The Kite Runner presents students in the United States with a different perspective on Afghanistan than that developed in the media since 2001. This book can be used to build empathy for people from other cultures. It’s also fantastic for cross-curricular studies in history and social studies classes.

The Kite Runner shows the modern history of Afghanistan from the coup against the king Zahir Shah, to the Soviet-Afghan War, to the rise of the Taliban. Hosseini depicts these events and their effects on Afghan society in a clear manner, but a background lesson will provide students with a better understanding of this history. Teachers may also want to have a lesson on the differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims and the persecution of ethnic Hazaras.

The novel contains a number of literary devices for students to analyze, most notably an allusion to the Persian myth of Rostam and Sohrab. Teachers can provide a summary of the myth or pair a full translation with The Kite Runner so students can analyze parallels between the novel and the myth.

The Kite Runner

You'll always save at least 25% on any paperback you order. If the retail value of your order is at least $500, you'll save 30%. And if the retail value of your order is at least $2,500, you'll save 35% on all your paperbacks.

Summary of The Kite Runner

Key Facts

• Publication Date: 2003
• Length: 384 pages
• Lexile® Measure: 840
• Recommended Grade Band: 10–11
• Boeke Prize 2004; New York Times Bestseller; Reading Group Book of the Year 2006, 2007

Growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan, Amir is close friends with Hassan, his father’s Hazara servant. The two are like brothers until one day Amir betrays Hassan, and they grow apart. As Amir matures, civil unrest erupts in Afghanistan as the king is overthrown and the Russians invade. Amir and his father flee and immigrate to the United States, where Amir meets the woman who will become his wife. When he receives a phone call about Hassan’s son living in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, he returns to his homeland in hopes of redeeming himself.

Content Warning: The Kite Runner contains instances of profanity, violence, and rape.

What Your Students Will Love About The Kite Runner

• The book’s universal themes—Hosseini has written a very accessible story, one that resonates regardless of the reader’s cultural background
• The valuable look into Afghanistan’s past
• The narrative arc of the book, which is a logical, symmetrical progression from shame and guilt to love and redemption

Potential Student Struggles With The Kite Runner

• The coincidental nature of the book’s resolution—some students may find that the book’s final sections contain too many unlikely coincidences and thus strain credulity.
• The narrator, who some may read as an unsympathetic character.

Learning Objectives for The Kite Runner

• Describe the purpose and effect of the flashbacks throughout the story.
• Explain the importance of names in the novel, giving relevant examples.
• Trace Amir’s coming of age in the story, noting key points in his growth and development.
• Explain the many types of prejudice in the novel, and show how they affect the characters.
• Identify and analyze symbols in the novel, including kites, the pomegranate tree, the lamb, and Hassan’s cleft lip.
• Analyze the significance of the novel within the context of Afghan history and politics.

Literary Elements in The Kite Runner

• Allusion
• Conflict
• Epiphany
• Flashback
• Foreshadowing
• Imagery
• Symbolism
• And more!

Major Themes in The Kite Runner

Guilt — The protagonist, Amir, struggles with the guilt he feels because he only hid and watched while his friend Hassan was violently raped.

Related Works:

• Swallowing Stones, by Joyce McDonald
• The Rag and Bone Shop, by Robert Cormier
• The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Redemption — Amir is given a chance to redeem himself—“a way to be good again,” in the words of one of the book’s characters—and believes that he can heal himself through performing a good act.

Related Works:

• Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo
• Silas Marner, by George Eliot
• Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand

Parent-Child Relationships — Amir craves his father’s love and affection, but his father provides these comforts more to Hassan. This has a profound emotional effect on Amir.

Related Works:

• The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls
• Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
• The Chosen, by Chaim Potok

Other Resources for The Kite Runner

• A film version of The Kite Runner was released in 2007 to mixed reviews. The movie excludes many details that were in the book. For example, Hassan does not have a harelip, Assef does not wear brass knuckles, and the difficulties Amir and Baba experience after immigrating to the US are glossed over. (Watch the trailer)
• The Kite Runner Companion Curriculum by Amnesty International
• An Interview with Khaled Hosseini from NPR
• Background Information on the Soviet-Afghan War
• Background Information on Hazaras
• The Tragedy of Rostam and Sohrab

Order The Kite Runner Resources from Prestwick House