Ellie Langton

The Kite Runner- Prompt/discussion Questions

First impressions: the title the kite runner gave me the first impression that the novel would
include a kite flying competition, however now after reading more chapters of the book I have
began to realise that there is probably more to the narrative. Personally I think there is more than
meets the eye in Baba, Amir, Hassan and Alis relationship.
Chapter 1
1) The past is very important to the narrator and the rest of the novel as this novel needs to
refer back in time in order to give context and understanding to the horrific events that
occur through Amir and Hassans life, and helps with the solving of why Amir and Hassan are
so scared by the events.
2) The physical feature which marks out Hassan is his harelip
3) Yes, it is significant that Rahim Khan is mentioned more than Baba, because it portrays how
distant Baba and Amir are as father and son and how much more comfortable Amir feels
talking to Rahim Khan.
4) I became what I am today at the age of 12, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975,
I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything.
And made me what I am today. Due to the near enough same sentence being used both at
the beginning and end of chapter 1 portrays how scarred Amir must be in relation to what
has happened to him, the repetition suggests how much it repeats in his mind.
Chapter 2
1) The narrator introduces Hassan as Hassan the harelipped child. This portrays how
judgemental society is in this day and age and even years ago. But it also makes you
question that if Amir is so rich how his best friend Hassan hasnt been able to afford such an
easy and cheap surgery to correct his deformity; this suggests a look into what Hassans life is
really like.
2) These 2 paragraphs highlight 2 very different men and cast them both as worlds apart, the
2
nd
paragraph on page 5 depicts Baba as a very powerful man who came from a very
powerful family, and that he was a man to look up to, and Amir did all his life, but also
resented him for it. Amir also in this paragraph portrayed himself as an outcast from his
family and suggested thats exactly how he felt. However Ali was shown as a weak man, with
a weak family background, who wasnt powerful and had no authority, but yet still showed
how Amir admired him for his persistence in life. These two paragraphs make it evident that
you can have all the wealth and power in the world yet some things you just cant but i.e. a
true father and son relationship.
3) The boys lives are very different, yet very similar, it is evident from the beginning that Amir
is the rich out of the two and for this reason he lives the life of luxury, unlike Hassan who is
basically Amirs servant day in day out. However this professional relationship does not deter
them from them being best of friends. Even though Hassan isnt educated and Amir is, it is
very obvious that Amir only really likes being friends with him because Hassan makes him
Ellie Langton
look more smart, however this is Amirs insecurities about his own father kicking in as all
Amir wants id appreciation from his father.
4) Another theme which I think is present within chapter 2 is >insecurity
5) Because you only find out the name of the narrator at the end of chapter 2 it gives you an
idea that they are hesitant to reveal who they really are, is it because they are ashamed?
Embarrassed? Of something, It makes the reader ask questions.

Chapter 3
1) Baba saw the world in black and white, and he got to decide what was black and what was
white
2) In my opinion I think that in Babas mind he is thinks he is a moral man, he thinks his actions
and words are always right, and did find it hard to believe that such a strong, stubborn
powerful man would have a religion because it is very apparent that he has his own mind.
Quotations from interenet:
Morality and religion is the relationship between religious views and morals. Many religions have
value frameworks regarding personal behavior meant to guide adherents in determining between
right and wrong. These include the Triple Jems of Jainism, Judaism's Halacha, Islam's Sharia,
Catholicism's Canon Law, Buddhism's Eightfold Path, and Zoroastrianism's "good thoughts, good
words, and good deeds" concept, among others. These frameworks are outlined and interpreted by
various sources such as holy books, oral and written traditions, and religious leaders. Many of these
share tenets with secular value frameworks such as consequentialism, freethought, and
utilitarianism.
http://www.islamicity.com/articles/Articles.asp?ref=IC0611-3169#sthash.NL4TtnSv.dpbs
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_difference_between_religion_and_moral_belief_system
3) Hosseini encourages the reader to be critical of Baba in this chapter by using Amirs voice to
explain what Baba is like, this causes the audience to believe that this is the truth because
Amir is a member of his family (his son), in this chapter Amir describes his father as
someone who rejects his own flesh and blood and a man who is intolerant of other peoples
beliefs.
4) Rahim has very positive views on Amir in the sense that , Rahim understands Amir and his
life, they have similar opinions on life and Amirs father, it would be right to say that Amir
would more than likely prefer to refer to Rahim as his father because they have common
interests and knowledge. Although Amir looks up to his father Baba, he also looks up to
Rahim khan as a more positive role model. Whereas Babas view on Amir is that he is quite a
good kid, but he has never connected with him as a son, and it is later revealed in the novel
that Baba is so disconnected from Amir that he even questions whether Amirs actually his
son.


Ellie Langton
Chapter 4
1) The death of Alis parents shows us that although the feud in Afghanistan has been going on
for years, and they live totally different to us, theyre still are some resemblances for
example, Alis parents were killed in a road accident due to drink and drug driving, which
would still happen in this country and probably does at least once a day.
2) Because Amir feels so rejected and distanced from his father his only way to off load this is
by doing exactly the same to Hassan in order to make him feel just like himself. Amir doesnt
like the idea of other people being happy when hes not and he will do everything in his
power to prevent this, for example he puts Hassan down just like his own father does to him,
because he doesnt know any better.
3) When Amir says I never thought of me and Hassan as friends it could be taken in two
completely different ways. Myself personally at this stage of the book when reading this
quote I assumed Amir meant he didnt see him Hassan as a friends because he sees himself
as too good for him e.g too intellectual, too handsome. Plus after all Hassan is more or less
Amirs servant so why would he want to associate himself with him? However if you read
more into this quote it could be taken in a way in which Amir could be referring to himself
not seeing Hassan as a friend because he seems him as a brother or someone from his family,
which could also be accurate because Amir and Hassan have spent every day together since
they were born.
4) No Amir and Hassan are both from different denominations of Islam. Amir is Sunni (represent
the largest denomination of Islam) and Hassan belongs to the Shia community (the second
largest denomination of Islam). Amir is Pashtun and Hassan is Hazzarah. This also gives Amir
another reason to treat Hassan differently.
5) As the novel proceeds it is becoming more and more obvious how different the boys actually
are in every single way. At this point of the novel, it is apparent that Hassan is the most
vulnerable out of the two and Amir is the strongest out of the two.
6) The adjective best is a superlative and is also a hyperbole and an accurate phrase because in
general Hassan is over exaggerating, however it could be accurate when talking specifically to
him because he could feel it was the best story hes ever read to him.
7) Hosseni has a constant theme and motif running throughout these chapters that Amir will
always struggle to have a relationship or friendship with his father because it is repeated so
vigorously, and everything happening revolves around how Amir is feeling about his father,
i.e. jealous of Baba and Hassan.

Chapter 5
1) Afghanistan has changed forever because the reigning king of 40 years is no longer and
there is now a presidency instead.
2) When Baba bursts through the doors of the house he shouted out Amirs name first, this was
a breakthrough for Amir because for so long all he wanted was for his father to show he
cared, and by this small gesture it was what Amir needed, and at the end of the day Baba is
still his father, ofcourse he cares about him. I think this is very significant to Babas character
as well because baba is finally shown to have emotions. This could change our opinion of
him.
Ellie Langton
3) Amir is glad about the coup because he sees his own country suffering and thinks if there is
as a stop put to it his life may remain the same, however you could also read it from a point
of view that Amir is glad about the coup as he sees it an ending to his own internal suffering
and hopes it can change his life, for the better or worse?.
4) Hassans persistent questions towards Amir portray how much Hassan looks up to Amir and
desperately wants his approval just like Amir wants his fathers. Hassan admires Amir and
just wants that feeling to be reflected back but Amirs stubbornness and ignorance causes
Hassan to ask so many questions because Hassan I think always feels he is in constant
scrutiny.
5) Of all the neighborhood boys who tortured Ali, Assef was the most relentless
Not for the first time it occurred to me that Assef might not be entirely sane
Youre part of the problem Amir, if idiots like you and your father didnt take these people
in, wed be rid of them by now
6) The irony of Assefs remark is that he isnt a true afghan himself because his mother is
German, which gives him his blonde hair and blue eyes; therefore he is probably less of one
than both Amir and Hassan. It is also ironic that he refers to himself as a true afghan yet
refers to Hitler more than his own countries leaders,
7) When Amir has this thought it proves the audiences thoughts of that Amir was ashamed to
be friends with Hassan all along just like his father and Ali. Because he refers to Hassan as his
servant it shows the true hierarchy of Amir and Hassan and what is always in the back of
Amirs mind.
8) I think when Baba revealed that his present for Hassan was to get his harelip fixed, Ali felt
inferior to Baba, and because Baba had given his son something Ali had always wanted to
give him yet couldnt because of his money troubles. Also because Ali is also hare lipped this
was a trait which they both shared and probably bonded over, yet Baba unintentionally had
taken that away from him.
9) We are left with a sense of forboding at the end of chapter 5 due to Amirs last sentence.
Which was ironic, because that was the winter Hassan stopped smiling this without giving
the plot away shows that there is a deeper meaning to this story and it foreshadows events
to come.
Chapter 6
1) The sentence at the beginning of chapter 6 is only a one word sentence, because thats all
that needed saying, this is what the narrative had been building up to, the awaited moment
the book had revolved around. Winter is a constant motif repeated throughout the novel.
2) Yes Amir enjoys winter because he loves the cold weather and he also doesnt have to go to
school because the icy winters are too dangerous. He also loves winter because its the time
for kite flying competitions.
3) Kite flying is so important to Amir because it is the only thing which remotely brings him and
his father abit closer, e.g Baba and I lived in the same house, but in different spheres of
existence. Kites were the one paper-thin slice of intersection between both spheres
4) Hassan is very good kite flyer which no one new, this builds anticipation as this was Amirs
one and only thing he had with his dad and now its been taken from him by the one person
in the world he didnt want it to, the one person he feels insecure about.
Ellie Langton
5) The kite runner it Is now apparent that Hassan is a very good , athletic runner yet another
talent of which Amir is jealous of.
6) In my opinion I think Hassan starts to click on to the fact that Amir is very jealous and
insecure about him, Hassan I think starts to play on this and more and more starts to show
Amir up with intention, as he has had years of living in Amirs shadow.

Chapter 7
1) The quote blameless blue is used to describe the sky, yet it could also be used to describe
Amirs feelings towards what he witnessed, because he and Hassan are both blameless they
didnt see such a catastrophic event occurring, yet blameless could be dramatic irony
towards Amir as he didnt do anything to stop it either which could mean he actually is t
blame.
2) When Hassan shouted to Amir you won, Amirs reply was so unexpected because of how
mean he had been to him previous chapters, however I think it is present how close they are
both getting, and Amir is starting to think of them as brothers or family. It was also
unexpected because of how insecure Amir is about Hassan but it seems like he has got over
that resentment when his reply back is we won.
3) Hosseini uses a description of a memory and dream in between the chapter in order to
break up the narrative abit and to also reflect back on whats gone on so far in the novel, so
the reader can gather theyre thoughts.
4) It is called juxtaposition when there are two complete opposite contributing factors, the
juxtaposition in this chapter is that something so wonderful happens just before something
so tragic happens, this is present in this chapter by Amir winning the kite flying competition
and Hassan getting raped.
5) When Wali and Kamal realise what Assef is about to do neither of them support the idea and
are very hesitant, but not because they think its wrong but because hes a Hazzarah, this
shows that they have no concept of reality or life. Just before Assef rapes Hassan Wali seems
to stand up for himself, but then backs down because hes scared of Assef. Maybe if he had
of said something, this terrible act would not have happened.
6) I think in this situation Amir could have stopped what was going on, after all he was probably
the reason Hassan was in this predicament because of him. By just showing his face he was
able to stop it, however maybe being in that situation is a very hard decsion to make
because you obviously wouldnt want it to happen to you. But given how close they were,
Amir should have known that the right thing to do was to stop everything. He should of
stuck up for Hassan just like Hassan had done for him time after time.







Ellie Langton