Character analysis: Flashcards
AMIR: upbringing
- Amir has a privileged upbringing. His father, Baba, is rich by Afghan standards, and as a result, Amir grows up accustomed to having what he wants.
AMIR: Baba
-The only thing he feels deprived of is a deep emotional connection with Baba, which he blames on himself. He thinks Baba wishes Amir were more like him and that Baba holds him responsible for killing his mother, who died during his birth. Amir, consequently, behaves jealously towards anyone receiving Baba’s affection.
AMIR:Hassan
-Though Hassan is Amir’s best friend, Amir feels that Hassan, a Hazara servant, is beneath him. When Hassan receives Baba’s attention, Amir tries to assert himself by passive-aggressively attacking Hassan. He mocks Hassan’s ignorance, for instance, or plays tricks on him. At the same time, Amir never learns to assert himself against anyone else because Hassan always defends him. All of these factors play into his cowardice in sacrificing Hassan, his only competition for Baba’s love, in order to get the blue kite, which he thinks will bring him Baba’s approval.
AMIR: change
-The novel explores Amir’s transformation from a selfish child to a selfless adult. After allowing Hassan to be raped, Amir becomes increasingly guilty and unable to have a child with Soraya. Sohrab, a self-sacrificing father figure, becomes a solution to both problems. Amir’s courage and sacrifices, as Hassan once did for him, bring relief and reaffirm his role as Baba and Hassan.
HASSAN:Character arc
Hassan’s character arc is about loyalty, forgiveness, and good-natured, remaining unchanged throughout his life. As a servant to Baba and Amir, Hassan plays a crucial role in Amir’s life, helping with chores and grocery shopping. He learns the duty to sacrifice himself for others and is not prone to envy. Hassan’s innocence is crucial in creating the drama and symbolism of his rape by Assef. Amir’s behavior cannot be rationalized, making it selfish and reprehensible. Hassan’s rape becomes the sacrifice of an innocent, a recurring motif in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
BABA:morality:
Baba sets the moral bar in the novel, focusing on Amir’s lack of courage to stand up for himself. He believes that if Amir doesn’t take responsibility for himself, he won’t have the strength to behave morally as an adult. Baba’s sacrifice to prevent a Russian guard from raping a woman sets an example for Amir to follow when he must choose between saving himself or doing what is right.
BABA:Characterisation:
Amir’s narrative of Baba is not the full story. Baba is proud, independent, and determined, but emotionally distant and impatient. Amir doesn’t see Baba’s inner conflict because he separates his outward appearance from his emotions. For example, Baba builds an orphanage to compensate for the guilt he felt for not acknowledging Hassan as his son. This hesitation to reveal his emotions alienates Amir from Baba, making him feel he never truly knows him.
BABA:America:
Amir’s portrayal of Baba is incomplete, as he fails to fully understand his emotional turmoil and distantness. Baba’s orphanage is built to compensate for guilt he felt for not acknowledging Hassan as his son, alienating Amir from his true feelings.
ALI: Hassan:
Ali and Hassan are similar characters, both poor, ethnic Hazaras, and devoted childhood friends. They both face betrayal from their masters, with Ali’s infidelity setting the story. Despite this, Ali remains a dedicated servant to Baba, representing a faithful, traditional Muslim perspective. He is the first to learn about the betrayal between Hassan and Amir, allowing Hassan to lie about stealing Amir’s watch and birthday money. This self-sacrificing act allows Ali to protect his son from Amir’s betrayal, despite his limited social power.
SOHRAB: Charaterisation
In The Kite Runner, Sohrab serves as an extension of Hassan, a character born and raised in the same hut. Both are sexually abused by the same man, kite-run with Amir, and carry a slingshot. Hassan threatens to take out Assef’s eye with his slingshot, but Sohrab fulfills the threat. The parallels between Hassan and Sohrab are so significant that the reader could treat them as one character. Amir rescues Sohrab to atone for his betrayal, but Sohrab diverges from his father in the dark aftermath of his abuse. He retreats into himself, believing he is “dirty and full of sin,” and attempts suicide when he believes Amir will abandon him. This act serves as a catalyst for Amir’s faith renewal, as he begs Allah to save Sohrab in the hospital.
ASSEF:Evil
Assef, a violent and racist child in Afghanistan, seeks to eliminate Hazaras by leveraging his economic and ethnic identity. His rape of Hassan exemplifies the violation of social privilege. Assef becomes a Taliban leader, embodying the country’s most vicious beliefs, ultimately personifying racism and abuse in Afghanistan.
ASSEF:Characterisation:
Assef and Amir share similarities in their upbringing and abuse of privilege, which harms Hassan, a disadvantaged Hazara. Amir fights Assef to save Sohrab, fighting the darkest part of himself that betrayed Hassan. Assef is the most evil character in the novel, resembling Adolf Hitler as a child. However, he doesn’t die, illustrating that the cruelest parts of Afghanistan cannot be easily or fully extinguished.
