Sohrab is the biological child of Amir’s half-brother Hassan, a servant of Amir’s father, who was raped and murdered by Amir’s half-brother, Assef, and Hassan’s wife, Sohrab’s mother. The character of Sohrab is introduced early in the novel, but he doesn’t fully appear until about halfway through the book. Hassan’s murder causes Sohrab to go mute and develop a phobia of men with beards. Sohrab is later rescued by Amir, who finds him being beaten by an orphanage employee and takes him home.
Amir treats Sohrab like his own son and gives him unconditional love, which helps to heal his emotional scars. Sohrab slowly opens up to Amir and becomes a happy, well-adjusted boy under his care.
Sohrab also has a talent for kite-running—a traditional Afghan sport in which two people run with kites on opposite ends of a long string until one kite falls to the ground—and wins the local kite-running tournament while his father serves as one of his opponents. This victory brings Amir great joy and allows him to forgive himself for Hassan’s death.
Sohrab represents the innocent victims of the conflict in Afghanistan and the hope for a better future for the country.
