The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Khaled Hosseini recaptures the beauty of Afghanistan, and in particular the city of Kabul, in his novel The Kite Runner. He narrates the troubled journey of a man named Amir, who is haunted by his past and the ghosts of his sins. The novel takes place as a flashback, with Amir remembering his childhood best friend Hassan, and the terrible thing that broke them apart. The novel is not only a history of Afghanistan before the Taliban took over, but it is also a story of redemption. Throughout the novel, Hosseini explores important themes and ideas, including the complications of friendship, the dangers of prejudice and discrimination, the search for redemption, and betrayal.

Plot Diagram

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Characters

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Literary Conflict

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Themes, Symbols, and Motifs

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Create Your Own Kite

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Vocabulary

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Essential Questions for The Kite Runner

1. What is redemption? What does redemption offer people?
2. Is redemption possible? What kinds of redemption do we see in society today?
3. What impact do war and violence have on the people who live through it?
4. What kinds of decisions can lead to guilt?
5. What is betrayal? How can a person betray a friend?
6. What kinds of characteristics define a good friend? A bad friend?
7. Why is it important to stand up against discrimination and prejudice?



Ethnic Groups of Afghanistan

The Kite Runner focuses heavily on the disparities between ethnic groups in Afghanistan, especially between the Pastuns and Hazaras. It is the prejudice against Hazaras that leads to much of the ridicule and abuse that Hassan suffers throughout the novel, and creates an inner conflict for Amir that wracks him with guilt and a crisis of conscience.

A great resource that can be utilized for teaching this novel is distributed by Amnesty International.

In Appendix 1 of the above guide, the ethnic groups and their percentages in Afghanistan are broken down for students to get a better sense of the demographics of the country, especially in regards to Amir and Hassan who are Pashtun and Hazara, respectively:

• Pashtuns are the majority in Afghanistan, making up about 42% of the population. They also hold most of the seats, and therefore power, in the government. They are made up of Sunni Muslims.


• Hazaras comprise about 9% of Afghanistan’s population, and are thought to be descended from the Mongol region, and in particular are believed to be descendants of Genghis Khan’s army. The Hazaras are most frequently targeted and discriminated against, especially because they are mostly Shi’ite Muslims. There was an Hazara uprising in 1893 which Amir reads about in one of his mother’s books, but they were defeated and suppressed.


• The Tajiks make up around 27% of the population, and while they are also often low income, they are not discriminated against like the Hazaras. Many Tajiks hold important roles in the government.


• The remainders of the population are Uzbeks and Turkmen (12%) and Nuristanis, Amaqs, and Baluchis (10%).





A note about Sunnis vs. Shi’ites: The Sunnis and Shi’te split came soon after the prophet Muhammed’s death, when there was dispute over who should be his successor. The Sunni faction felt it should be someone in Muhammed’s direct bloodline, and in particular his father-in-law Abu Bakr; the Shi’ites believed that Muhammed appointed his cousin Ali, who was married to his daughter, before his death. Because of the split between these two groups, many of their beliefs and interpretations of the Koran differ even today, although they both agree on the core tenets of Islam. The majority of the world’s Muslim population are Sunnis.




Kite Flying and Kite Running in Kabul

Kite flying and running in Afghanistan was an important tradition to the people until it was banned by the Taliban in 1996. It was not only a competition, but a matter of honor and distinction for the competitors, and their runners. Young boys from all over Afghanistan, and particularly in Kabul, would spend care and time designing their kites and embedding glass into the tar wire, to cut their competitors’ kites down out of the sky. When the kite falls, runners set out after the kite. The person to find and retrieve the kite gets to keep it, so the running becomes a competition as well. Typically the last kite to fall is the top prize for the runners. The tradition has made a comeback after the fall of the Taliban, with thousands of kites flying in competitions over cities in Afghanistan each year.

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Editor's Note: In 2021, the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan after twenty years and ousted the U.S. backed government. In the time since, the country has fallen into a desperate human rights and humanitarian crisis with women again being prohibited from basic rights and subject to brutality. Journalists, members of the former government and anyone who opposes the Taliban are also at risk of imprisonment or death.





More Activity Ideas for The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

1. The Kite Runner is a classic example of a Bildungsroman novel. Have students keep track of the different elements of Bildungsroman literature through storyboarding! Students can create a storyboard chart with illustrations and descriptions of each Bildungsroman stage.


2. Create a storyboard to depict one chapter or section at a time.


3. Create a storyboard that shows precise causes and effects of events.


4. Add a presentation to any storyboard project.





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