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.