1. The Kite
Runner
FGI
1

2. 2 January 28, 2013
Baba and Ali
 P.4 “They stuffed their pipes – except their
favorite three topics:
politics, business, soccer.”

3. 3 January 28, 2013
Hassan’s origins
 P.5 “It was there, in that little shack, that
Hassan was born in the winter of 1964…In
the eighteen years that I lived in that
house, I stepped into Hassan and Ali’s
quarters only a handful of times.”

4. 4 January 28, 2013
Mothers
 P.6“While my mother haemorrhaged to
death during childbirth, Hassan lost his less
than a week after he was born. Lost her to
a fate most Afghans considered far worse
than death: She ran off with a clan of
traveling singers and dancers.”

5. 5 January 28, 2013
Hazaras
 P. 8 An old history born written by an
Iranian called Khorami. “The book said a
lot of thing I didn’t know, things my
teachers hadn’t mentioned. Things Baba
hadn’t mentioned either. It also said some
things I did know, like that people called
Hazaras mice-eating, flat-nosed, load-
carrying donkeys.

6. 6 January 28, 2013
p. 31 Story writer -- identity
 Rahim Khan writes a note: “God has
granted you a special talent…the most
impressive thing about your story is that it
has irony…”

7. 7 January 28, 2013
Winning – male approval
 P. 63 “Then I saw Baba on our roof. He
was standing on the edge, pumping both
of his fists. Hollering and clapping. And
that right there was the single greatest
moment of my twelve years of life, seeing
Baba on that roof, proud of me at last.”

8. 8 January 28, 2013
p. 68 The subaltern?
 Assef: “Why he only plays with you when
no one else is around? I’ll tell you
why, Hazara. Because to him, you’re
nothing but an ugly pet. Something he
caqn play with when he’s
bored, something he can kick when he’s
angry.”
 P. 69. “I opened my mouth, almost said
something. Almost. The rest of my life
might have turned out differently if I had.
But I didn’t. I just watched. Paralyzed.”

9. 9 January 28, 2013
p. 98 Stealing of the watch
 “He knew I’d seen everything in that alley,
that I’d there and done nothing. He knew
I had betrayed him and yet he was
rescuing me once again, maybe for the
last time….I wasn’t worthy of this sacrifice;
I was a liar, a cheat and a thief.”

10. 10 January 28, 2013
America
 P. 116 “Amir loved the idea of America.
 It was living in America that gave him an
ulcer.”

11. 11 January 28, 2013
Fatherhood
 P. 169 “The idea of fatherhood unleashed
a swirl of emotions in me. I found it
frightening, invigorating, daunting, and
exhilarating all that at the same time.
What sort of father would I make, I
wondered. I wanted to be just like Baba
and I wanted to be nothing like him.”

12. 12 January 28, 2013
p. 263 Assef again
 “My entire adult life, whenever I heard
Daourd Khan’s name, what I swaw was
Hassan with his slingshot pointed at Assef’s
face, Hassan saying that they’d have to
start calling him One-Eyed Assef instead
of Assef Goshkor. I remember how envious
I’d been of Hassan’s bravery. Assef had
backed down, promised that in the end
he’d get us both. He’d kept that promise
with Hassan. Now it was my turn.”

13. 13 January 28, 2013
Rescue…
 P.292 “Your father was a good man. But
that’s what I’m trying to tell you, Sohrab
jah. That there are bad people in this
world, and sometimes bad people stay
bad. Sometimes you have to stand up to
them. What you did to that man is what I
should have done to him all those years
ago. You gave him what he
deserved, and he deserved even more.”

14. 14 January 28, 2013
Questions
 Who are the most significant characters in
the book and why? What the most
significant events and why?
 What do you think of the novel overall?
 What do you think the novel tells us about
the subaltern?