The Kite Runner - Questions, reading assignments

1
Week/Pages
Week 1: 1-106 (Chapters 1-8)
Week 2: 107-199 (Chapters 9-14)
Week 3: 200-306 (Chapters 15-22)
Week 4: 307-391 (Chapters 23-25)

Theme
Phoniness
Social Media Challenge vs. Isolation
Controlling the Identity we project
Connections to Characters

The Kite Runner - Questions for Section 1 - Phoniness

Note: phony = not genuine
1)Before you get started answering novel-specific questions, think about the these
issues that are related to phoniness:
(a) What sorts of behaviour do you see as phony?
(b) How critical of other peoples phoniness are you?
(c) Is phoniness always a bad thing?
(d) Why do people lie? What do they gain from it?
(e) How is power connected to lying?
2)Look at the following moments in Amir and Babas relationship and then answer the
question below the examples.
(a) Amirs birth and the death of his mother.
(b) Amir and Babas picnic trip together on page 15.
(c) On pages 23-25 when Amir overhears Baba and Rahim Khan talking about him.
(d) On page 52 when Amir says, Baba and I lived in the same house, but in
different spheres of existence.
(e) When Amir says,And maybe, just maybe, I would be pardoned for killing my
mother(60).
QUESTION: Why does Amir feel he needs to shape his personality to be appreciated by his
father and in what ways does he do so?
3)In what ways is Amirs relationship to Hassan shaped by the fact that Amir is a
Pashtun and Hassan is a Hazara? In order to answer this question, you may need to
think about what you learn about the difference in this section of the novel. See
pages 9-10 for some specific information.
4)Baba says, at one point, When you tell a lie, you steal someones right to the truth.
Do you agree? Explain your answer.
5)On the night before the kite running competition, Amir says the following: That was
the thing about Hassan. He was so goddamn pure, you always felt like a phony
around him(62). Do you agree that Amir is a phony? If so, why do you think he acts
like a phony?

6)Look at the following examples of Amir lying and in each case explain why you
think Amir is lying:
(a) On page 14 when Amir lies to Baba about the fact that Hassan is sick.
(b) On page 44 when Amir lies to Assef about the fact that Hassan is his friend.
(c) On page 83, when Amir lies directly to Hassan and says, Where were you? I
looked for you?
7)In what ways are Amirs self-image and personality changed by the incident which
he witnesses at the end of the kite running competition from pages 76 to 83?
---------------------------Blog Entry #1:
Section 1: In what way(s) does Amir act like a phony? What are his reasons for behaving this
way? What do we learn from Amir about WHY people act phony?
Section 2: Think of a time in your life when you lied, or were phony. Examine why you behaved
this way. In what way can your reasons be seen as similar to Amirs?

The Kite Runner - Questions for Section 2 - Social Media Challenge

and Other Matters
Last time, your focus was on the theme of phoniness. This time, youll be looking at and thinking
about isolation, acceptance, friendship, communication, and reputation.
1)As youre reading, watch for and list at least two moments when people are
separated from each other (eg) Hassan and Ali leave Baba and Amir at the
beginning of the section (115). For each case, explain why the people are separated
and what the effect of the separation is on the characters involved.
2)Now that youve thought about what separates people, what connects people
according to this section of the novel? Choose two examples from the following list
and for each, explain (1) what is bringing the characters together and (2) identify
and explain a real-life example that you can think of from your own life or from the
life of someone close to you when that same force brought people together.
(a) Many people from Afghanistan go to the same flea market (145).
(b) The people escaping Afghanistan together in Chapter 10 (116).

(c) Amir and Babas relationship during this section. See, especially, moments like
the one on page 182 when we realize Baba has been reading Amirs stories.
(d) Amir and Soraya in chapter 13 (175) and elsewhere.
3)What kind of an effect does immigration to America have on Baba and Amir? How
is the effect different and why? See, for example, the passage on pages 135 and 136
about the incident in the convenience store, especially when Amir writes, For me,
America was a place to bury my memories./ For Baba, a place to mourn his(136).
See also when Amir compares America to a river on page 144.
4)Food for thought = on page 138, Baba returns the food stamps he has been given by
the government. We are told that his greatest fear is that someone would see him
buying food with charity money. In other words, Baba is really worried about how
others see him, about his reputation. Also, on page 153, we are told about the
importance of nang and namoos or honour and pride to the Afghan people
Your task = identify and explain at least two other moments in this section of the
novel (or from the first section) when a character is motivated by reputation (to do
something or to hide something about themselves). Next, identify and explain a
time when you or someone you know has done something motivated by building
or keeping up a reputation.

Extra Note: the story of Rostam and Sohrab seems to be quite important to this book. If
youre interested, here is a link to a quick explanation of what it is about
(http://www.bl.uk/learning/cult/inside/shahnamestories/storyeight/sohrabdeath.html)
and here is a link to the full English translation
(http://www.iranchamber.com/literature/shahnameh/08rostam_sohrab.php)
----------------------------------------------Blog Entry # 2: The Kite Runner and the Social Media Challenge

Section 1: What are some examples from the novel where characters feel isolated and/or
alone? What is the cause of the character feeling this way? What are some ways the
character(s) tries to NOT feel lonely or isolated?
Section 2: Think about the social media challenge and your experiences trying (or not
trying) to do it. Why do you think you were asked to stop using social media and texting?
What insights did you gain from trying and/or failing at doing this? In what ways do
people use social media so that they dont feel isolated? What events from the novel
relate to the reason why people did well or didnt do well at taking on this challenge?
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The Kite Runner - Questions for Section 3 - Controlling the Identity We Project
Note: the idea of controlling the identity we project might require some explanation,
though perhaps it sounds more complex than what it really is. All of us, in our daily lives,
attempt to control how others see us through what we say, how we talk, how we walk,
etc. Besides looking at how we do this, for our discussion this week and during your
reading, think about how conflict between people often comes from times when the
identity you are attempting to project to other people gets questioned.
For example, an English teacher spells a word on the black board incorrectly, a student
points it out, and the teacher becomes sour and nasty towards that student. In this case,
the teacher is busy trying to project an identity based on skill with the English language
and because the student questioned that identity, the teacher reacts strongly.
Anyhow, here are the questions:
1. On page 209, Rahim Khan says, of the Taliban, They dont let you be human. After
having read through this section of the novel, in what ways is that statement true?
2. On page 276, Amir says, I dont want to forget anymore. To what extent was Amirs
identity in America based on forgetting about his past in Afghanistan?
3. Identify and explain moments in this section when Amir is faced with the harsh reality
of what has happened in Afghanistan since he left. See, for example, the story of Hassan,
Amirs experiences in Kabul at the orphanage and soccer stadium, and his friendship with
Farid.

4. In this section, Amir tries to take his identity into his own hands. He has always lived a
lie and now he is searching for redemption. How successful is Amir at achieving this
redemption? Take note, for example, of when he says on page 303, he had even been
looking forward to being beaten up by Assef.
5. What kind of identity do Assef and the Taliban attempt to project to the world? Is this
identity ever questioned. Take note, for example, of the way that Sohrab has been treated
by Assef (294).
6. Questions about yourself:
(a) In what way can conflicts you have had with others be understood as a
struggle to maintain control over the image you wish to project?
(b) Why is it important to you to project this particular idea of yourself?
(c) Why do you think the people you had a conflict with didnt believe in the
image you wanted them to see?
(d) In what ways could understanding conflict as a result of struggling for control
of your identity be a helpful (or unhelpful) understanding to have?

------------------------------------------------Blog Entry 3: The Kite Runner and Controlling the Identity We Project
Basically, for blog 3, I would like you to write about your answers to question # 6 above
and talk about how they relate to your answers for questions 1-5.
In other words, answer these questions:
1. To what extent does conflict in the novel come from people fighting for control of
their identities?
2. Take a conflict that you have had and explain how it the heart of this conflict is
actually about a battle for control of your (and the other persons) identity.
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The Kite Runner - Questions for Section 4 (307 - The End) - Connections to Characters
Good readers empathize with literary characters just as good people empathize with
others. For this section of the novel, you are going to think your way through the
connections you have with the major characters in the book.
1. Rahim Khan writes, in his letter to Amir, that guilt leads to good (316). How does
guilt lead to good in the novel? Can you think of an example from your own life of
guilt leading to good?
2.Sohrab and Amir start to bond when they play a card game in the hospital
(something called panjpar on page 320). Can you think of a time when you
bonded with someone or made up after a fight through something simple like a
card game? Why did it work?
3.When Sohrab goes missing, Amir says, I didnt want his blood on my hands(329).
Is Amir still quite selfish at this point, then, or has he changed from the boy who
watched Hassan in the alley?
4.Amir makes promises to Sohrab that he is not sure he can keep. Why does Amir
make these promises, then?
5.What is the point of this last section of the novel, exactly? Other novels would
probably end with the characters escaping and then end the plot with everyone
reunited as quickly as possible --say, around page 320 which is about 15 pages

after what most people would agree is the climax. Why does this novel continue
to almost 400 pages?
6.In your opinion, are the characters in this novel realistic? See if you can think of a
couple of examples of characters--ones that you see as realistic or as
unrealistic--and explain your thinking.
7.What are some similarities between your personality and perspective on the
world and Amirs? Think about the following list as you are coming up with
similarities:
a.His natural abilities as a storyteller.
b.His desire to do good and the difficulty he has in attempting to do so.
c.Times when he takes the easy way out and times when he does some of the
bravest things imaginable.
9
d.Anything else you can think of.

-->by the way, if you identify more with another character in the novel, feel free to
talk about that character instead.

------------------------------------------------Blog Entry 4: The Kite Runner and Connections to Characters

Basically, for blog 4, I would like you to write about connections between yourself and
the characters in the novel. Hopefully, all of the 7 questions for this section will have
prepared you for this.
Feel free to contrast yourself to the characters as you compare yourself. For example,
you might talk about a time that you acted selfishly and compare it to Amir but
acknowledge that his situation is far more serious and he was under different kinds of
pressure. Also, feel free to comment on how realistic you think the characters are.
Finally, although these questions focus for the most part on the last section of the novel,
now that youre done the whole thing, you can comment on points from throughout.
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