*spoiler content and trigger warning (i.e. sexual abuse, rape)*

The Kite Runner is the first novel by the Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It had got the throne of the NO.1 New York Times bestseller for over two years since it has been published in 2003.

The story is based on the relationship between an Afghan boy Amir and his closest friend Hassan, revealing the beauty and evil of the humanity. It also shows an impressive Afghan world with its particular history and social structure. Through the theme the novel also accuses about wars, religious conflicts, racial discrimination, sexual abuse, gender inequality and so on. Although it had drawn some controversies in Afghanistan, it is definitely a remarkable literary work.

The story is told with first person major point of view of Amir, the Pashtun boy. His father was a successful wealthy merchant, Amir called him “baba”. Hassan was the son of baba’s servant, a Hazara called Ali. In the Afghan society, Pashtun is an upper class comparing to the Hazara, but baba respect Ali and treats him like a friend. Amir and Hassan lived together with their fathers in baba’s large house; they grew up together, baba loved both of them very much. However, it is much to Amir’s annoyance that baba always show a lot of affection toward Hassan; he was jealous. What’s more, his father thought that Amir was too coward, he didn’t show as “masculine” as baba did. Baba was often critical to Amir when he complained about Hassan as well. At his point of view, Hassan was just a Hazara, which is a lower social class; after all, Hassan is not his real brother. As a result, Amir didn’t really treat Hassan as good as Hassan treated him. Because of baba’s behaviors, Amir thought that baba was not that like him. Only baba’s friend Rahim Khan understood Amir and appreciated his interest in writing stories.

 On a local kite fighting competition, Amir tried hard and got the championship in order to get his father’s favor. According to tradition, the winner would run to find and bring back the last kite that had been cut down by the him or her. Hassan, a master of running back the kites and the best kite-fighting game partner of Amir, started to chase the kite. Unexpectedly, Hassan met Assef, a twisted elder boy who was a half German, in a small alley on the way back. Assef was sadistic and obscene, he was famous around the neighborhood due to the terrible brawls he did. He was also a racist, thus he mocked Amir ferociously for making friends with Hassan since Hassan was a Hazara.

At the moment, Hassan was really in trouble: Assef forced Hassan to hand out the kite. Hassan rejected bravely for Amir’s deserved honor. Then Assef did something which was very repellent—he assaulted and raped Hassan. Amir in fact saw this when he came to find Hassan, but he didn’t show up to save Hassan because he was too afraid. After this, Amir couldn’t face Hassan any more. Amir tried to let his father dismiss Ali and Hassan so that he wouldn’t see Hassan and feeling deadly guilty. Noticing something, Hassan intentionally “admitted” Amir’s accuse for stolen his birthday present, which was in fact a lie made up by Amir. Soon, Ali and Hassan had finally left. Years later, wars exploded, Taliban controlled many areas. Amir and baba went to America for a peace life. Amir became a writer and got married with an Afghan American girl there. One day after baba passed away, Amir received a phone call from Rahim Khan for calling him back to his hometown. Rahim Khan told him the things happened to Ali and Hassan after he left Afghanistan. He told Amir some secrets of Hassan’s origin as well. Amir, shocked, stepped on his journey back to his hometown, a journey of self-salvation.

The novel shows the growth of a person’s soul, and the circuitous evolution of a nation. Readers can find the theme of humanity which is the whole modern society is focusing. It’s clear that there are some prominent topics in this novel. An important thing which repeats many times is betrayal. First, it’s clear to see that Amir had betrayed Hassan. Amir didn’t really think Hassan as a friend at the beginning; when Hassan was in danger, he didn’t help Hassan not only because he was afraid of Assef but also to win baba. Second, baba had betrayed Amir and Ali. Baba and Ali’s wife gave birth to Hassan; baba didn’t tell Amir about this until baba was dead, his hate towards Amir’s coward and his emphasized favor of Hassan shows his guilt. What’s more, this is related to the women status in Afghan. Women had little choice upon sexual relationships and reproduction issues. Another important theme is redemption. When Amir was a child, his greatest struggle was to redeem himself for causing his mother’s death during childbirth. Then Amir spent the rest of his life trying to redeem himself for his betrayal to Hassan, including fighting with Assef and adopting Soharb, Hassan’s son. As the same, baba had redeemed his sin by doing many charitable activities and being strongly principle. Additionally, there are some symbols in this novel that are easy to notice, the most vital one is the kite for sure. The kite, at first, symbolizes freedom and the happiness of the childhood. But after Hassan was raped, the kite becomes a symbol that represents guilt and selfish, kites remind Amir about his sins and pasted friendship. At last, the kite shows Amir’s redemption: the kite brings Soharb a smile, also takes away Amir’s gloom and remorse.

It’s very impressive how Hosseini depicts the complex situation and tension between different ethnicity, religious sects, sexes, family members, social classes etc. These all reflects Afghanistan’s social environment and cultural traits at that time. Readers are able to travel through the valleys under the sky of thousands of kites with Hosseini, feeling the unique cultural landscape with all the dramatic conflicts happened on it. For the readers, the most significant about the novel is its zigzagging story line and the fine depiction of characters’ internal thoughts. The shaping of characters’ personality and the vivid internal conflicts is very impressive. Readers are able to feel Amir’s struggle from line to line. The author put many words on the narrator’s mind, showing Amir’s change through time. At the same time, Hassan’s loyalty to Amir and his braveness help create a moving full character, gives the readers a sympathetic mood. Addition to the characters’ multi-dimentional creation, the author mentions the dark sides of the society. People face racial discrimination, gender discrimination, religious conflicts, gaps between rich and poor, and anti-government terrorism. The relationship between Amir and Hassan are challenged, but ironically, they are brothers. At the end Amir had finished the mission he owed Hassan, which is a great relief to himself and the readers.

Chasing the kite is Amir’s god who saved his soul from guilt; this gives us an image of the growth of Amir, love between people growing under the shadow of unjust issues in the society, and the hope towards a brand new life.