I believe that sin exists in two forms, theft and weakness. When amir fights assef, he sacrifices his life to save sohrab just as hassan had sacrificed his life for amir. In khaled hosseinis the kite runner, several major themes arise. Later amir would learn that the gunfire symbolized the end. Amir s courage to fight assef, shows that the power assef used to have decades ago has changed and is now in the hands of amir and sohrab. Khaled hosseini, the kite runner the banned books project. Hassan is a hazara which is a group of people descended from the mongoloids. Hassan, we are led to infer, is the kite runner of the books title, and amir tells us the. Why does assef threaten in the kite runner answers.
Both children grow up with a measure of privilege, and both children hurt hassana socially and economically disadvantaged hazarawhen they abuse this privilege. Assef is one of the more horrifying characters in the kite runner. Chapter 5 foreshadows how wicked assef truly is and where. What is the role of assef in the kite runner answers. Amir is from kabul, afghanistan, and is the only child of his rich family. What are 3 important symbols in the fight with assef and. When amir returns to kabul to find sohrab he confronts assef demanding that he release sohrab. Amir s betrayal of hassan, babas betrayal of ali, and assef s betrayal of his people are the most notable. That same night there is the sound of gunfire in the streets.
But amir laughs, because for the first time since that summer of 1975, he feels at peace and healed. From hassans actions, a large contrast in human nature is evident. Assef, being in the dominant position in both hassans rape during the climax of the novel that onsets the flood of other events and sohrabs rape. In the book the kite runner the fight between assef and amir has been coming for many years. Why is it significant that sohrab shoots out assef s eye with his slingshot. He lives in a above middle class house with two slaves, ali, and his son hassan. In the book the kite runner, amir and hassan grow up with each other. Get an answer for in the kite runner, what lessons did amir learn about life and humanity by the end of the book. The main characters in this story that come from a higher socioeconomic level are baba, a lawyer from the pashtun tribe, and his son amir.
The kite runner is a novel written in 2003 by khaled hosseini. He hated hazaras like ali and hassan and like hitlers extermination, believed in killing them all. He taunts both amir and hassan, and ultimately he corners hassan in an alleyway and rapes him. The kite runner, by khaled hosseini, and the film, the authordirector showed a few similarities and differences of the plot of the story.
In one of the more moving passages of the book, baba warmly says to amir, after amir has just graduated from high school, i am moftakhir proud 11. A similarity between these two is that the root of the events in the book film is amir not saving hassan when he was being raped by assef. The kite runner by khaled hosseini menu character list conflict themes khaled hosseini biography chapter 1 and 2 summary and analysis chapter 3 summary and analysis chapter 4 summary and analysis chapter 5 summary and analysis chapter 6 summary and analysis chapter 7 summary and analysis chapter 8 summary and analysis chapter 9 summary. Amir is unable to explain to assef that for the first time since 1975 he feels at peace. Consequently, hassan chooses to suffer the consequences of assef s angerthus losing his innocence. This passage is significant because this is the pivotal point in amir s life. I think the fight and beating that amir took was a cathartic experience for amir. You steal his wifes right to a husband, rob his children of a father. Whats the difference between the kite runner the book and the kite runner the movie. The method in which the two events tie in to the plot are very fitting. Its easy to see just how central unrequited affection becomes in the kite runner. I think this because of changes they had made in the movie version. He was in amir s estimation the best kite runner around.
Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the kite runner and what it means. And when the last kite was cut, all hell broke loose. The kite runners competed amongst themselves to see who could capture the most kites, with the most glory going to the boy who captured the last kite. A summary of chapters 2223 in khaled hosseinis the kite runner. The protagonist, an afghaniamerican named amir, relays the story of his childhood. The kite runner is a very powerful book that deals with many complex political and personal problems. Amirs insomnia and the darkness that permeates this chapter symbolize the state and quality of amirs life. Amir and hassan are frightened, but ali embraces them and says it is just people hunting ducks. Amir, a welltodo pashtun boy, and hassan, a hazara who is the son of ali, amir s fathers servant, spend their days kite fighting in the hitherto peaceful city of kabul. Amirs fight with assef becomes the climax of the novel. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the kite runner, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Whats odd is that amir often identifies himself with assef, or with a talib executioner. The whole book is built on the idea that amir is jealous of hassan and the attention that amir s dad gives to hassan.
The blue kite is an object which is in between hassan and assef in chapter seven, in the same way that in chapter five, amir is in between hassan and assef. The hotel at the foot of margalla hills, islamabad was where amir and sohrab stayed at after running away from peshawar. Assef is a kabul bully who ends up joining the taliban. The big deal kite to run is the tournament runnerup the last kite cut. He tries to make amir and hassans lives miserable as his own childhood creates the monster he is in the future. Amir s affection for baba, which isnt returned, in some ways drives him to betray hassan. The fight begins and as amir remembers, he doesnt think he fought very well. When amir travels back to kabul to rescue sohrab, he is forced to visit his past enemy, assef, who is a member of the taliban.
The kite runner chapters 79 summary and analysis gradesaver. Discuss why amir starts to laugh while getting beaten up. In the end of the book, assef is the man at the stadium in white with. The climax of the novel, in which amir is finally able to atone for his past, occurs in amirs fight against assef. Both assef and amir look at sohrab and notice that he has a slingshot aimed at assef s face. He gives a biography of hitler to amir for a gift, he rapes hassan, and thinks god wanted him to live for a reason. The kite runner by khaled hosseini conflict mysparknotes. Sohrab is able to defeat assef by shooting a brass ball from his slingshot into his eye, drawing a parallel to the brass knuckles assef tried to use to threaten amir and hassan during their childhood. A hazara is an ethnolinguistic group in central afghanistan, northern pakistan and iran, most of whom are shi. Amir happens upon a horrific scene in the alleyway while looking for hassan, who has just run down a kite, the crowning jewel of amir s kite fighting victory. He spouts hatred, instills fear, and carries out his aggression with great joy, yet still stands as a reflection of our.
The central character of the story as well as its narrator, amir has a privileged upbringing. Assef says amir would not be as loyal to him, an ugly pet hazara. In the kite runner, what lessons did amir learn about life. Amir and his dad are members of a major ethnic group in the country, the pashtuns. Assef and his gang demand hassan give him the blue kite he has retrieved for amir. Summary when amir and farid arrive at the big house and compound in wazir. The kite runner relationship and symbolism freebooksummary. The kite runner by khaled hosseini tells the story is about a pashtun boy named amir and his closest friend hassan, who is a hazara. During the fight between assef and amir, amir burst out laughing. What is the significance of amirs lip getting split.
He had carried the guilt of not helping his friend hassan for most of his life. As amir fights assef to save sohrab, he is ultimately fighting the darkest part of himself that betrayed hassan. The kite runner cliffsnotes study guides book summaries. The kite runner is the first novel by afghanamerican author khaled hosseini.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Such openness and warmth is a far cry from the baba of kabul. The kite runner study guide by keritheteacher includes 30 questions covering vocabulary, terms and more. Critical perspectives on khaled hosseinis the kite runner. Amir saving sohrab from suffering as hassan did is seen as him. Hazaras are considered to be the dirt of the society. The beating he takes from assef is a release from so much of that guilt. The kite runner parallel scenes flashcards quizlet. Its tough to understand exactly why amir doesnt help hassan. Took out the part where it amir was laughing while being beat by assef. He had an innate sense of where the kite was going to land, after it had been cut loose from its flyer.
Runner by khaled hosseini describes kite fights between local afghani kids, regardless of their social status. As a child, he rapes hassan, a member of the hazara minority whom he looks down. Someday youll wake up from your little fantasy and learn just how good of a friend he is. The inner turmoil amir wrestles with after betraying hassan drives the entire plot of the kite runner. The brass knuckles return as another image from amirs childhood. Assef s role in the kite runner is the sum of amir s conflicts. Assef agrees to relinquish him if amir can beat him in a fight. It was downright eerie the way he always got to the spot the kite would land before the kite did, as if he had some sort of inner. Flying kites was a way to escape the horrific reality the two boys were living in. Study guide for the kite runner by khaled hosseini summary. These prophetic words are uttered at the beginning of the book by assef, hassans attacker. Assef is a villain and is clearly associated with evil, but one of the functions of his character is to demonstrate the capacity of evil that is within all of us especially amir. He is a violent sociopath who is driven to assert dominance over others in ways that include violating, harming and killing other people.
It narrates the story of amir and his father, baba, in the town of kabul, afghanistan. Rahim khan also shares babas deepest secret with amir. Start studying the kite runner key events and quotes chapters 110. Amir s courage to fight assef, shows that the power assef used to have decades ago has changed and is now in the hands of amir and sohrab sohrab is able to defeat assef by shooting a brass ball from his slingshot into his eye, drawing a parallel to the brass knuckles assef tried to use to threaten amir and hassan during their childhood. The guilt amir has been suffering from his childhood is finally lifted, and his mind is at peace. Assef tells amir how he came to be a member of the taliban. I feel as though the movie does not properly express just how much amir struggles for babas love, and how much of a meaningful character baba is in amir s life. But hassan was by far the greatest kite runner id ever seen. However, the two major differences that affected me the most were how amir s fight with assef and amir taking sohrab back to america. In his devotion to his father, amir sits by the door of babas study for hours.
Amir s fight with assef becomes the climax of the novel. Amir goes to collect sohrab from assef, who is described as tall and blond in the book with apparent german heritage but is entirely different in the story, and fights him for him then escapes, much different than what is told in the movie. Published in 2003 by riverhead books, it tells the story of amir, a young boy from the wazir akbar khan district of kabul, whose closest friend is hassan. Amir amir s relationship with hassan amir in the beginning amir and soraya amir s redemption the rape of hassan by assef was reincarnated in the abuse hassans son received from assef years later. The story begins in afghanistan in the 1960s, and follows amir, a pashtun and a member of the kabul upper class. He is first seen as a young boy around age seven or eight living in kabul, afghanistan with his father, half brother hassan, and ali who is thought to be hassans father. Amir and hassan used to hunt birds with a slingshot as children b. He becomes an official in the taliban and takes hassans son from an orphanage. Luan gaines with inordinate compassion and stunning simplicity, hosseini portrays amirs impossible dilemma. It is his first novel, the second being a thousand splendid suns and his third being and the mountains echoed. Assef told hassan that even amir considered him worthless, but hassan defended. The antagonist of the book, assef is a fundamental muslim who believes that all hazaras should be eradicated from afghanistan. A brief section is a flashforward of amir after the fight, when he is slipping in and.
For amir, it is his betrayal of hassan that stays with him more than anything in his life. As assef straddles amir s chest and is getting ready to beat him again, sohrab says, bas. At one point, he begins laughing and laughing which makes assef angrier and angrier. Assef used to threaten amir and hassan with a slingshot d. People have stolen meaningless things from people, and also have stolen their lives. This struggle is a conflict between the kind of man that amir believes he is, and the kind of man that baba is. Hassan and his father also live with amir s family but are hazaras. He is the reason for hassans rape as well as keeping sohrab. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Hassan wont let the blue kite get torn or damaged by assef in the same way that he wouldnt let assef hurt amir in chapter 5, in my opinion the blue kite is clearly a symbol of hassan. The highlight of the winter is the annual kitefighting tournament, when boys battle kites. Just as assef breaks out his brass knuckles during a confrontation with amir, hassan wields his sling shot to lob a rock at assef s eye. He is a barrier that amir has to conquer in order to feel at peace. A fight ensues between amir and assef, and amir and sohrab manage to escape.
Amir then describes the fight in flashes of swallowing teeth and blood, assef. What is assef in the kite runner famous for answers. By allowing hassans rape, amir fails hassan profoundly and fundamentally. The only thing he feels deprived of is a deep emotional connection with baba, which he blames on himself. This book has changed and challenged many of my views on life. If amir is going to redeem himself, hes got to come face to face with the meanest, darkest part of himself. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of afghanistans monarchy through the soviet military intervention, the exodus of refugees. Consequently, hassan chooses to suffer the consequences of assefs angerthus losing his innocence. In the book, amir begins to laugh during the fight because he couldnt take the pain any longer and stays in the hospital two. It was here that amir had to retrieve sohrab from and fight for the rights to keep him.
For a person who has never been in a fight his entire life, amir takes a severe beating. How is amirs confrontation with assef specifically the fight. The kite runner is about the price of peace, both personal and political, and what we knowingly destroy in our hope of achieving that, be it friends, democracy or ourselves. Quizlet flashcards, activities and games help you improve your grades. Assef s house in wazir akbar khan was the setting for the fight between amir and assef. While two neighborhood boys hold down hassan, a nearlydemonic boy named assef rapes hassan. Since hassan had told amir that he would bring him the kite, he is afraid of losing the kite to assef, because a broken vow would disappoint amir. Its probably no coincidence amir has to confront assef in order to save sohrab. Not only is assef a villain, but he also symbolizes all villainy.
What are 3 important symbols in the fight with assef and amir. Amir taught hassan how to shoot a slingshot when they were children. If i had not read the novel, i would probably have enjoyed the kite runner as a movie, without realizing the depth of the story that is so absent in the film. The entire portion of the film where amir goes to afghanistan is largely different than what is described in the book. Amir takes sohrab to a kite flying tournament, where they win. In this lesson, we will examine the sociopathic bully, assef, who grows up to be a taliban official in khaled hosseinis the kite runner by looking at some quotes from the novel. The kite runner key events and quotes chapters 110. I also found this book very inspiring and i have gained a greater appreciation for the life i have in canada.
Hassan is a better kite runner than amir faster, more athletic, and with better instincts and amir struggles to keep up. Over the years, i had seen a lot of guys run kites. Hassan was good with a sling shot and used it to defend amir threatening to make one eyed assef if he assef didnt back off p. Mar 21, 2012 rape is a prevalent theme in the kite runner. Differences between the kite runner book vs movie page 4.
Baba seems to have invited the world to amir s thirteenth birthday party, and assef is one of the guests. One of the most dominant themes is the idea of redemption for past wrongdoings. His father, baba, is rich by afghan standards, and as a result, amir grows up accustomed to having what he wants. Amir is the main character in the novelthe kite runner, and is the narrarator throughout the book. Assef becomes a member of the taliban who idolizes adolf hitler and abuses his position of power in order to demonstrate the political muscle of the men in charge. The brass knuckles return as another image from amir s childhood.
Hassan once saved amir from assef with a slingshot c. Assef emphasizes that wali and kamal are also present. Assef has been molesting sohrab, and amir attempts to convince assef. Khaled hosseini by joy zaia the taliban went out of sight pg. Important quotes from the kite runner with analysis. This beating should have happened in amir s childhood. Threatens to use his brass knuckles in order to fight amir, because he is annoyed that amir has a. Years before assef had raped hassan, amirs friend and unbeknownst to him at the time, halfbrother. In the book the kite runner, what are some quotes with. Years before assef had raped hassan, amir s friend and unbeknownst to him at the time, halfbrother. Kite runner khaled hosseini author on his new book duration. Amir amirs relationship with hassan amir in the beginning amir and soraya amirs redemption the rape of hassan by assef was reincarnated in the abuse hassans son received from assef years later. This song relates to the whole book really because amir is only concerned about himself and how things that happen will effect and impact his life. As when he says hassan being raped, amir s memory starts to jump around and the narrative breaks up, emphasizing the trauma of the event.