The Kite Runner Key Quotes

The Kite Runner Key Quotes

1. Friendship

   • "if I asked, really asked, he wouldn't deny me. Hassan never denied me anything." Hassan protects and defends Amir which foreshadows events later in the novel. It also appears that Amir controls the relationship and gets the two boys into trouble.
     • "Then he [Ali] would remind us that there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break." This quote emphasizes the bond between the pair, as if they are actually brothers. The reader later finds out that the pair are brothers but it poses the question; what does Rahim Khan's revelation change?
       • "we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba. His was Amir. My name." This quote highlights the priorities of the pair; Amir's being Baba and Hassan's being Amir, which could explain the events of the novel.
         • "But in none of his stories did Baba ever refer to Ali as his friend." Baba and Ali's friendship, mirros that of Amir and Hassan's on a number of levels. Firstly there is the same level of dominance and secondly both Baba and Amir betray Ali and Hassan.
           • ""Friends?" Assef said, laughing. "You pathetic fool! Someday you'll wake up from your little fantasy and learn just how good of a friend he is." This could be an accurate interpretation of the pair's relationship which become especially profound considering Amir's failure to intervene. Nevertheless Amir still does nice things for Hassan and redeems himself by the novel's conclusion. Perhaps they aren't friends because they are brothers.
             • "Lying awake in bed that night, I thought of Soraya Taheri's sickle-shaped birthmark, her gently hooked nose, and the way her luminous eyes had fleetingly held mine. My heart stuttered at the thought of her." This isn't the most angelic description of Soraya, yet it can be inferred that her birthmark subconsciously reminds Amir of Hassan which symbolises his love for him.

2. Betrayal

   • "But there was something fascinating – albeit in a sick way – about teasing Hassan. Kind of like when we used to play insect torture." Hossieni shows Amir to betray Hassan in lots of small ways which foreshadows his ultimate betrayal. He also shows Amir's cynicism in that he literally emotionally tortures Hassan.
     • "I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan – the way he'd stood up for me all those times in the past – and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran." This counts as the ultimate betrayal by Amir, he sacrifices the safety of his friend for the sake of himself, despite Hassan's loyalty to Amir.
       • "I lifted Hassan's mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it." This compounds Amir's profound selfishness. He blatantly frames Hassan either to rid himself of the guilt he feels when he looks at Hassan, or to have Baba to himself.
         • "I'm thirty-eight years old and I've just found out my whole life is one big fucking lie! " This line occurs after Amir discovers the truth about Baba which clearly has a striking impact upon him. However this is the first time Amir discovers he wasnt the only one with secret guilt so perhaps it goes some way to ridding Amir of his conscience.
           • [Sohrab:] "You promised you'd never put me in one of those places, Amir agha," he said. His voice was breaking, tears pooling in his eyes" Amir yet again goes back on his words which has disastrous consequences with Sohrab's suicide attempt.

3. Warfare

   • "Huddled together in the dining room and waiting for the sun to rise, none of us had any notion that a way of life had ended" This time would signal tp start of a still on-going struggle for power in Afghanistan. It is noticeable that the loss of Amir and Hassan's innocence, coincides with Afghanistan's loss of innocence.
     • "You couldn't trust anyone in Kabul any more – for a fee or under threat, people told on each other," Hosseini again uses the socio-political situation in Afganistan as a metaphor for the characters, in this case referring to the persistant betrayal in the novel.
       • "Karim tossed his cigarette and produced a handgun from his waist. Pointing it to the sky and making shooting gestures, he spat and cursed at the MiG." This is one of the many examples of David vs Goliath imagery throughout the novel, however David almost always wins e.g Amir returning home with Sohrab. Additionally the afghanis manage to stave off the Russians which could be seen as a real-life case.