The Kite Runner Characters Analysis

 

Amir - The protagonist of the novel is the son of one of the wealthiest men in Kabul, but he struggles to form a real relationship with his father. Amir’s closest association is with Hassan, but he betrays Hassan by leaving him unaided to be closer to his father. That attempt fails, and Amir spends the rest of his life feeling guilty about his deeds. In the end, Amir learns that Hassan had been his half-brother and travels to Kabul to rescue his nephew after Hassan has been killed.

Hassan - Hassan is a Hazara servant in Amir’s household, and he grows up thinking that he is the son of Ali, the servant. However, Rahim Khan reveals that Hassan had been Baba’s son and not Ali’s son since Ali had been sterile. Hassan is raped by Assef for being a Hazara, and for standing in Assef’s way when he had wished to beat Amir. Hassan bears Amir’s betrayal but he chooses to leave when Amir frames him for theft. Hassan is repeatedly shown to be a good person, who is constantly dealt a bad hand by fate. He gets raped as a child, gets rejected by his best friend, is separated from his biological father who truly loves him, loses his foster father, loses his firstborn, and is unable to protect his son.

Sohrab - Hassan’s first-born son with Farzana is born in the same hut as his father. Rahim Khan details how Sohrab’s childhood had been nearly perfect due to the influence of his grandmother, and Hassan. However, Sohrab spends a month under the hands of Assef and his depraved soldiers where they force him to be a source of their pleasure. Amir comes to rescue Sohrab, but Sohrab ends up rescuing by stopping Assef from killing him using the slingshot skills that he had learned from his father. 

Baba - Amir’s father is a complicated character. He has a reputation for being one of the most successful and generous men in Kabul. Amir is often reminded of his father’s generosity by the many Afghans he encounters. Amir also witnesses his father’s bravery even when he is in the face of death, whether it is in the form of cancer. Eventually, Amir discovers that the distance between him and his father had only existed because Baba was unable to love Hassan as a son, even though Hassan had been his son much like Amir.

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