The Kite Runner Vs. A Thousand Splendid Suns
Travel to Afghanistan, a world where was has no end, a world where the Taliban rules, a country that is divided between political powers and religiously idealistic views and beliefs and a world where our characters lives have collided through pain and suffering. The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns both explore the idea that a significant individual can inspire a course of action, which may result in a change of self. Both novels share a personal history of what the people of Afghanistan had and have to endure in an ordinary every day life leaving their daily routines just a memory. Both novels strongly explore the different depths of friendship.
In the novel The Kite Runner, the protagonist, Amir, is a young boy growing up in a well off family in Kabul, Afghanistan. Amir’s closest friend is Hassan, a Hazara who is the son of his family’s beloved servant. The boys spend their days in a peaceful Kabul, kite fighting, roaming the streets and being boys. Amir’s father, Baba, loves both the boys, but seems often to favor Hassan for being more manly. He is critical of Amir. Amir’s mother died in childbirth, and Amir fears his father blames him for his mother’s death. However, he has a kind father figure in the form of Rahim Khan, Baba’s friend, who understands Amir better, and is supportive of his interest in writing stories. Assef, a notoriously mean and violent older boy with sadistic tendencies, blames Amir for socializing with a Hazara, according to Assef an inferior race that should only live in Hazarajat. He prepares to attack Amir with his brass knuckles, but Hassan bravely stands up to him, threatening to shoot Assef in the eye with his slingshot. Assef and his henchmen back off, but Assef says he will take revenge. Hassan is a "kite runner" for Amir, he runs to fetch kites Amir has defeated by cutting their strings. He knows where the kite will land without even seeing it.