Women: They are seen as more of a possession to show off than a human being who can make decisions and act for themselves. In Afghanistan, they are not seen as equals to men, who are allowed much more room to make mistakes and live wild lives.
Betrayal: The whole story is centered around Amir betraying his closest friend and trying to redeem himself. All of his life, he has to live with the decision he made to walk away that day in the alley. Baba also betrayed his closest friend, Ali.
Brothers: Although Amir finds out once he has grown up, and Hassan never knows, we find out that Baba is the father of both of the boys. Growing up, they have no clue, but Amir and Hassan have a relationship that is very brother-like.
Guilt: As we see in Amir's situation, hidden guilt eats away at you as long as you keep it bottled up inside and no one else knows. Amir has to live with the choices he made as a boy throughout his whole life. But once it is out in the open, it is easier to deal with.
Redemption: All through his life, Amir trys to come to amends with himself, and when Rahim Khan calls from Pakistan, Amir trys to redeem himself by going back to deal with his past. Once he arrives there and finds out that Hassan has a son, he makes every effort to find him so that he can be taken back to live in America. Amir feels that this is the only way to make up for his past mistakes.
Exodus: The exodus that is central to this story is Amir and Baba's fleeing from Afghanistan. They leave everything behind in Kabul and set out to start a new life in America.
Fathers and Sons: The importance of father-son relationships is evident in this story. All his life Amir strives to obtain his father's affection, but always seems to fall short. This is why winning the kite tournament became such an obsession. He believed that winning would bring him all of his father's affection. In the past he has become envious of his father's affection for Hassan, partly because he is never what Baba wants him to be, a carbon copy of himself.
Class Distinction: Class distinctions are the root of many problems in this novel. Because Amir, a Pashtun, and Hassan, a Hazara, are not of the same class, outside of their home, their relationship is that of a master and a slave. Many other people look down on the close relationship that Baba and Amir have with Ali and Hassan. This hatred between classes causes many problems, ranging from small personal problem, such as Hassan and Assef, to all out wars between peoples.
Parallelism: Hosseini uses parallelism throughout the book to show the similarities between Baba's relationship with Ali and Amir's relationship with Hassan. Both relationships blossomed from childhood, but later in life Amir and Baba betrayed the people closest to them.
Character Foils: Amir and Hassan are the most obvoius character foils. They have such polar differences in every aspect of their lives. Rahim Khan and Baba are also characters who when set beside one another have many differences in the lifestyles they lived and they way they handled things. Hassan and his son, Sohrab, could also be character foils because of their similarities. Baba and Amir can also be used because they betray the closest thing they have to a brother, and in their later actions, attempt to make up for their mistakes.
Foreshadowing: Before the kite tournament, Hassan has a dream about a monster in a lake. Everyone believes there is a monster waiting at the bottom of the lake, but Amir and Hassan swim out and prove that there is nothing to be afraid of. This is a great contrast to the reality of the day, when Hassan runs off to find the last kite that is cut. As he is running off, he turns and yells to Amir, "For you a thousand times over!" The extreme joy from the days events are reaching a peak, and one wonders what bad things are coming in the near future.
Flashback: Throughout Amir's life, he thinks back and dreams of the day he and Hassan won the tournament and brought home the last kite. He also remembers back to the day that Ali and Hassan left his and Baba's house. This shows the guilt he feels for the decision he made to act as if he had seen nothing that day in the alley.
Positive and negative aspects of teh writing: I thought this was a great representation of the way that guilt travels with you throughout your whole life. Overall, I absolutely love the story. It is a very graphic telling of some disturbing events, and I have never cried so much while reading one book. For me especially, the alley scene was very unnerving. Hosseini also pays much attention to detail in the little things as well as the larger ones. I think he gives a good representation of the way the culture was changing throughout that time period.
Setting:
1963-1981: Amir's birth to Baba and Amir's escape from Afghanistan: Kabul, Afghanistan
March 1981: begin escape: Kabul to Jalalabad, Jalalabad to Pakistan
Later in 1981-2001: begin new life: California, USA
June/July 2001: visiting Rahim Khan and finding Sohrab: Pakistan/Afghanistan
August 2001-March 2002: back home with Sohrab: California, USA
Hazara vs. Pashtun; Women in Afghanistan vs. Women in America; Shi'a vs. Sunni; Afghanistan vs. Pakistan; Taliban vs. Russians
Minor Characters:
Farid: He is Amir's driver once he returns to find Sohrab. He then becomes much more as he helps Amir achieve the purpose for which he returned.
Rahim Khan: As he his growing up, Amir looks more to Rahim Khan for "fatherly" support. He is more accepting of the lifestyle that Amir leads as he is growing up while Baba wishes he were more of like himself. Later in the book, he is the one who reveals to Amir that Hassan is his half brother.
Ali: He is Baba's servant, who also grew up as an adopted orphan in his house. As Hassan's acting father, he loves him as his own flesh and blood, eventhough he knows that Baba is his real father. He never once makes it known that Baba betrayed him and had a child with his wife, Sanaubar.
General Taheri: Sorya's father who allows Amir to marry his daughter who had run off with a man at a very young age. He is used to show the stereotype of the honorable, upstanding, Afghan man.
Sorya: Amir's wife whom he meets at the flea market. They forego part of a traditional Afghan wedding in order for Baba to be present at their wedding. She is unable to have children of her own and decides against adopting. She supports Amir throughout their marriage and willingly accetps Sohrab into their family.
Symbols:
Pomegranate tree: It symbolizes Amir and Hassan's friendshipas they carve their names into it and sit under it to read. Amir throws them at Hassan, and when he tells Hassan to fight back, Hassan instead smashes one on his head, making yet another sacrifice for Amir.
Slingshot: Both Hassan and Sohrab use it to defend themselves and Amir against Assef. This was a way that Hassan lived on through his son.
Kite Flying: The pain of the string was worth it once you had cut the other kites. This symbolized the actions Amir took to rid himself of his guilt. They were painful, but in the end rescuing Hassan's son was a way to make up for his past actions. This left him more satisfied with himself.
Amir's scar: He spends much of his life trying to forget the choice he made that day in the alley, but when he receives a scar on his lip, the physical reminder of his half brother and childhood friend puts him at peace.
The Rostam and Sohrab story: The character of Rostam, who acts dishonorably toward the king by sleeping with his daughter, symbolizes Amir. The character of Sohrab, who does not know who his father is, who becomes Hassan's favorite hero, and who meets an untimely death, symbolizes Hassan.
