Kite Runner Test
Who tells Amir that his mother was afraid to be happy?
A one-eyed beggar on the street (profesor with her at university)
What Arabic phrase from the book means "sir/master"?
Agha
Which character did children call Babalu?
Ali
What Arabic phrase from the book means "God is greater"?
Allahu akbar
What was Hassan's first word?
Amir
Who narrates the novel?
Amir
What does Amir carved into the pomegranate tree?
Amir and Hassan, sultans of Kabul
How are Amir and Baba different?
Amir breaks societal norms and admits to guilt, Baba keeps it hidden forever
Which character wants to read Afghanistan of Hazaras?
Assef
Who kills a man and a woman at a soccer match?
Assef
What Arabic phrase means father?
Baba
Which character is Amir's father?
Baba
In Arabic it means boogeyman
Babalu
How do scars apply to larger social commentary of Afghanistan?
Becomes scarred by war but people still good
How are Baba and Amir alike?
Both have guilt, both care for Hassan and fail him, both commit theft (Baba of truth, Amir of Hassan's home/life) , etc.
At the beginning of the story what is the physical defect that Hassan has?
Cleft palate/Harelip
How does Hassan die?
Executed, shot dead in the street
Who is Amir's driver who becomes his friend
Farid
What is the Persian language Amir's mother taught?
Farsi
Who is Hassan's wife?
Farzana
Who is Amir's father-in-law?
General Taheri
Why is Amir jealous of Hassan?
Gets Babas attention without being his son and because Hassan has the athletic strong personality that Baba admires
Who is the Hazar servant/friend of Amir?
Hassan
Why is the book called the Kite Runner? What does the kite runner do?
Hassan is kite runner but by end Amir becomes kite runner through redemption (kite runner catches it before it falls)
Which ethnic group in Afghanistan has Asiatic features?
Hazaras
What is Amir telling us at the beginning of the novel when he says, "I've been peeking down that alley for 25 years"?
He's been living with guilt/carrying weight
What is the birthday gift that Assef gives Amir?
Hitlers biography
How do scars function?
Internal lead to external and vice versa, external scar means internal goodness and vice versa (examples: Assef, Ali, Hassan, Sanaubar)
In what city do Amir and Hassan grow up?
Kabul
What is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan?
Kabul
Which character was raped as a teenager and is killed by gas fumes?
Kamal
Who is Amir's mother-in-law?
Kamila
Why does Hassan remain loyal despite everything?
Loves him, sees Amir as friend, has to because servant, etc
Which ethnic group mostly makes up the majority of the upper class in Afghanistan?
Pashtun
Describe difference between Pashtun and Hazara
Pashtuns are upper class, powerful, Sunni Muslimwealthy, Afghan features, and educated; Hazaras are lower class/servants, Shia Muslim, powerless, poor, asiatic features, and not educated
What is error that Amir makes in the first short story he writes?
Plot hole (could use onions to cry)
Give adjectives to describe Hassan
Pure, innocent, good, kind, loyal, etc
How does Amir frame Hassan?
Puts money and his watch under Hassan's bed
Who is Baba's business partner?
Rahim Khan
In the beginning of the story, Amir feels that he is superior to Hassan because he can do what?
Read
What country invaded Afghanistan in 1979?
Russia
At the beginning of the novel where is Amir living?
San Fransisco
She abandons her husband and her newborn son
Sanaubar
What happened to Hassan's mother?
She abandoned them to join a group of traveling dancers
Why did Amir never know his mother?
She died in childbirth
Who is Hassan's son?
Sohrab
Who is Amir's wife?
Soraya
When Amir returns to Afghanistan, what does he see at half time at the soccer match?
Stoning of adulterers/execution
What means students in Arabic?
Taliban
What was the Islamic fundamentalist political movement that came into play in the novel?
Taliban
Describe the relationship between Baba and Amir
Tense, strained, distant, etc (better when get to America)
What does baba say is the greatest sin?
Theft
Why is the pomegranate tree significant?
Their friendship, stops beating fruit when apart, then will never again bear fruit when Hassan dies, but still alive through Sohrab
What is the promise that Rahim Khan makes to Amir at the beginning of the story?
There is a way to be good again
Does Afghanistan undergo change in the same way Sanaubar did?
Yes and no, in the beginning, Afghanistan is conveyed as a beautiful place, but there is underlying racism, later on scarring on outside by war but beautiful underneath