"The Kite Runer" LRB #3

The Kite Runner

By: Khaled Hosseini

Noted many times in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is the fear Amir has towards others finding about his past. Though Amir had not taken part in Hassan’s vicious rape, he had a hand in it by not trying to intervene; the guilt from this is evident in all of his actions with the minor characters. Hosseini uses each of the minor characters as a tool to draw Amir back to Afghanistan in memory of the awful things done to his friend Hassan.

Amir’s wife Soraya Taheria is just one example of a character that draws Amir to Hassan. Amir, in his adult life, has created a fantastic like for himself: a beautiful wife, his dream job and a new house; however this perfect life is missing one thing, a child. Hosseini uses Soraya’s inability to conceive a child to serve as a sort of punishment for the things of Amir’s past. This allows Amirs mind to race, at one point he says, “And I could almost feel the emptiness of Soraya’s womb, like it was a living breathing thing.” The absence of a child drove Amir to go back when Rahim Khan requested as if he knew “there was a way to be good again.”

Another minor character is Rahim Khan himself. Amir describes him as “…the first grown-up I ever thought of as a friend.” And to Amir he was one of the best friends anyone could ask for. Rahim Khan always kept Amir from danger and it was he who insisted Amir revisit Kabul. Once he does, Amir he sets forth on his journey to fulfill his destiny, which we find out is saving Hassan’s child.

Baba is the main character that drives Amir. Baba is Amir’s father and whom he deceives Hassan for in jealousy. Baba treated both Amir and Hassan the same; however, Amir was very jealous because he felt that Baba favored Hassan. When it came to Amir choosing between his father’s love and his friendship, he chose his father and left Hassan to be vandalized. After Baba’s death Amir begins to think about Hassan and what he did more and more. This drove him back to Afghanistan and helped him to fulfill his destiny.