Baba

As soon as Amir and Baba come to America, Baba changes into a completely different person. I was really confused at the transition. He becomes weak and small. In Kabul, Baba was the richest guy around. Everyone knew him. He was a giant guy with a booming voice. In America, Amir talks about how Baba lost a whole bunch of weight and he's sad all the time. I would be sad too if everything that I have worked for my whole life was lost. When they transititoned to America, all they brought with them was two suitcases. It is always sad to see your dad be vulnerable because that is the person you look up to your whole life and you believe nothing bad can ever happen to them. Amir goes through this again when Baba gets cancer and becomes very sick. In Kabul, Baba would get mad at him if he didn't stand up for himself or if he would cry. He didn't like to see this weakness in his son. Now, Baba is sick on the couch and relies on Amir and his wife to take care of him. The tradition to America completely switched their roles.

Amir is an idiot

It's not Amir's fault that those boys raped Hassan. However, it is his fault that he continued to watch it and not intervene. It is understandable that Amir was afraid that if he stepped in they would do the same thing to him. He knew that probably would happen so he ran away and let his best friend be hurt. Throughout the story it makes me really mad how Amir can't just fess up to what he did. All his regret would go away and he could finally move on with his life. Him and Hassan would become good friends again. The guilt that he has is eating away at him for years and years. Why can't he just own up to it? If I were him, I probably would've had that conversation with Hassan a long time ago. It would have made it so they wouldn't have left and they would probably still be friends. It's sad to me that they are as close as brothers and this tragedy can seperate them for good.

Foreshadowing

"I will never forget how Assef's blue eyes glinted with a light not entirely sane and how he grinned... as he pummeled that poor kid unconscious." This quote comes from the scene where Amir and Hassan are cornered for the first time by the neighborhood bullies. Amir knows what they can do to them because he has seen it happen to other kids before. He refers to this look in Assef's eyes again when he is raping Hassan. This is used as foreshadowing to let the reader know of the horrible things that are about to happen. Assef is insane and gets genuine pleasure out of beating other kids up. He smiles to himself as he "pummels"someone. In this same way, he is cheerful when he rapes Hassan. Amir knows that he will not stop for anything because he is mentally insane."Years later, I learned an English word for the creature that Assef was, a word for which a good Farsi equivalent does not exist: sociopath." I didn't know what this word meant so I looked it up; a person, as a psychopathic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. I think this describes him perfectly because he does not see the moral wrongness of what he is doing whatsoever.

Protagonist

I think that Hassan is the protagonist. Even though he is not the central character of the story, he plays a very heroic role. Hassan is always building up Amir by telling him how he will write amazing books when he is older and how great of a kite flyer he is. Even when Amir throws the fruit at Hassan, he refuses to hit him back. Hassan shows Amir what it means to be a best friend and not just a servent. When Hassan and Amir go off to the hill to play one day, they are followed by the three huge bullies of the neighborhood. They both know that they don't stand a chance against them. However, Hassan stands up for both of them. He pulls out his slingshot and points it right at the bully's head. They know that the bullies will get revenge on them eventually but Hassan is brave enough to put an end to it.

Antagonist

In the Kite Runner, I believe that the narrator, Amir, is the antagonist. He is puts his best friend Hassan down all the time by mocking his inability to read. I think that the reason Amir is mean to Hassan is because he is jealous of the way his father cares about Hassan. Amir doesn't get very much attention from his father and when Hassan comes around, his father tends to strike up a conversation with him. Rahim Khan relates more to Amir than his father does. Amir also doesn't stand up for Hassan when he gets raped. He knows that Hassan would do it for him but he is afrad of what they will do to him if he intervenes. As a result, he ruins the friendship they have. They will no longer play together and talk to eachother like they used to. Because of Amir's cowardness, he puts his childhood to an end.