the kite runner test

sacrifice (63)

hassan is extremely loyal to amir and sacrifices himself in order to keep the kite for amir

green (148)

soraya and amir wore green at their wedding, which is the color of islam, spring, and new beginnings

regret (155)

soraya regrets the harsh words she said to her father's disapproval of her boyfriend in virginia. soraya says "i wish you were never my father and i wish you were dead"

secret (144)

soraya shares her secret with amir how she slept with a man out of wedlock. amir envies her, and admires how she deals with her secret openly. amir, however, feels ashamed that he has kept hassan's rape a secret after many years. he admits that he does not have enough courage to deal with his secret

general taheri

sorayas dad pashtun, strict and protective of his daughter at first he is very hesitant to accept amir, but towards babas death he grows close to baba and amir

jamila taheri

sorayas mother and general taheris wife. she has a beautiful singing voice and has always wanted to be a performer, but is silenced by her husband and does not have the freedom to express her passion

pashtuns are what kind of muslims?

sunni

history chronology: 4th

taliban takeover

yelda (125, 131)

the first night of winter=the longest night of the year amir used to spend yelda with ali and hassan eating apples underneath blankets with a fire. ali taught amir the folklore stories of yelda. amir says that once he met soraya, every night felt like yelda

amir

the narrator and protagonist coward in his childhood, abandons hassan master/wealthy

inshallah (51)

the night before the kite tournament, amir and hassan are praying and discussing if amir were to win. both of the boys say "inshallah" (god willing) but amir points out that it always sounds so much more pure and honest coming from hassan

blue-eyed hazara woman from bamiyan (9)

the woman that baba hired to nurse hassan and amir. she had a beautiful singing voice

1933 (21)

the year baba was born the year zahir shah began his 40 year reign in afghanistan

kite fighting and kite running (43)

this is essentially what bonds amir and baba. the sport gives amir to bond with his dad and feel accepted when he wins the kite flying tournament

pashtuns (35)

wealthy priveledged high class, have all of the power in kabul

mud hut (5)

where hassan was born and grew up with ali

what happened on the night his youngest brother was born

zahir shah was overthrown by his cousin

setting: afghanistan

"the heart of asia" mountainous, arid, landlocked

history chronology: 1st

1978 first takeover of the government by the kings cousin zahir shah is overthrown by another afghan

history chronology: 3rd

1992-1996 northern alliance takeover extremely cruel

rules vs. customs (46)

?

plastic surgeon (39)

Dr. Kumar hired by Baba to fix hassans harelip for his birthday

gran torino (116)

Ford car that baba gives amir as a graduation present. amir is extremely grateful for the car, so much so that he doesnt want to express it fully to baba, for he knows it will embarass him. when baba and amir are sitting inside the car driving at night, baba says "i wish hassan were here with us"

sherjani (17)

a game played in school "battle of the poems" amir would always win this game in school, but when he tried telling baba about his accomplishments, he was uninterested

abrahams sacrifice

abraham is a loyal servant to god. he has a wife and a newborn baby son. god asks him to sacrifice his only son to prove his loyalty to his son. abraham agrees and just as he is about to sacrifice his only son, god spares him and his son from death

where did his father work

afghan foreign ministry high up in society, well respected

buzkashi tournament (18)

afghanistan national passion a skilled horseman has to snatch a goat or cattle carcass without being stopped by the horseman on the other team this event greatly upset amir and, to his fathers disappointment, cried all the way home. baba was extremely embarassed by amirs weakness at the tournament

grimace (93)

ali and hassan decide to move away and leave baba/amir. alis mouth twitches when he announces the news and amir saw his mouth grimace. amir says "that is when i realized how much pain i had caused him. sorrow not even alis paralyzed face could mask"

sanaubar (6)

alis wife, has an affair with baba leaves family to become a gypsy/singer lost his mother less than a week after he was born

america (109) last gift (113)

america for baba: baba loves the idea of america, but the reality is painful for him. baba is poorer in america than he was in afghanistan, and this causes him much frustration and disappointment for amir, however, america is his one last gift from baba. america is a new start for amir, he is able to experience new opportunities and growth in his career

the sultans of kabul (24, 76)

amir and hassan carved their names into a tree on top of the hill and said "amir and hassan, the sultans of kabul" they marked this tree together. after hassan is raped and they return to the tree, amir cannot bear to see the sight of their names carved into the tree, for it reminds him of his betrayal of hassan

loyalty (78)

amir asks baba if he as ever thought about getting new servants. baba is furious at amir when he asks this and says that he will never get rid of hassan and ali. baba shows great loyalty towards hassan and ali while amir views them as disposable/replaceable

guilt (28)

amir feels so much guilt for wishing rahim khan was his father that he runs to the bathroom and vomits

monster (75)

amir references hassans dream about the monster in the water, and compares himself to the monster. amir says to himself "i watched hassan get raped. i am the monster" and can no longer sleep peacefully/becomes an insomniac

newborn child (165)

amir says he "can feel the emptiness of sorayas womb like it was a living, breathing thing. it had seeped into their marriage" and consumed almost their entire life, as if it was a newborn child

refugees (104)

amir, baba, and 30 other refugees are held in a basement as they try to escape from kabul during wartime

hassan

amir/babas servant loyal, innocent

mirror (4)

amir/hassan shining the mirror against the sun to shine it in the neighbors eyes. ali comes over and takes the mirror and says "the devil shone mirrors too, shone them to distract muslims during prayer"

farid

amirs driver and friend in afghanistan. at first he is bitter towards amir but ends up being very helpful in his search for sohrab

first words (10)

amirs first word: baba hassans first word: amir "the foundation of what happened was already laid in those first words" from the beginning, hassan was more loyal to amir than amir was to hassan

sofia akrami (14)

amirs mom very educated, royal, extremely respectable, beautiful

soraya

amirs wife, child of general and khanum she is very beautiful, gentle, and comforting. she is a teacher.

blue kite (62)

amirs winning kite from the tournament that hassan runs for him, at the expense of being assaulted by assef. the blue kite is symbolic of a trophy for baba from amir.

wali and kamal (37)

assefs friends/sidekicks help assef rape hassan

sweet illusion (76)

baba and amirs relationship improves shortly after he wins the kite tournament, but it is only a sweet illusion during the winter. after a short period of time, baba and amir drift apart once again and their relationship was only temporarily improved

giggles (142)

baba gets off of the phone with general tahiri to arrange a meeting to ask for permission for amir to marry soraya. when baba hangs up the phone, amir bursts into giggles and baba joins in

notebook (150)

baba gives soraya amirs notebook of stories so that she can read them

black bear (152)

baba had battled many "black bears" in his life, and cancer was the "bear" that he ultimately could not defeat. however, he never gave up the fight against the various obstacles he faced in his life

food stamp (114)

baba refuses to use the food stamps provided for him in america. for baba, this is extremely embarassing and he refuses to stop working. he states that even in afghanistan, he had to work hard for his possessions and does not want to abandon his work ethic in america

sin (15-16)

baba says there is only one true sin: theft every other sin is just a variation of theft there is no worse sin than theft

last fatherly duty (142)

baba walks up the steps to the taheris to ask permission for amir to marry soraya as his last fatherly duty

july 17, 1973 (32)

bloodless coup where zahir shah was overthrown by his cousin when he left to go to italy

authors education

degree in biology and has been a doctor since 1996

saturday (120)

every saturday morning, amir and baba go to the san jose flea market selling junk and knickknacks that they bought at garage/yard sales

sohrab (185)

farzana and hassans son orphan kidnapped by assef and made to be a sex slave

virginia (155)

gender inequality/double standard soraya will always be shamed for what happened in virginia, however men are not punished/shamed for adultery like women are in afghan culture

rafiqes, the comrades (98)

had split kabul into two groups of people: people who eavsedropped and those who didnt. the comrades made kabul a very untrustworthy place, everyone was on edge that they may be speaking with an undercover comrade

harelipped/cleft pallate

hassan is born with this birth defect and suffers bullying and discrimination because of it. at the end of the novel, when amir fights assef, he splits his lip open and has a harelipped scar similar to hassans

ali

hassans dad always been in babas life, very close

farzana (180)

hassans wife extremely shy but a sweet and respectable woman hazara when hassan was shot, she ran out to see him and she was shot too

literacy (132)

how soraya uses literacy: soraya uses her knowledge to teach her housekeeper ziba how to read and write. soraya feels extremely proud once ziba is able to write a thank you letter back to her one day amir uses literacy to torture/poke fun at hassan and uses his literacy to feel superior

rain (94)

it is raining when baba has the car take ali and hassan out of town. inside the house, amir watches the raindrops pour down the window and says that "if i were to go out to the car, hassan and ali would see my tears mixed with the raindrops" amir, however, remains inside the house and does not chase after them to say goodbye

where was he born

kabul, afghanistan

suicide (108)

kamal dies of sickness, so his father commits suicide following his sons death. this makes amir extremely upset and sick to his stomach, for it is the first time he has witness another man take his own life.

who is the author

khaled hosseini

babalu (8)

means "boogeyman" this is what the children on the streets would yell at ali to insult him "flat nosed babalu"

bahkshida (63)

means "forgiven" assef says this to hassan after he threatens to shoot him with his slingshot. assef says that it is hassans lucky day because he is going to forgive him, however he later states that his pardon comes with a small price (rape)

moftakhir (114)

means proud baba says this to amir once he graduates high school. amir loves the appreciation he recieves from his father

saifo (44)

nearly blind old man citys most famous kite maker

cancer (136)

oat cell carcinoma baba is extremely stubborn when it comes to his cancer, and does not appreciate amirs suggestions to continue treatment regardless of the fact that it will only prolong the outcome

hassan (adult)

once baba dies, rahim khan asks hassan to return to the house to take care of the house and help him maintain its cleanliness. hassan does this obediently. hassan is shot by the taliban in the streets, and never gets a chance to see amir again before he dies

ethnic composition of afghanistan

pashtuns, tajik, hazara, uzbeck, baluchi, turkoman

pomegranates (24, 81)

pre rape: amir and hassan would go up to the tree and enjoy pomegranates together and read together post rape: amir throws pomegranates at hassan and begs him to throw one back at him, but hassan smashes it on his own head instead

polaroid

rahim khan gives amir a photograph of hassan and sohrab, which amir later gives to sohrab to remember what his dad looked like

rahim khan

rahim khan is babas best friend. when baba is unsupportive towards amir, rahim khan steps in and shows affection to him.

homaira (86)

rahim khans dream girl they were madly in love but his parents would have never accepted her because she was a hazara she represents the divide between pastuns and hazaras and the strict social classes

assef (33)

rapist, tortures amir and hassan, hes the member of the taliban at the soccer game that stones the citizens and wears the sunglasses

what did khaleds family do in 1976

relocated to paris and planned to return to 1980 but couldnt because they were taken over by a bloody soviet coup

history chronology: 2nd

russian takeover

where did the family move after paris

san jose california lost everything, went from riches to rags

hazaras are what kind of muslims?

shia/shiite

cain and able

sons of adam and eve able sacrificed lamb and cain sacrificed wheat god preferred ables sacrifice. cain becomes so jealous that he murders able betrays his own brother for his "fathers" approval, just as amir abandons hassan for babas approval

winter (42)

winter is the favorite season of children in kabul, because they shut down school for icy season. this is when amir has the most freedom and is able to fly and run kites. this is the time when amir and baba have the best relationship because they are able to bond over the kites