Riverhead Kite Runner Study Guide Answers

Khaled Hosseini's stunning debut novel The Kite Runner follows a young boy, Amir, as he faces the challenges that confront him on the path to manhood - testing friendships, finding love, cheating death, accepting faults, and gaining understanding.

Is 's first novel. He was a practicing physician until shortly after the book's release and has now devoted himself to being an author and activist. The story of The Kite Runner is fictional, but it is rooted in real political and historical events ranging from the last days of the Afghan monarchy in the 1970s to the post-Taliban near present. It is also based on Hosseini's memories of growing up in the Wazir Akbar Khan section of Kabul and adapting to life in California. In a 2003 interview with Newsline, Hosseini specified that the most autobiographical parts of The Kite Runner are those about 'the difficult task of assimilating into a new culture.'

He also revealed, 'My father and I did work for a while at the flea market and there really are rows of Afghans working there, some of whom I am related to.' Because did not return to Kabul until 2003, after The Kite Runner's publication, much of his portrayal of Afghanistan after the Soviet takeover is based on research. Hosseini's choice of time period for the book, though corresponding with his own life, also went beyond his personal experiences. He has said that he did not just want to call attention to the devastation in Afghanistan; he set out to remind the world that until the last few decades, before the world's eye was drawn to it by violence, Afghanistan was a generally peaceful nation.Structurally, The Kite Runner can be divided into three sections: memories of pre-conflict Afghanistan, adjusting to life in America, and returning to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Thematically, it can be divided into just two: life before the rape and life after the rape. From any angle, The Kite Runner is a tale of love, betrayal, and redemption and it gained an enthusiastic audience from the start. After its 2003 release, The Kite Runner became a New York Times Bestseller and was eventually published in thirty-eight different countries, although not yet Afghanistan.

Critics praised the book's intimate examination of relationships amid the fraught and very topical environment of Afghanistan. Many of them, however, expressed disappointment regarding some coincidences, specifically the way that and reunite. One reviewer called the moment 'more suited to a folk tale' and another even deemed it worthy of a 'B movie.' Despite such comments, critical and popular response to The Kite Runner was almost universally positive.The Kite Runner's most adoring readers and also some of its most critical are Hosseini's fellow Afghan expatriates.

Hosseini said in a 2003 interview, 'I get daily e-mails from Afghans who thank me for writing this book, as they feel a slice of their story has been told by one of their own. So, for the most part, I have been overwhelmed with the kindness of my fellow Afghans. There are, however, those who have called the book divisive and objected to some of the issues raised in the book, namely racism, discrimination, ethnic inequality etc.' In addition to the deep feelings Hosseini's first novel aroused in the hearts of fellow Afghans, it also spurred a more lighthearted response, the resurgence of interest in kite fighting in America. Invasion of Afghanistan may have 'put Afghanistan on the map' for Americans, but The Kite Runner goes farther by giving a detailed, human account of life and survival there.

Snake charmer game microsoft. Its author continues this service to the world by serving as an activist in addition to writing. Hosseini has said, 'If this book generates any sort of dialogue among Afghans, then I think it will have done a service to the community.' As we know The Kite Runner has sparked conversation among Afghans and countless other groups of people worldwide.

It is not such a surprise to Hosseini's admirers that a physician, accustomed to caring for people's bodies, has made such a graceful transition to caring for their histories and spirits. How To Cite in MLA Format Asnes, Tania. 'The Kite Runner Study Guide'. GradeSaver, 29 September 2007 Web.

What role does religion play in the lives of Baba, Amir, and Assef,and in the novel as a whole?Though it is rarely the main focus, religion is nearly always presentin Amir’s narrative. It is part of the culture of Afghanistan, and it isaccordingly a fixture of the everyday life Amir describes.

Amir creates acomplex portrait of both the positive and negative traits of religion, withthe negative always stemming from fundamentalists who use their beliefs asan excuse to carry out violence against others and to limit people’sfreedoms. From what we learn of Baba’s feelings toward religion, this is notsurprising. The first significant episode in the book involving religion,for instance, occurs when Amir, who is still a child, tells Baba that themullah at school called drinking alcohol a sin as Baba pours a glass ofwhiskey. Immediately, the scene establishes a contrast between Baba and themullah. Baba calls the mullah and men like him bearded idiots and explainsto Amir that theft, in its many variations, is the only true sin. Babaobviously does not respect the beliefs of the mullah, yet he still has hisown moral code. Amir consequently grows up with a strong sense of morality,though it is entirely separate from Islam.Yet religion also has a major role in determining the direction thatAfghanistan takes in the years after Baba and Amir flee to the UnitedStates.

Although Amir’s narrative does not give a clear step-by-step accountof the political events in Afghanistan, the reader does know that fightingcontinued in the country even after the departure of the Russians, calledthe Shorawi. Ultimately, the Taliban emerged with control, and from Amir’snarrative we learn that many of the Afghans who left their country think theIslamist government the group has created is simply a means for them tojustify their violence and authoritarian rule. The character that mostrepresents this image of the Taliban is Assef, who tells Amir that he feltliberated while massacring Hazaras in their homes because he knew God was onhis side. Ultimately, however, Assef’s violence becomes his downfall whenSohrab shoots his eye out, and later, when Sohrab has tried to kill himself,Amir has something of a religious conversion when Sohrab survives after Amirprays for God’s help.

Amir becomes an observant Muslim after that, but not afundamentalist, making the case that religion is as good as the personpracticing it. How does the author, Khaled Hosseini, use irony in thenovel?Repeatedly throughout the book, Amir must face the unintendedconsequences of his actions. These situations are often ironic in that theyare the exact opposite of what Amir intended, much as the man in Amir’sfirst short story ends up unhappy because of his insatiable desire forwealth. In the most significant instances of irony, the irony stems fromimmorality. The most notable example of irony, for instance, centers onAmir’s decision not to stop Assef from raping Hassan.

Amir wanted to proveto Baba how much he was like him by bringing him the blue kite from thekite-fighting tournament, and he thought in doing so he would finally havethe love that eluded him. While Amir gains more attention from Babatemporarily, he eventually loses Hassan, his best friend, because of hisactions. A further irony becomes clear when Amir learns that Baba wasactually Hassan’s father. Baba had betrayed his own best friend, Ali, byconceiving Hassan with Ali’s wife, and so Amir learns that he was, in fact,just like Baba in that sense, saddening Amir rather than making himhappy. What is the significance of rape in the novel?Rape is among the most prominent motifs repeated in the novel. It isHassan’s rape that establishes the main drama of the story, and it is laterSohrab’s rape by the Taliban that gives Amir the chance to redeem himself.The act of rape in this context carries a great deal of significance.

First,it is presented as a form of perversion. What is typically considered an actshared by two people in love to conceive a child, such as Amir and Soraya,becomes an act of violence. Second, there is a distinct emotional componentto rape.

The rapist dominates the victim not only physically butpsychologically as well, as we see in Hassan’s rape and even moredramatically in Sohrab’s. Finally, in each instance of rape we see, therapist takes advantage of the social order, meaning the rapist is always ina position of greater power than the victim of the rape. Assef, forinstance, is rich and has a politically powerful father, while Hassan is apoor Hazara. In each instance, rape acts as a symbolic violation of thepowerless by those who have power.