Character Roles in the Kite Runner

In the novel The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, the characters Hassan, Amir and Sohrab fill important roles throughout the story. Hassan fills the role of tragedy within the novel because of the multiple unfortunate events which occur toward him in the novel. As a child Hassan is bullied for being a Hazara and is then raped for the same reason. Hassan is betrayed by his best friend when Amir watches him get raped but does nothing to stop it, and lastly Hassan is killed as a young adult, leaving his only son as an orphan. Amir's character is used to fill the role of the main protagonist throughout the story, and in addition to this he also acts as the narrator. Using Amir as the narrator of the story is imperative to many events that take place within The Kite Runner. Sohrab is the character within the story who inspires hope within the reader throughout the entire novel. Sohrab's character was created by Hosseini to counteract the unfortunate events that took place in Hassan's life to give the story a hopeful conclusion in the end. These three characters each fill important roles within Hosseini's novel, and without any one of them the novel would create an entirely different tone. The first character who fills an important role in the story is Hassan, who brings the element of tragedy to the story. Hosseini effectively develops Hassan's character at the beginning of the novel by developing his loyal friendship with Amir. Hosseini's portrayal of Hassan's undying loyalty for Amir during the beginning of the novel makes it even more heart-wrenching when Hassan is raped, because at this point in the story the reader has grown attached to Hassan's loyal demeanor. The reader is left devastated after Hassan is raped, because not only does Amir not stand up for Hassan despite their close relationship, but they also move away from each other. It becomes apparent after this that the two best friends will not see each other for a long time. This is a significantly upsetting experience for Hassan because Amir, who was Hassan's best friend, was torn from his life at a time when he needed him most. After Hassan had expressed nothing but loyalty to Amir, Amir was never able to directly repay Hassan. At this point, the childhood friendship that was established between Amir and Hassan appears to be at an end, and Amir's situation seems to be hopeless because he is unable to resolve his issues with Hassan. Another tragedy that occurs which involves Hassan is when Amir travels back to Afghanistan to finally repay Hassan for his endless loyalty and friendship, only to find out that Hassan has passed away and left behind his only child as an orphan. After the initial bonding that took place between Amir and Hassan, Hosseini made it so that Hassan's life quickly deteriorated, causing the reader to feel sorrowful for Hassan after they had just grown fond of his character. When analyzing the novel it becomes apparent that the creation of Hassan's character in The Kite Runner was meant to evoke a feeling of tragedy within the novel. Amir is another character who was created by Hosseini to fill an important role in the story. Amir's role in The Kite Runner is to be the main protagonist of the novel. The story is written from Amir's perspective, which allows the reader to understand and relate to Amir more effectively than they would relate to other characters. Hosseini takes time to develop Amir's childhood as well as his relationship with important characters within the novel in order to solidify the reader's connection and understanding of Amir. The depth in which Amir's character is explored within the novel allows Hosseini to effectively deliver the themes of his story to the reader through Amir. The theme of redemption within the novel is conveyed through Amir's quest to find Hassan and Sohrab. Another important theme within Hosseini's book is the tension and love that exists between a father and a son. This theme can be seen through Amir's relationship with Baba throughout the entire novel. The interference of politics with the private lives of individuals is demonstrated when Amir moves from Kabul to the United States. It is also displayed when Amir attempts to adopt Sohrab, but encounters many difficulties involving the legal system. Another theme in the story is the persistence of the past. This theme is portrayed through Amir throughout most of the novel when he spends the majority of his life in America feeling guilty about his actions that took place on the day when Hassan was raped in front of him as a child. Hosseini is careful to ensure that the reader understands that Amir never truly moved on from his cowardly actions that day. Even as a grown man, Amir is never able to forgive himself for his cowardice as a boy. Hosseini is able to use Amir as an effective protagonist because a large portion of the novel is spent developing his character. Overall, The Kite Runner would not have been as successful of a story if Hosseini had not used Amir to fill the role of the narrator and the main protagonist. Lastly, the role of hope in the story was accomplished with the character, Sohrab. Though it does not initially seem to be so, the majority of the conflicts that occur in the story are made to be hopeful by Sohrab. When Amir first hears of Hassan's death, it is Sohrab who drives him to continue on his quest for redemption because Hassan believes that the only way that he can repay Hassan is by helping Sohrab escape the abusive home of Assef. When Amir is almost beaten to death in Assef's home, Sohrab aims for Assef's eye and successfully lodges a brass ball deep into his eye socket, creating hope for a safer future for Amir and Sohrab. When Sohrab becomes depressed and attempts to commit suicide, Hosseini informs the reader that despite the horrific circumstances, Sohrab would be able to speak again within one year, proving that Sohrab will be able to recover from his torturous past. Lastly, at the end of the novel it is Sohrab who gives the story a happy ending by wearing a small smile on his lips that suggests that he will be well once again, despite the difficulty that he has faced. Sohrab's smile is Hosseini's hint that Hassan and Sohrab will be able to live happily in the future and move past their unfortunate past. Hosseini created Sohrab to counteract the tragic events that occurred in regard to his father, Hassan. All of the tragic events that took place at the beginning of the novel were solved with the hope that was instilled by Sohrab. Sohrab proved to be an extremely important character to the plot because he filled the role of hope that gave the story a fulfilling conclusion. In conclusion, Hosseini cleverly uses Hassan to fill the role of tragedy, Amir to fill the role of the main character and Sohrab to fill the role of hope. Hassan fills the role of tragedy in the story because of the horrific events that he is forced to endure throughout his life, including prejudice, rape, betrayal, and an untimely death. Amir's role is to be the main character and narrator of the story. Hosseini develops Amir's character in a way that allows the reader to have a connection with him so that Hosseini's themes can be accurately interpreted. Lastly, Sohrab fills the need for hope within the story because he is consistently utilized to offset the negative events that take place throughout the story and he is used in the conclusion of the novel to create a hopeful ending to the story. Overall, Hosseini develops each of his characters' roles in a manner that is effective in giving his characters an appropriate level of depth, purpose and meaning that each contribute to creating an excellent novel.