Kite Runner Chapters 4-5 Mr. Bratkowski

Summary Ali and Baba grew up together. Amir and Hassan enjoy going to the cemetery to read, although Hassan is illiterate. Amir begins writing his own stories. Daoud Khan replaces Zahir Shah as ruler. Assef threatens Amir and Hassan defends Amir. Baba hires a plastic surgeon to repair Hassan’s cleft palate.

Character List List of Characters: Baba Ali Hassan Rahim Khan Assef Kamal Wali Dr. Kumar

Character Captain Assef “If you were a kid living in the Wazir Akbar Khan section of Kabul, you knew about Assef and his famous stainless-steel brass knuckles, hopefully not through personal experience. Born to a German mother and Afghan father, the blond, blue-eyed Assef towered over the other kids. His well-earned reputation for savagery proceeded him on the streets” (Hosseini 38). ‘“I’ll ask the president to do what the king didn’t have the quwat to do. To rid Afghanistan of all the dirty, kasseef Hazaras’” (Hosseini 40).

Main Idea and Theme Main Idea – Courage Theme – It takes courage to defend the ones you love from harm or wrongdoing.

Literary Luminary Allusions “ We saw Rio Bravo three times, but we saw our favorite Western, The Magnificent Seven, thirteen times. With each viewing, we cried at the end when the Mexican kids buried Charles Bronson – who, as it turned out, wasn’t Iranian either” (Hosseini 26). Irony “The swelling subsided and the wound healed with time. Soon, it was just a pink jagged line running up from his lip. By the following winter, it was only a faint scar. Which was ironic. Because that winter was the winter that Hassan stopped smiling” (Hosseini 47).

Vocabulary Feigned (31) – Verb Sentence - Hone (32) – Verb

Questions How does Amir truly feel about Hassan when he is honest with himself? Explain your reasoning with evidence from the book. Compare and contrast Amir and Hassan’s personalities. How are they similar and different? How are Amir’s relationships with Baba and Rahim Khan different? Explain your thoughts with details from the book. How does the author use foreshadowing to give hints about what will happen later in the plot? Explain with examples. Why is it significant that Amir and Hassan play in a graveyard? What do you think Hosseini is trying to show us with this detail?