Khaled Hussein's the Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini was born on March 4, 1965. He is the oldest of five children. His father worked for the Afghan Foreign Consul and his mother taught Farsi and history at a girls' high school in Kabul. Kabul, Afghanistan is the boyhood home of Khaled Hosseini, as it is for his protagonist, Amir. He also incorporates in his story the same time period in which he, the author, grew up - the 1960s through the present day. The narrator begins the story by proclaiming, "I became what I am today at the age of twelve." (Hosseini, 33) He describes a mysterious crumbling mud wall and an alley beside a frozen creek in the year 1975. He affirms that he has been "peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years." The narrator then tells us that he had received a telephone call from his friend, Rahim Khan, in Pakistan. (Hosseini, 55) To him, it isn't just Rahim Khan on the line; it is his past which is filled with sins for which he never atoned. After he hangs up on the call, he goes for a walk along Spreckels Lake on the northern edge of Golden Gate Park where he sees a pair of kites soaring in the sky. They remind him of Hassan, the harelipped (cleft palate, a congenital abnormality) kite runner who had once told the narrator, "For you a thousand times over." (Hosseini, 12) He replays the last words of the telephone conversation from Rahim Khan, "There is a way to be good again." (Hosseini, 45) All the names of that time in 1975 flood back into his mind, the time when everything changed and he became who he is today.

Assef, a notoriously mean and violent older boy with sadistic tendencies, blames Amir for socializing with a Hazara, according to Assef an inferior race that should only live in Hazarajat. He prepares to attack Amir with his steel knuckles, but Hassan bravely stands up to him, threatening to shoot Assef in the eye with his slingshot. Assef and his henchmen back off, but Assef says he will take revenge.

Hassan is a successful "kite runner" for Amir, knowing where the kite will land without even watching it. One triumphant day, Amir wins the local tournament, and finally Baba's praise. Hassan goes to run the last cut kite, a great trophy, for Amir saying "For you, a thousand times over." Unfortunately, Hassan runs into Assef and his two henchmen. Hassan refuses to give up Amir's kite, so Assef exacts his revenge, assaulting and raping him. Wondering why Hassan is taking so long, Amir searches for Hassan and hides when he hears Assef's voice. He witnesses the rape but is too scared to help him. Afterwards, for some time Hassan and Amir keep a distance from each other. Amir reacts indifferently because he feels ashamed, and is frustrated by Hassan's saint-like behavior. Already jealous of Baba's love for Hassan, he worries if Baba knew how bravely ...