Amir is the protagonist and narrator of “The Kite Runner.” He is from Afghanistan and his father is a wealthy businessman. Amir is 9 years old when the novel opens and 12 when most of the flashbacks take place. We learn about Amir’s life through his own memories, which gradually become more unreliable as the novel progresses. For example, he remembers his friend Hassan with perfect clarity but describes his wife Soraya in extremely vague terms.
Amir lives in Kabul with his parents and Hazara servant Ali. Amir’s best friend Hassan is a Hazara as well. Although Hassan’s family works for Amir’s family, they are still discriminated against by the upper-class Pashtun people.
Amir is jealous of Hassan because he is better at kite fighting, a popular Afghan pastime. The kite fighting tradition stems from ancient battles in which soldiers had to cut down their enemies’ kites to win the battle. However, this practice has been banned by the Taliban because it distracts Afghans from their religious obligations and could lead to violence against one another.
Years later, Amir returns to Afghanistan to save Hassan’s son Sohrab from a life of poverty and abuse at the hands of his father’s new wife, Rabia.
