Flashcards
The Kite Runner Revision Notes
Cards in this deck (32)
- 1FriendshipAmir and Hassan. Hassan is Amir's servant, and a member of the discriminated ethnic minority. Should friendship outweigh the divisions of class and ethnicity? What about when Amir discovers Hassan is actually his half brother? Can ethnicity divide the members of a family?
- 2Friendship - questionAt the beginning of Chapter 4, Amir says: "But in none of his stories did Baba ever refer to Ali as his friend." Why does Baba refuse to refer to Ali as a friend? Is it the servant and master divide or does Baba consider Ali inferior because Ali is Hazara? Does Baba feel guilty because he slept with Sanaubar and is thus unworthy of Alis friendship?
- 3Friendship - QuestionThere's another group of friends in The Kite Runner. Assef, Wali and Kamal. Describe the group of friends. How do they compare to Amir and Hassan? Are there any similarities between Assef's clique and Amir and Hassan?
- 4Friendship - question?Early on, Baba seems like a distant myth instead of a father. Amir and he certainly aren't friends as Amir is growing up. Their relationship changes once they move to California. Does Amir eventually become friends with Baba?
- 5Friendship - question?Much of the novel is concerned with masculinity. Almost all of the friendships in the novel are male. How do ideas about masculinity inform the friendships in the novel?
- 6BetrayalThe plot revolves around Amir's betrayal of Hassan. The betrayal drives the story. Hosseini asks some important questions. Do you betray someone without warning or do small betrayals lead up to a large one. Can you redeem yourself after you've betrayed a friend? If your father betrays his friend are you doomed to follow his mistake? Can you redeem your sins and your father's at the same time?
- 7Betrayal - question?The main betrayal in the book happens in Chapter 7 when Amir allows Assef to rape Hassan. Does Baba betray anyone? Does Amir betray multiple people? Do smaller betrayals lead up to a larger one? Do the other betrayals help us interpret Amir's abandonment of Hassan in the alleyway?
- 8Betrayal - question?Baba never tells Amir he fathered Hassan. Amir never tells Baba he left Hassan in the alleyway, or that he put the watch and money under Hassan's mattress. What role does silence play in the novel?
- 9Betrayal - question?Early on Baba says "there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft." Explain each betrayal in the novel in terms of theft. What has been stolen? Is Babas theory helpful?
- 10Betrayal - question?Do any betrayals happen on a larger, political scale? Do they map onto the betrayals of the characters?
- 11WarfareThe novel directly compares the arrival of war to a loss of innocence (the army arrives and Hassan gets raped). The book explores war as experienced from a distance, through memories or the media. Hosseini interrogates the effect of war on social structures. Do economic class and ethnicity dissolve in the fax of war or do they become even more rigid? However Hosseini does also show us honour and dignity can survive in the midst of war.
- 12Warfare - question?Amir writes a story early on in the novel where a man kills his wife because he found a magic cup that turned his tears into pearls. Hassan asks Amir if the man really had to kill his wife "In fact, why did he ever had to feel sad to shed tears? Couldn't he have just smelled an onion?" Is this necessary to understand the brutality of Afghan or is Hassan missing the point?
- 13Warfare - question?The book talks about nang and namoos, the Afghan principles of honour and pride. These principles survive despite the wars. Even though these principles redeem certain characters, can they also cause war?
- 14Principles - questionDescribe Amir at the end of the novel. Does Amir believe in all of his father's principles? Has he abandoned a few? Which ones does he hold sacred?
- 15Principles - question?Does Assef have principles too?
- 16Principles - question?Does someone as pure-hearted as Hassan even need principles? Are principles much more useful to flawed men like Baba and Amir?
- 17InnocenceSoraya presents a fairly complex example of lost innocence. She moves in with an Afghan man while in Virginia. Then her father 'rescues' her from her boyfriend. Now most men won't date or marry Soraya because she has been with another man. This doesn't bother Amir. Was Soraya's innocence ever really lost? How does someone lose their innocence in The Kite Runner?
- 18InnocenceCompare the descriptions of war-torn Kabul and the descriptions of Hassan after Assef rapes him. How does Hosseini draw parallels between the two tragedies?
- 19InnocenceAssef: "You don't know the meaning of the word 'liberating' until you've done that, stood in a roomful of targets, let the bullets fly, free of guilt and remorse, knowing you are virtous, good and decent" Does Assef choose between good and evil, can he be innocent in ways that Amir is not?
- 20InnocenceHow does Hassan stay pure and good even through tragedy and war? Does Hassan just have some sort of basic goodness? Does Hosseini, through Hassan and Ali, reclaim physical characteristics (the hairlip, the limp) literature has traditionally associated with evil or weakness?
- 21RaceWhen Amir watches Hassan be raped he asks himself if he should rescue him because "he was just a Hazara". How much of a role does ethnicity play in Amir's abandonment of Hassan? How much of a role does jealousy play?
- 22RaceIs Assef believable or is his character too evil? Do you find Aseefs brand of racism believable? Who is his character based on (Hitler)
- 23RaceNang and namoos are central principles of Pashtun men (according to Baba). Does this mean that Baba believes Hazara men don't have nang and namoos. Is this why he slept with Ali's wife?
- 24MasculinityDescribe the women in the novel. Is Soraya different to other women? Does Hosseini develop her character more than these other women? If so, why?
- 25MasculinityRahim Khan always seems to be around Amir's house. Does Rahim Khan offer a different male role model? Is Rahim Khan's 'femininity' what attracts Amir to Rahim Khan?
- 26MasculinityWhat version of masculinity do characters like Ali and Hassan present? Do these characters question of support Baba's version of masculinity?
- 27ReligionIs Baba close minded about Islam or is he indifferent to religion?
- 28ReligionWhat role does Amir's spiritual awakening play in the novel? Why doe you think Hosseini includes it? It's easy to forget Ali's faith but Amir turns to it in the end discarding his fathers and Mullah's, why?
- 29ReligionAmir and Farid witness a public stoning. Two adulterers are put in holes in the ground and stoned. Baba commits adultery in the book. Do Amir and his father avoid punishment for their sins?
- 30AdmirationDo Wali and Kamal admire Assef or do they fear him? Is this different to Amir and Baba's relationship?
- 31AdmirationWhy doesn't Amir admire Rahim Khan as much as he admires his father? What does this tell us about admiration. Similarly compare Amir's admiration towards his mother with his admiration for his father.
- 32AdmirationDoes Amir admire his father less in California? Or does their poverty and Baba's deteriorating health increase Amir's admiration?
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- Flashcards on The Kite Runner Revision Notes, created by danii.ayscough96 on 30/03/2015.
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