The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner begins when Amir is just a young boy living in Afghanistan with his father, Baba, and their Hazara servants Ali and Hassan. Although it is frowned upon to be friends with a Hazara, Amir and Hassan are inseparable growing up. Sadly, Amir grows aggravated by the way Baba pays more attention to Hassan. This causes Amir to disown Hassan, compelling Ali and Hassan to move away. Shortly after, the USSR takes over Kabul in Afghanistan, forcing Amir and Baba to flee to the United States. The two of them live quiet lives together for many years. Baba eventually passes away and Amir marries the beautiful Soraya. Twenty years after fleeing Afghanistan, Amir decides to go back to visit, where he discovers he and Hassan were half brothers. Hassan is dead, killed by the Taliban, but his son remains scared and alone in an orphanage. Amir soon adopts Hassan’s only son and he takes him back to America. It takes Sohrab, the young boy, a year to finally speak after being brought to America, but Amir is happiest he’d been in thirty years.
The conflict in this story is man verses self. Amir is haunted his entire life knowing that Hassan would have done anything for him yet he disowned him out of jealousy. Amir keeps this secret for most of his life, never mentioning it to his father, and only telling his wife after he brings news of adopting Sohrab. Amir is also constantly beating himself up, trying to impress his father.
The climax occurs when Amir literally fights with his life against an old Taliban enemy in order to take Sohrab out of the Taliban’s possession. Amir nearly faces death in this struggle, but he does survive and gain his prize. The resolution is at the very end of the story when Amir purchases a kite at a festival back in San Francisco. He and Hassan used to be the best kite runners in Kabul, but Sohrab had no knowledge of this. When Amir gracefully cuts the kite of an opponent Sohrab shows the first hint of a smile in an entire year. At that moment Amir is happy with his life and sees a bright future for his family.
In Afghanistan there is a popular sport called kite running. Thousands of people gather around to watch as many villagers fly their kites. The goal is to cut other people’s kites and have yours be the last one flying. The kite running comes into play when somebody’s kite is cut. Kids start running through the streets as fast as they can in order to catch the kite. In the game of kite running, the last kite that is cut is like the first place trophy, and everybody wants to claim it. During one kite competition, Amir cuts the last kite and Hassan runs for it. He catches the kite and guards it with his life to be sure it is brought safely back to Amir. In this story, the kites symbolize joy and freedom. The kites bring joy to many people and are able to fly freely in the sky.
The Kite Runner is a very popular book not only because of the touching story, but because of how it relates to today’s world. It takes place in Afghanistan and America during the Cold War and the reign of the Taliban. The Taliban is still very much alive in Afghanistan today and that is one of the large reasons why we have troops in the Middle East. Many people are affected by the war in the Middle East, which helps this story touch close to their hearts.