The Kite Runner - Chapter Summaries

Question 1

What is a summary of chapter 1?

Answer 1

Amir tells us about a phone call he received six months earlier from his father’s old friend Rahim Khan, asking him to come to Pakistan

After the call, he took a walk to Golden Gate Park in San Fransico, where he now lives and watched kites being flown

He remembered his childhood friend Hassan, a kite runner with a cleft lip, and he remembered an event in his childhood in Afghanistan in which he watched something take place in an alley

He thought about how that event shaped him as a person

Question 2

What is a summary of chapter 2?

Answer 2

Amir looks back and recalls that his friend Hassan, a family servant, was from a lower ethnic group - the Hazara

Amir remembers how he and Hassan would get into trouble with Amir’s father, Baba, and Hassan would take the blame

We learn that Amir’s mother died giving birth to him, and that Hassan’s mother left her husband five days after giving birth to Hassan

We learn that Hassan’s father Ali suffered from polio

Amir discovers that for a long time the Hazara’s have been persecuted by his own people, the Pashtuns

Question 3

What is a summary of chapter 3?

Answer 3

Amir remembers time spent with his father during childhood and how his father was disappointed with his lack of manly attributes - however, Amir was still eager for his approval

Baba was seen as a great man by the people around him. He has an ability to achieve more than was expected of him - running a successful business, marrying well and building an orphanage

Amir recalls becoming interested in reading and writing as a way to escape his father’s lack of interest in him

Amir comes to believe his father hates him because he holds him responsible for his mother’s death during childbirth

Amir overhears Baba talking to Rahim Khan about how much more manly Hassan is and that he can’t believe Amir is his son

Question 4

What is a summary of chapter 4?

Answer 4

We learn Ali was an orphan and brought up by Baba’s father. The two grew up together, but Amir doesn’t remember hearing Baba refer to Ali as a friend

Growing up, Hassan acted as Amir’s servant. Despite this, they spent a lot of time together, with Amir reading stories to Hassan

After Hassan praises a story Amir invented, Amir starts writing stories

Baba doesn’t wish to read Amir’s stories, but Rahim Khan does and praises him for it. Amir becomes angry over Hassan pointing out a possible hole in his plot

Question 5

What is a summary of chapter 5?

Answer 5

Amir and Hassan’s conversation interrupted by a loud roaring noise and the sound of gunfire. These are sounds of a coup which overthrows the king of Afghanistan

Amir and Hassan go to their tree to distract themselves from events. On the way, they are attacked by three bullies (Assef, Wali and Kamal) who question Amir having a Hazara friend

Hassan scares the bullies off with his slingshot and Assef promises revenge

As life returns to normal after the coup, Baba arranges for Hassan’s cleft lip to be corrected as a birthday present. Amir informs us this was the winter Hassan stopped smiling

Question 6

What is a summary of chapter 6?

Answer 6

In winter schools close and children take part in kite-fighting tournaments

Amir asks for a new kite which Baba buys him, however, he also buys the same kite for Hassan which makes Amir jealous

Amir tests Hassan’s loyalty by asking him if he would eat dirt if commanded to do so, Hassan says he would, but challenges Amir over whether he would ever ask him to

The 1975 tournament is to be held in Amir’s neighbourhood, Amir wants to win to make his father proud

Night before the tournament the boys play cards and Amir suspects Hassan is letting him win

Question 7

What is a summary of chapter 7?

Answer 7

Night before the tournament, Hassan dreams he and Amir are swimming in a lake with a monster in it. They survive and the people watching rename the lake after the boys

Despite being nervous, Amir wins the kite-fighting tournament. Hassan runs to catch his kite

Amir returns home, but Hassan doesn’t return with the kite so Amir goes looking for him

Hassan is captured by Assef and the other bullies in an alley. Assef offers Hassan his freedom in return for the kite, Hassan refuses

The boys rape Hassan while Amir watches, but Amir does nothing to rescue him

When Hassan comes out the alley, Amir takes the kite from him but doesn’t comment on the other boys distressed state

Back home, Amir gets a warm welcome from his father that he’s been seeking

Question 8

What is a summary of chapter 8?

Answer 8

After the rape, Amir feels guilty not saving Hassan. Hassan has gone to bed when Ali asks Amir if anything happened to Hassan. Amir suggests he’s just unwell

Baba takes Amir to Jalalabad for the weekend, Amir becomes car sick on the journey embarrassing Baba

After Amir returns, Hassan tries to patch up their relationship but Amir rejects him. Amir’s treatment of Hassan becomes crueller

Amir has a birthday party. Assef comes and brings him a biography of Hitler as a present

At the party, Rahim Kahn tells Amir a story about a girl he wanted to marry as an example of how Amir shouldn’t let Hassan being a Hazara be a barrier to their friendship. He gives Amir a notebook in which he writes his stories

Question 9

What is a summary of chapter 9?

Answer 9

For Amir’s birthday, Hassan and Ali give him a new copy of the book Amir used to read to Hassan

Amir plants a watch that he received for his birthday under Hassan’s mattress, then goes to his father falsely accusing Hassan of stealing it

When asked by Baba, Hassan admits the theft. Amir is shocked and realises Hassan knows he saw the attack in the alley

Baba forgives Hassa, despite his earlier statement about theft. Ali and Hassan decide to leave, Baba pleads with them to stay something Amir has never seen his father do before

Amir watches Ali and Hassan leave. It’s raining and he imagines a scene from a film where he would run to the car and all would be forgiven, but he doesn’t act on it

Question 10

What is a summary of chapter 10?

Answer 10

It’s 1981 and Amir and his father are escaping from Russian controlled Afghanistan. Theys top so Amir can be sick, he remembers all that they have had to abandon

They stop at a roadblock and Baba stands up to a Russian soldier who is threatening to rape a female Afghan refugee. Baba is nearly shot, but the solider is reined in by his commander

They arrive in Jalalabad but the truck meant to take them out the country is broke. They have to stay in the basement of a house with similarly stranded refugees

They finally make the last part of their journey in an empty fuel tanker. One of the bullies from the Attack, Kamal, dies on the journey and his father kills himself

Question 11

What is a summary of chapter 11?

Answer 11

It’s the 1980s and Amir and Baba are now living in California. Baba likes the strengths of America, but the pollution and lack of fresh foods make him ill

Baba refuses to learn English or adapt to his new country but is still capable of commanding respect among ex-pat Afghans

Amir graduates high school and decides to study English and creative writing at college. Baba wants him to study something that will lead to a ‘proper job’

Baba and Amir buy items from garage sales and sell them from a stall in the Afghan section of the San Jose flea market

Amir falls in love with a girl called Soraya, the daughter of an Afghan general, whom he meets at the flea market

Question 12

What is a summary of chapter 12?

Answer 12

Amir is in love with Soraya and spends time with her at the flea market, talking about stories and books

Amir’s attentions are welcomed by the girl’s mother but he’s warned off by her father

Baba falls ill with lung cancer. He refuses to accept treatment and forbids Amir from telling anyone about his illness

After Baba collapses at the flea market and is rushed to hospital, Amir asks him to approach Soraya’s family for her hand in marriage and it is all agreed

Soraya reveals to Amir she ran away from home when she was younger and lived with a man. Amir wishes he could tell her his own guilty secret but is unable to

Question 13

What is a summary of chapter 13?

Answer 13

Amir is engaged to Soraya. The engagement period is cut short because of Baba’s health. On his wedding day, Amir thinks about Rahim Kham and Hassan

Soraya moves in with Amir to help look after Baba. One day Amir discovers she has been sharing his stories with Baba which moves Amir to tears

A month after the wedding Baba dies. The funeral reminds Amir of his father’s stature in Kabul, and how much he relies on his father’s strength

Amir learns Soraya’s father suffers from migraines and still hopes to return to Afghanistan. Her mother suffers a stroke and now worries about her health

Amir secures a place at college and later has his first novel published

Amir and Soraya try to have children but are unable to

Question 14

What is a summary of chapter 14?

Answer 14

Story returns to June 2001 and Amir receive the phone call from Rahim Khan who is sick and wants Amir to come to Pakistan

Rahim Kahn’s message, ‘there is a way to be good again’ tells Amir that the older man has always known about the events in the alley

Amir and Soraya are still childless. They rarely speak of this, but it’s clearly a problem in their marriage

Soraya arranges for her parents to stay with her while Amir is away. The. Amir flies to Pakistan

Question 15

What is a summary of chapter 15?

Answer 15

Amir arrives in Peshawar in Pakistan and meets a very ill Rahim Khan. This is the first time Amir has seen his old friend since he and Baba left Kabul

Rahim Kham recounts to Amir the terrible changes in Afghanistan and the brutality of the Taliban regime. He goes on to say that he is dying and want Amir to do one final favour for him. He then tells Amir about Hassan who lived in Baba’s old house with Rahim Khan after Amir and Baba left

Question 16

What is a summary of chapter 16?

Answer 16

Rahim Khan relates the story of what has happened to him since Amir last saw him

Unable to maintain Baba’s house by himself, Rahim Khan seeks out Ali and Hassan to help him

He travels to a village just outside Bamiyan where he finds Hassan, who tells him Ali was killed by a landmine

Rahim Khan asks Hassan and his wife, Farzana, to live with him. Hassan first refuses but agrees after learning about Baba’s death

Farzana gives birth to a stillborn but later becomes pregnant again. Shortly afterwards, Hassan’s mother Sanaubar returns to the house starving and ill

Hassan and his wife nurse his mother back to health. She, in turn, delivers Farzana’s son Sohrab. Sanaubar dies when Sohrab is four

Hassan tries to give his son a normal life, despite the turmoil in the country. This becomes more difficult in 1996 when the Taliban take over the country

Question 17

What is a summary of chapter 17?

Answer 17

After hearing Rahim Khan’s story, Amir asks if Hassan is still living in the house. Rahim gives Amir a photo of Hassan and Sohrab and a letter in which Hassan says he would like to see Amir again

Rahim reveals, however, that Hassan and his wife were murdered by the Taliban a month after the letter was written. Their son, Sohrab, now lives in an orphanage in Kabul

Rahim asks Amir to go to Kabul and find Sohrab. He also tells him that Baba was Hassan’s real father making Hassan Amir’s half-brother. Amir is angry at never knowing this and storms from the apartment

Question 18

What is a summary of chapter 18?

Answer 18

Amir considers the news that Hassan was his half-brother and realises it explains Baba’s affection for Hassan

He considers the possibility that if he hadn’t betrayed Hassan, Ali and his son may still be alive in the USA

Amir realises that he has no choice but to go to Kabul to find his nephew

Question 19

What is a summary of chapter 19?

Answer 19

Amir returns to Taliban held Afghanistan to rescue Sorab. On the way, he suffers a recurrence of his car sickness

Once back in Afghanistan, Amir feels out of place - like a visitor. Farid, the driver who has helped Amir enter the country, accuses Amir of always having been a visitor in his own country

Farid takes Amir to stay with his brother Wahid. Wahid asks why he has returned and Amir explains about Sohrab

Wahid says he is proud to have Amir stay in his house and gives him all the food he and his family have to eat. Farid is ashamed of his earlier accusations

Farid agrees to help Amir with his mission now he realises the reason for his return. Before they leave, Amir hides a handful of money under his mattress to repay the family for their kindness

Question 20

What is a summary of chapter 20?

Answer 20

Amir is shocked at the state of Afghanistan. On arriving in Kabul he discovers it has been severely damaged by twenty years of war

The Taliban patrol the streets looking for people to punish. Amir is advised to avoid looking at them

They meet a beggar who was formerly a university lecturer working alongside Amir’s mother. The beggar gives them directions to the orphanage where they hope to find Sohrab

Amir arrives at the orphanage and after some argument, finds Sorab has been sold by the director to a prominent member of the Taliban. Amir questions this activity and learns its the only way the man can fund care for the remaining children

The director tells them they will find the man who bought Sohrab at the next day’s football match

Question 21

What is a summary of chapter 21?

Answer 21

Amir returns to his old neighbourhood. It’s largely undamaged because it has been taken over by the new leaders, though it hasn’t been maintained well

Amir climbs the hill to the old cemetery to discover that the pomegranate tree has died. However, the inscription he carved into the trunk remains

Amir and Farid check into a hotel and Amir finds that things like the food and humour are still unchanged. However, he also finds familiarity in Farid’s expression of casual prejudice about the Shi’a

Amir and Farid watch the man in sunglasses - the man who bought Sohrab from the orphanage - stone two people to death at the football match. Farid makes arrangements for Amir to meet the man

Question 22

What is a summary of chapter 22?

Answer 22

Amir, wearing a false beard to blend in, goes to a large house in his old neighbourhood to meet the man in sunglasses who bought Sohrab

The man appears, covered in the blood from the stoning, and removes Amir’s disguise. He taunts him with references to the stoning and the massacre at Mazir

The man accuses Amir of treason for having left Afghanistan, then sends for Sohrab. The boy is forced to dance for them

The man shows he knows Amir’s identify then reveals himself to be Assef. He asks Amir why he wants the boy, but Amir refuses to tell him

Eventually, Assef gives Sohrab to Amir but tells him that the price he must pay for the boy is to finish their childhood fight

Assef fights with Amir and hurts him badly, but Amir is saved by Sohrab who, like Hassan, uses a slingshot and incapacitates Assef. They escape with Farid

Question 23

What is a summary of chapter 23?

Answer 23

Amir is in hospital after his beating, having suffered severe injuries. He has a dream, in which his father wrestles the black bear before turning to Amir

Rahim Khan has gone away to die in peace. He leaves a letter forgiving Amir for his childhood mistakes. He explains Baba was hard on Amir because he couldn’t show his love for Hassan

Farid searches but discovers no sign of the adoptive parents Rahim Khan promised for Sohrab

Amir decides to take Sohrab with him to Islamabad while he considers what to do

Question 24

What is a summary of chapter 24?

Answer 24

Sohrab goes missing in Islamabad, but Amir finds him near the Shah Faisal Mosque. They talk about Hassan and Sohrab tells Amir the Taliban ‘did things’ to him of which he is ashamed. Amir invites Sohrab to return to the USA with him

Amir explains to Sohrab that he is his uncle. Sohrab is scared Amir might place him in another orphanage. Amir promises it won’t happen

Amir calls Soraya who is happy for him to bring Sohrab home. Amir discovers the process of adoption is very difficult and admits to Sohrab he may have to go into an orphanage for a time

Soraya tells Amir to bring the boy home and complete the paperwork in the USA. Amir goes to tell Sohrab but is shocked by what he finds

Question 25

What is a summary of chapter 25?

Answer 25

Sohrab has attempted suicide in the bath. Amir attempts to pray for both Sohrab and Hassan

The boy survives but is uncommunicative and withdrawn. When Amir reads to Sohrab wishes he could return to his old life or for death

Amir takes Sohrab back to the USA, but the boy’s depression doesn’t lift

When Soraya’s parents meet Sohrab, the general makes a dismissive comment about this ‘Hazara boy’. Amir challenges this racism and reveals Sohrab and Hassans parentage

Months pass in which the events of 9/11 occur and Amir and Soraya become involved in projects to end the years of war and unhappiness in their homeland

The novel ends where it began. Sohrab helps Amir fly a kite in a kite fight. Finally rekindles the boy’s spirit and Amir adopts the role of the kite runner