1. The Kite Runner
English II

2. The Kite Runner: Background
Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, the novel tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, Afghanistan, whose closest friend is Hassan, his father's young Hazara servant.

3. The Kite Runner: Background
The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through the Soviet military intervention, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime.

4. The Author: Khaled Hosseini
Worked as a medical internist at Kaiser Hospital in Mountain View, California for several years before publishing The Kite Runner.
Like Amir, the protagonist of the novel, Hosseini was born in Afghanistan and left the country as a youth, not returning until 2003.

5. The Author:
In 1999, Hosseini learned through a news report that the Taliban had banned kite flying in Afghanistan, a restriction he found particularly cruel.
The news "struck a personal chord" for him, as he had grown up with the sport while living in Afghanistan.

6. Themes The relationship between parents and their children
Guilt and redemption

7. What is Kite Running?
Kite-running is a two-person affair, with one person called the charka gir and the other called the gudiparan baz.
The charka gir is in charge of the holding the wooden kite spool, around which the wire, or “tar” is wound. The second person, called the gudiparan baz actually is in control of the movement of the kite in the air

8. What is Kite Running?
Kite flyers stand on tops of buildings, fighting with kites from all over the city. The object is to strike down the kite of your opponent with the string of your kite, after which you will be called the winner.
The strings are often made with razor wire which gives the sharpness to cut down other kites.

9. What is Kite Running?
After an opponent’s kite is set free, it flutters away into the wind where it is usually picked up by the local children, who fly it the next day as their own.

10. Characters Amir is the protagonist and narrator of the novel.
Born into a Pashtun family
His mother dies giving birth.
As a child, he enjoys storytelling and is encouraged by Rahim Khan to become an author.

11. Characters Hassan is Amir's closest childhood friend.
He is described as having a China doll face, green eyes, and a harelip.

12. Characters Assef is the main antagonist of the novel.
He is the son of a Pashtun father and a German mother, as well as an advocate of Pashtun dominance over Hazaras.
As a teenager, he is a neighborhood bully and is described as a "sociopath" by Amir.

13. Characters
Baba is Amir's father and a wealthy businessman who aids the community by creating businesses for others and building a new orphanage.
Baba does not endorse the religiosity demanded by the clerics in the classes attended by Amir in school.

14. Characters Ali is Baba's servant, a Hazara andHassan's father.
In his youth, Baba's father adopted him after his parents were killed by a drunk driver.
Before the events of the novel, Ali had been struck with polio, rendering his right leg useless. Because of this, Ali is constantly tormented by children in the town.

15. Characters
Rahim Khan is Baba's loyal friend and business partner, as well as a mentor to Amir.