The Kite Runner

Vocabulary and Content Questions

Chapters 1 – 5

Vocabulary:

Define the following terms: Affluent, unscrupulous, congenital, reveries, garrulous, veracity, obstinate, havoc, aloofness, melee, contrite, impeccable, vehemently, imbecile, nemesis, feigned, irony, nuances, trepidation.

 

1.  The novel begins in media res (in the middle of the plot) and then jumps back in time over 30 years. What do you think is the purpose of this opening? What is learned about the narrator (Amir) in this first chapter?

 

2. Who is Hassan? Describe his physical appearance and his personality. How is he connected to Amir? Contrast the situations for Hassan and Amir.

 

3. What is Pashtun? What does it mean to be Pashtun? Which characters thus far are Pashtun?

 

4. What is Hazara? What does it mean to be Hazara? Which characters thus far are Hazara?

 

5. How does Amir describe his home? What do the details of the family pictures in Amir’s house reveal?

 

6. Who is Sanaubar? How is she contrasted to Amir’s mother?

 

7. Who is Ali? What do the neighbourhood children call him? Why do then call him this?

 

8. a) Who is Baba? Describe his physical appearance and his personality.

    b) How does Amir feel about his father in these chapters?

    c) What do the following quotations reveal about Baba’s character?:

i) “...there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft” (17).

ii) “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything” (22)?

 

9. Who is Assef? Describe his physical appearance and his personality. What are his political views?

 

10. What does Assef threaten after the confrontation with Amir and Hassan? What does Amir secretly wish to tell Assef when he is insulted about his friendship with Hassan?

 

11. What does Baba give Hassan for his birthday? Why is this unusual, and what can be inferred about Baba’s character from this action? Why did the present turn out to be ironic?

 

 

Chapters 6 – 9

Vocabulary:

Define the following terms: Abhor, imminent, guileless, insomniac, harried, anonymity, alter ego, blood money.

 

1.  How does kite flying differ for boys in Afghanistan compared to Canada?

 

2. Describe Amir’s conflicted feelings about Hassan (up the end of chapter six)?

 

3. Before the kite competition Hassan says to Amir: “Remember, Amir agha. There’s no monster, just a beautiful day” (61). What does Hassan mean in this statement? How does this statement turn out to be ironic?

 

4. What is the proudest moment in Amir’s twelve years of life?

 

5. Explain the significant of Amir’s statement “I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost. The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn’t. I just watched. Paralyzed” (73). What is your opinion of his inaction?

 

6. What is the significance of Amir’s two memories and one dream before he describes what happens to Hassan?

 

7. What is the realization that Amir comes to during the trip to Jalalabad?

 

8. What does Amir ask of Baba that makes Baba angry? What does Baba say in response?

 

9. What is inscribed on the pomegranate tree in the back yard? Explain the significance of Amir attempting to pick a fight with Hassan there. What action does Hassan take? Why is this symbolic?

 

10. What does Assef give Amir for his birthday?

 

11. What does Amir put under Hassan’s mattress? Why does he do this? What is your reaction to this event?

 

12. When Baba confronts Hassan about the theft what does Hassan do? Why does he do this? What does Baba do which shocks Amir? What happens to Hassan and Ali?

 

13. How is the end of this chapter a turning point in the novel?

 

Chapters 10 – 14

Vocabulary:

Define the following terms: Lucrative, inevitable, acrid, pungent, sauntered, legacy, fickle, ominous, reticence, meticulous, ambivalent, palliative radiation.

 

1. Why are Amir and Baba fleeing Afghanistan? Should they have remained to fight for their homeland?

 

2. What “weakness” of Amir’s does Baba apologize for in Chapter 10?

 

3. Why does Baba challenge the Russian officer? Evaluate his judgement to enter this confrontation. How does this further contrast Baba and Amir?

 

4. One page 120 Amir encounters Kamal again. Who is Kamal and what has happened to him since Amir last saw him?

 

5. What is the one memory which helps Amir endure the ride in the fuel tank?

 

6. Chapter 11 begins with: “Baba loved the idea of America. It was living in it that gave him an ulcer” (125). Explain this paradox.

 

7. What does Baba give Amir as a high school graduation present? What is Amir feeling at this moment? What is Baba feeling at this moment?

 

8. What are Baba and Amir doing in San Jose on the weekends?

 

9. Who is Soraya? Who is General Taheri?

 

10. What does Amir tell Baba he wants to study in college? What is Baba’s reaction?

 

11. General Taheri tells Amir, “You know, bechem, I have grown rather fond of you. You are a decent boy, I really believe that, but—...—even decent boys need reminding sometimes. So it’s my duty to remind you that you are among peers in this flea market...You see, everyone here is a storyteller” (152). Explain what he means by this.

 

12. What is Baba diagnosed with? How does he decide to treat it? Why was his first specialist, Dr. Schneider, unacceptable?

 

13. Why does Amir ask Baba to meet with General Taheri?

 

14. What does Soraya reveal to Amir before they become engaged? Should Amir have told her about his betrayal of Hassan? Why or why not?

 

15. In 1989, what is going on in Afghanistan? Who are the Mujahedin? Who is in charge?

 

16. Chapter 14 brings us back to the opening of the novel (the telephone call from Rahim Khan). What has Rahim asked Amir to do? What does Rahim’s final comment indicate?

 

Chapters 15 – 20

Vocabulary:

Define the following terms: Nonchalantly, incessant, melancholic, pragmatic, proverbial, empathy, rueful, ruminate, furtive, morosely, benevolence.

 

1. Where is Rahim Khan living at this point in the novel?

 

2. What does Amir say his writing professor said about using clichés? What does Amir say about clichés? What does the cliché “an elephant in the room” mean? What is the “elephant in the room” during Amir’s meeting with Rahim Khan?

 

3. Who is currently in control of Afghanistan?

 

4. Rahim Khan tells Amir about what has happened since he left Afghanistan:

    a) Why did Rahim Khan remain in Kabul?

    b) How did Ali die?

    c) Who is Farzana? Who is Sohrab?

    d) What had happened to Sanaubar?

    e) What is the reaction of most Afghans when the Taliban takes over in 1996? What is Hassan’s reaction? What happens in 1998 in Mazar-i-Sharif?

 

5. In chapter 17 Rahim Khan gives Amir a letter which Hassan wrote six months before. What is the tone of the letter?

 

6. What happened to Hassan after Rahim Khan left Kabul? What parallels can be drawn between this event and the Hassan’s attack in the ally in 1975?

 

7. What is Rahim Khan’s dying wish he asks of Amir? What is Amir’s reaction? Was this a fair request? Why or why not?

 

8. At the end of chapter 17 Rahim Khan reveals a secret without actually saying it. What is the secret? Looking back at the novel up to this point what clues exist which foreshadow this secret? In what way does this change your impression of Ali, Baba and Rahim Khan?

 

9. How does the cliché “like father, like son” relate to Baba and Amir?

 

10. In chapter 19 Farid, the driver hired to take Amir from Peshawar to Afghanistan says: “You’ve always been a tourist here, you just didn’t know it” (232). What does he mean by this statement? What is his opinion of Amir?

 

11. In chapter 20 Amir gets his first look at Kabul since leaving in March of 1981. Describe what he sees.

 

12. Zaman, the director of the orphanage, tells Amir that Sohrab was taken by a Taliban official who comes about once a month and takes a child in exchange for a small amount of money. How does Zaman defend his actions? What do you believe is the right thing to do in this situation?

 

Chapters 21 – 25

Vocabulary:

Define the following terms: Gingerly, succulent, morbidly, surreal, epiphany, impunity, shrewd, paunchy, squalid, fabricated, turmoil, profusely.

 

1.  In chapters 21 – 22 the cruelty of the Taliban is evident. Provide three examples.

 

2. From chapter 21 to the end of the book many “full-circle” endings to various threads throughout the plot. Identify each one you encounter.

 

3. Why is Amir laughing during the fight with Assef? How was Amir’s laughter foreshadowed? What happens to Assef? When was this first foreshadowed?

 

4. Amir receives a letter from Rahim Khan after he returns from Afghanistan. He explains why he believes Baba had difficulty relating to Amir. What does he say? How does Rahim Khan define “redemption” (302)? Rahim Khan states that “[Baba] was a good man, maybe even a great man” (302). Knowing what you know about him do you agree or disagree with this statement?

 

5. Amir states “There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood” (318). Explain what he means by that.

 

6. Who is Raymond Andrews?

 

7. What promise does Amir make (and then break) to Sohrab? What does Sohrab to in reaction?

 

8. How does Amir get Sohrab admitted to the US?

 

9. Describe Sohrab’s first seven months in San Francisco.

 

10. When General Taheri comes to visit he is worried about something. What is it? What is Amir’s reaction to this worry?

 

11. What is the final scene in the novel? Is this an effective ending? Why or why not?