Numbers
What year are Hassan and Amir born?
1964
Aside from sharing a Birth year, what other factors contribute towards the kinship between Hassan and Amir?
What does Rahim Khan say that convinces Amir to go to Pakistan?
“There is a way to be good again”
What is the effect of putting this quote at the beginning of the novel instead of waiting till after the kite tournament?
Who was the president that replaced the king of Afghanistan?
Daoud Khan
What doe the change in leadership symbolize in the novel?
What event draws Amir closer to his father?
The Kite Flying tournament
The novel is titled “The Kite Runner” even though the kite flying tournament only takes up a small portion of the book. Why is this? Why does Hosseini choose to call Hassan the Kite Runner?
What kind of tree do Amir and Hassan go to in their childhood?
Pomegranate Tree
How does the symbol of the pomegranate tree change throughout the novel?
How many times is the quote “For you a thousand times over” SPOKEN throughout the novel.
What does this phrase symbolize in the novel.
Who said “Blood is a powerful thing”? How many times is it mentioned in the novel?
General Iqbal Taheri, twice
What does blood symbolize throughout the novel?
What country is Khaled Hosseini from? (Bonus: What region of that country?)
Kabul Afghanistan
What rhetorical tool does Hosseini use to make the Kite Runner seem realistic?
What event prompts Amir to return to Kabul?
Rahim Khan tells Amir that Hassan had a son, Sohrab who is now an orphan in Kabul, and that by finding him Amir might also find redemption.
How is Amir’s mindset different now than when he ran Hassan out of the house?
What item drives a wedge between Amir and Hassan?
Blue Kite
What does the Blue kite, and kites as a whole, symbolize for Amir?
How many children does Farid have? What state are they in?
3, they are starving
Why is the inclusion of Darin’s children significan?
Which characters say “For you a thousand times over”?
Hassan, Farid and Amir
Why is this quote significant? What does it symbolize throughout the novel?
Aside from being an author, what is Hosseini’s occupation?
Physician
How do Amir’s experiences parody the way Hosseini felt about his career as a physician? (He describes it as ”akin to an arranged marriage“)
How many times do people nearly get strangled to death? By whom?
2, Karim was strangled by Baba and Zaman gets strangled by Farid.
What are the similarities and differences between these two events?
Amir and Hassan used this item to pelt a neighbors one-eyed dog with walnuts?
Hassan’s slingshot
What does the slingshot represent throughout the novel? How does it parody Assef’s brass knuckles?
How many times does the novel mention Baba crying?
3
Why is Baba crying importan?
Who says “We lived together for almost a month. All the Afghans in Virginia were talking about it.”
Soraya
What is the importance of Soraya’s past?
What year did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan?
1979
How did the Soviet invasion highlight the differences between Amir and Baba?
Even though the book says that Assef was the first character to mock Ali, who is the first character that pokes fun at him?
Amir
Why is it significant that both Amir and Assef share the title of being the first to mock Ali?
What color kite does Amir fly?
Green
What might the green kite symbolize in the novel?
How many kites does Hassan say the Blue Kite cut down before Amir cuts it down?
11
Why is the comparison between the number of kites cut down by Amir and the Blue Kite important? (Note: The novel doesn’t actually say how many kites Amir cuts down, what does this imply? why is this significant?)
“They only let you be this happy if they’re preparing to take something from you.” Though Sofia Akrami originally says this quote, who does Amir hear it from?
Dr. Rasul, the old beggar
What does this conversation reveal about Baba?
What groups fought for control of Afghanistan after the Soviets pulled out their forces?
The Mujahideen Factions
How does this conflict impact the story?
What event prompts Hassan to return to Kabul?
Baba’s death
What does Bab’s death mean to Hassan? What character trait of Hassan is at play here?
Where does Sohrab go when Amir is asleep at the hotel?
Shah Faisal Mosque
Why does Sohrab do this? What is upsetting him?