things?” (Hosseini 226). Rahim Khan warns Amir that it cannot be anyone else; Amir must make up for his own sins. Although he knows it's dangerous, Amir agrees to get Hassan’s son for Rahim as his dying wish. Amir believes that saving Sohrab is “A way to end the cycle” (Hosseini 227). Amir’s commitment in the face of danger proves his determination to be better and finally atone for his sins. Amir realizes his mistake and knows he can't change what he’d done. Eventually, with Rahim's help, he begins to see saving Sohrab as a “way to be
Amir is, to be put bluntly, a coward. He is led by his unstable emotions towards what he thinks will plug his emotional holes and steps over his friends and family in the process. When he sought after Baba’s invisible love, Amir allowed Hassan to be raped in an alleyway just so that the blue kite, his trophy that would win his father’s heart, could be left untouched. In the end, he felt empty and unfulfilled with the weight of his conscience on his shoulders comparable to Atlas’ burden. Unable to get over his fruitless betrayal, he lashes out and throws pomegranates at Hassan before stuffing money and a watch under his loyal friend’s pathetic excuse for a bed, framing Hassan for theft and directly causing the departure of both servants from his household. Even after moving to America, finding a loving wife, and creating a career for himself in writing, he still feels hollow when thinking of his childhood in Afghanistan. Many years later, he is alerted of Hassan’s death and sets out on a frenzied chase to find his friend’s orphaned son. He feels that he can somehow ease his regrets from all of those years ago if he takes in Hassan’s son, Sohrab. He finds Sohrab as a child sex slave for Assef, who coincidentally was the one to rape Hassan all of those years ago. After nearly dying in his attempt to take back Sohrab, he learns that he can take the damaged child back to the states with him. Sadly, Hassan’s son is so
Khaled Hosseini was born in March 4th, 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan and he is an Afghan-American novelist. He debuted in the year 2003 and released his book called “The Kite Runner”. The book opened to widespread critical acclaim and strong commercial success worldwide. And for this kind of novel he received Alex Award, Boeke Prize, ALA Notable Book and a lot of other prestigious awards. He has then authored several other books in his career. There was no turning back for Khaled Hosseini after his first breakthrough because he yet again produced a masterpiece in 2007 with the book “A Thousand Splendid Suns”. The book has been his most decent and productive authorship for which he received plenty of awards and international popularity in the world. His third and final notable work is «And the Mountains Echoed», which has received generally positive reviews from critics and readers. Khaled Hosseini is regarded as the most important American author of this time. He has been praised for his excellent writing skills in writing novels. He is very good in writing women’s issues and rights in Afghanistan.
Amir, the main character and narrator in the Kite Runner, belongs to a wealthy family in which his father is a powerful businessman. Amir is also a part of the dominant Pashtun ethnic group and Sunni religious group. Amir in the Kite Runner tells the story of his friendship with Hassan. Hassan and his father, Ali, are Amir’s servants. Hassan on the contrary is a low-caste ethnic Hazara and belongs to the minority Shi’it religious faith. This provides many of the Afghan’s who are different such as Sunni’s, who make up 85% of the Muslim faith, to persecute people like Hassan for their religion.
... and his body movement to catch his pain since these details aren’t mentioned. In order to understand Amir’s feelings towards Hassan, we need his thoughts. These details that seem small and unimportant are actually imperative in making the movie coherent.