From the opening of the novel it is shown to the reader that there is a gradual character development of Amir. He says, “Standing in the kitchen with the receiver to my ear, I knew it wasn’t just Rahim Khan on the line. It was my past of unatoned sins.” This is referring to Amir’s betrayal to Hassan, this use of dialogue shows the reader that Amir’s guilt has finally caught up with him. Amir and Hassan spent their childhood together as best friends and when Amir won his kite race, Hassan offered to fetch the winning kite. At this time, Assef the local bully approached Hassan to get the kite.
He sat on the bench and thought the words Rahim had said “ There is a way to be good again” before he hung up . The twin kites had made Amir think of Hassan, Baba, Ali and Kabul. Summary: Chapter 2 During childhood, Amir and Hassan would climb trees and annoy neighbor by using mirrors to reflect sunlight into a neighbor’s window, or they would shoot walnuts at the neighbor’s dog with Hassan’s slingshot. These were Amir’s ideas, but Hassan never blamed Amir when they get caught by Hassan’s father, Ali. In the chapter, Amir had described Hassan facial features .Hassan has the Hazara Mongoloid features that make him look like a Chinese.
The silent animosity between father and son ends when Amir joins and wins a kite-flying contest and ties his own father’s record in the number of kites he cut down. Later, the relationship between the two strengthens as they flee from war-torn Afghanistan and in the process Baba shows Amir how he stood up even to the point of risking even his own life in order to save an unknown woman from a Russian soldier’s vile intentions. As immigrants in the United States Baba once again shows Amir how he can make personal sacrifices for his son’s sake. Forced to live in a foreign country, Baba dies broken hearted but fully resigned to what Amir had made of himself – a writer happily married to a wonderful
The friendship was golden, until one day after a kite fight. Assef, a boy who was also a Pashtun like Amir but was different in so many other aspects, finds and chases Hassan in an attempt to steal Amir’s extravagant blue kite. Hassan would not give up the kite, and Assef refers to him in terms of a pet: “A loyal Hazara. Loyal as a dog”. Assef lunges himself onto Hassan
But I didn't care. I ran with the wind blowing in my face, and a smile as wide as the valley of Panjsher on my lips. I ran." p391 at the end when Amir runs the kite for Sohrab like Hassan had done for him many years earlier. this for Amir was significant of the beginning of forgiving himself for all of the sins he committed against Hassan.
When he gets off the phone he takes a walk through San Francisco. He notices kites flying, and thinks of his past, including his friends Hassan, a boy with a cleft lip who he called kite runner. In chapter two it takes us back to Amir’s child hood where he and Hassan would climb trees and use mirrors to reflect sunlight into a neighbors window, or they would shoot walnuts at the neighbor’s dog with a slingshot. Amir lived with his dad named Baba in a nice home in Kabul. In chapter 3 Amir mixes his memories of Baba in with this information.
They battle and Amir wins, sending the blue kite flying loose. Amir and Hassan cheer and hug, but Amir sees Baba motioning for them to separate. Hassan vows to bring the kite back for Amir and sets off. Amir reels in his kite and accepts everyone’s congratulations, then goes looking for Hassan, asking neighbors if they saw him. One old merchant asks Amir what he is doing looking for a Hazara.
In one situation, a bully named Assef is about to violently attack Amir for socializing with a Shi'a, but Hassan stands up for Amir and threatens to shoot Assef in the eye with his slingshot. Betrayal is one of major themes in this story. One day, Amir and Hassan win a kite tournament and as Hassan goes to run the last cut kite, Assef confronts him and says that he must give him the kite. Knowing how important this kite is to Amir in order to make his father proud, Hassan refuses to give the kite up. Amir goes in search of Hassan and as he hears Assef voice, hides.
Amir’s first experience of violence is when Amir wins the Kite fighting Tournament, and Hassan, runs off in pursuit of Amir’s trophy. Hassan is gone long enough to alarm Amir, who begins to search for him and once he finds him, he sees Assef, a bully, raping him. Amir at first is scared of Assef but later convinces himself by says, “Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay to win Baba (Amir’s Father) Was it a fair price?” (Hosseini 82). As Amir never helps Hassan, this shows that Amir will do anything to get Baba’s love and intention.
As a child, Amir was constantly trying to impress his father, Baba, who looked up to Hassan more than he did Amir. This caused Amir to always be jealous of Hassan, and would constantly test Hassan's loyalty. This was one of the things that I hated about Amir. No matter how much Hassan did for him, he still tested him. Amir would rather his father love him and be proud of him for one day than help his best friend from getting raped.