Conflicts/Problems

There are several different conflicts in The Kite Runner. One of them involves Amir and Hassan, both are victims and the protagonists. The evil antagonist here is a man named Assef, who knew the boys for a ong time. Throughout the years, Assef has been tormenting Amir and Hassan without any punishment. But one day, He crossed the line. Amir was too busy winning a kite flying tournament to witness Hassan being attacked and raped by Assef, and once again hasn't been punished for it. There is really no resolution, the hole just gets deeper. Assef now joined the Taliban. This is a whole other conflict itself because he has begun tormenting others who are inferior to him.
Another major conflict in The Kite Runner involves one of Amir's friend named Sohrab, who happens to be Hassan's orphaned son. And once again Assef as the antagonist, and Amir is the protagonist. In the end, you can say that Sohrab is like a "hero." This conflict is a continuation of the first one, which happens years later when Amir returns to Afghanistan from the United States. with Assef now a part of the Taliban, he decides to take Sohrab away. And to use him as a sexual plaything, this is the part when someone needs to come in and bring Sohrab home to the family he truly deserves. Amir soon realizes that the only way to free his dear friend from his misery is to, physically fight Assef. This doesn't go well for Amir, he suffers a brutal beating and is left hopeless. But there is a resolution, Sohrab is the one to defend and save Amir from Assef with just his slingshot.
With Amir back in the United States, he is trying to find a way to bring Sohrab along. But there were so many bureaucratic problems and obstacles that made it so difficult to do so. Amir is told that the only way that Sohrab can come is if he is placed into an orphanage temporarily, Sohrab doesn't enjoy the news and attempts to committ suicide. This is another conflict. Sohrab is saved, but loses all trust in Amir. It is only until participating in a kite flying tournament when sohrab comes out and begins his process of healing. And Amir takes his final stab at repaying the sin he committed to Hassan, Sohrab's father.

Dear Friend.....

It's me. I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your dedication towards your past in The Kite Runner. I know you have made some decisions that weren't so great, but it was truly loyal of you to return to your hometown of Kabul to see the aftermath.
Amir, I could somewhat understand how it's like to live with a friend who was different than you are, but you guys were generally alike. You are a Sunni Muslim, and your friend Hassan was a Shi'ah Muslim. Differences, yes. But both are still of Islamic religion.
I feel sad for you Amir because of your relationship with your father Baba. You and I both know that it could definitely be better. If I were to help, I would have you and Baba to talk more, because I know that that doesn't happen as often as it should. Or you could of also been more helpful to your father Baba during the times of his projects. If i lived in Afghanistan, I would be there as well to lend a supporting hand.
Throughout The Kite Runner, you had some trouble discovering who you exactly are. A lot of young people could relate to that. When witnessing all that was going on in Kabul, it's hard to determine whether your belief system is what it's meant to be. All I can tell you Amir is that if you went back in time to the point when you were a young adult, you should of lived depending on what you told you. Hassan's family was more of a family than Baba was, but they still didn't know you as much as you do.
When reading the story, I liked your attitude in general. I know you cared about your friend Hassan, but you should of opened your mouth sooner. You know what I am talking about, how Hassan was raped, and you were at the kite flying tournament, and was also there to witness it. Just running away and pretending like nothing happened seemed a very cowardice of you. You did tell someone, but I don't think that confessing it out loud when everyone else was asleep was really an effective act. Oh Amir, I know you are a good friend, but when times like these come around, the best thing to do is act quickly, and then not lie about Hassan being a thief. This already past, but if you had another chance to relive it, next time you should put yourself in Hassan's shoes. He was so traumatized, he couldn't really show it. So he acted like nothing happened. But unfortuneltely, you will never get the chance to repay him because of his murder.

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this, or had some sort of interest. You were a great person Amir.

Sincerely,

Elsie Edmond

Setting

The general setting of the Kite Runner takes place in two major countries, Afghanistan and the United States. The beginning takes place at the Golden Gate Park in the city of San Francisco, California. Amir who is an adult at this time starts to flashback to his childhood times. Which in in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is a third world country with many dirt roads and not so fancy housing. Amir specifically lives in the Wazir Akbar Khan District with his father, Baba. Baba is actually the owner of this huge, marvelous home that stands out above the rest. Throughout the story, Amir has a few encounters with his father, mainly in his office.
Some of the story is also set at Amir's school. the place where he enjoys playing fun games of poetry. But there is a time in the Kite Runner when Baba and Amir move from the Afghanistan to the United States. So the story is set along the way including places such as the country of Pakistan.

Khaled Hosseini

Khaled Hosseni was born on March 4, 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Growing up, Hosseini was the oldest of five children and lived in the Wazir Akbar Khan district. His father was a diplomat for the Afghan Foreign Ministry, while his mother was a high school teacher who taught Persian literature.
Hosseini and his family were actually living in Paris, France during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan during 1980. Instead of returning to their hometown of Kabul, the family was granted political asylum and moved to San Jose, California. The Kite Runner was an autobiographical experience of Khaled Hosseini's as an immigrant living in California.
In 1984, Khaled Hosseini graduated from high school, and was also now fluent in English. Before writing novels, he studied medicine. Khaled Hosseini soon graduated from Santa Clara University with a bachelor degree in biology in 1989. And in 1993, he graduated from UC San Diego School of Medicine.
After expanding his short story, Hosseini returned to Kabul, Afghanistan before the official publication of his novel "The Kite Runner" in 2003. The Kite Runner received many outstanding award, including the Original Voice award and the San Francisco Chronicle "Best Book of the Year" award.
Khaled Hosseini's novel was made into a film in the year of 2007. The same year he then published his second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner is mainly about the growing up of a boy named Amir. But also facing obstacles in life, and it is a story between the moving between two completely different countries. The story begins with Amir recalling a childhood event that occurred twenty-six years ago, and when he was a boy living in the country of Afghanistan. Amir lived with his father Baba in the Wazir Akbar Khan District, along with their two servants, Ali and his son Hassan. Everything seems to be going fine until the king of Afghanistan is overthrown. Amir and Hassan one day have an encounter with three boys, Assef,Wali,and Kamal. Amir is threatened because of hanging around Hassan, who happens to be a Hazara, which is an ethnic minority. Hassan uses his slingshot to fight off Assef from hurting Amir.

It is now winter in The Kite Runner, and Amir and Hassan are at a kite flying tournament. These kite flying tournaments consist of boys covering their kite string with glass, and seeing who can cut the string of the opposing kite. When a kite loses, you retrieve, this is called kite running. Amir wins, and Hassan is running to retrieve the other kite. Amir runs after him only to find Wali and Kamal holding Hassan, with his pants down with Assef raping him. Amir runs away, and when Hassan appears with the kite, he pretends like nothing happened.
Amir gets the idea in his head of either him or Hassan leaving. So he sneaks money and a watch under Hassan's pillow and tells Baba that he stole it. When Baba confronts him, Hassan confesses to the crime. Even though he didn't rally do anything. Ali and Hassan move away shortly after that.
The Kite Runner skips all the way to March of the year 1981. The city of Kabul, Afghanistan has been taken over by the Soviets and has also become a war zone. Baba and Amir are at the back of a truck as they are fleeing the city, and after a long journey, they have made it to the country of Pakistan. Continuing on, they find themselves in Fremont, California two years later. Baba earns a job at a gas station while Amir finishes high school and goes off to college. But they both spend their Sundays selling things at a flea market, and Baba sees his friend General Taheri. Amir notices his daughter, her name is Soraya.
Things start going bad when Baba is now diagnosed with lung cancer, and Amir asks his father for General Taheri's permission to marry Soraya. The wedding happens as soon as possible because of Baba's poor health, and he unfortunately dies a month later. While a now married man, Amir starts to work on his writing career.
One day, Amir gets a phone call from Baba's close friend Rahim Khan. He is sick and wants to see Amir in Pakistan. They meet a week later, and Rahim Khan explains to Amir how things just got worse after the Soviets were forced out. There is a new violent ruler, known as the Taliban. Rahim Khan wants a favor from Amir, but first tells him about Hassan. When Amir and his father left, Rahim watched the house. Because of loneliness and of getting older, he decides to convince Hassan and his wife Farzana to come back to Kabul with him. Hassan and Farzana eventually had a little boy, his name was Sohrab. Rahim Khan leaves a few years late to receive medical treatment in Pakistan, but then receives a phone call from Kabul. It was bad news, the Taliban invaded Baba's house and shot Hassan and Farzana. Leaving Sohrab to be sent to an orphanage.
Rahim wants Amir to bring Sohrab to Pakistan because he found people who are willing to take care of him, and he also tells Amir that Baba was Hassan's father. So they are half-brothers. At the orphangage, Amir finds out that a Taliban official took Sohrab away about a month earlier, but could be found at the soccer stadium the next day. The Taliban official is found stoning a man and woman to death while in holes, Amir then meets with him. Amir explains to the official that he is looking for a little boy by the name of Sohrab, the official then tells the guards to let Sohrab in. Sohrab is wearing a blue silk outfit and has mascara on, looking more feminine and giving away that the men sexually abuse him. Amir recognizes something that the official says, and now knows that the official is actually Assef. Assef wanted to settle some unfinished business. So he beats Amir with brass knuckles, breaking his ribs and busting his lip. Sohrab pulls out his slingshot and shoots Assef in his eye, giving Amir and him a chance to escape. while recovering in the hospital, Amir realizes that there was never a couple that could take care of Sohrab. Sohrab accepts Amir's offer to live with him in the United States.
Since there is no proving that Sohrab's parents are dead, adoption officials say that there is no way to adopt him, and he will have to go back to an orphanage. Amir and Soraya soon find a way to bring Sohrab to the U.S, but he tries to commit suicide before they could tell him the good news. Sohrab survives, but refuses to speak completely, even after being brought to California. The new "family" go to the park one day with some other Afghans, and there are people flying kites. Amir buys and convinces Sohrab to fly it with him. Another kite is spotted, so they start battling it. Amir and Sohrab win the kite battle, using one of Hassan's favorite tricks. Amir begins to run off, to run the kite for Sohrab. This was the time when he could finally repay Hassan to what he done to him.