The general plot of The Kite
Runner tells the story of the protagonist, Amir, and his journey between
Afghanistan and America to seek atonement for his past sins against his old companion,
Hassan. While living in Kabul, Amir lives the life of a privileged youth: His father,
Baba, is a wealthy widower who employs several servants, including his old friend, Ali,
and his son, Hassan. Although Amir and Hassan are close--Hassan runs kites for him, thus
the title of the novel--Amir never accepts him as an equal; he also is jealous of the
attention Baba pays him. In two disgraceful acts--first, failing to come to Hassan's aid
when he is sodomized by a group of boys; and then by deliberately planting money under
Hassan's mattress to make him look like a thief--Amir is able to rid the household of
Hassan. But his guilt over these two transgressions never leaves
him.
Growing up later in California, Amir is never able to
forgive himself for what he did to Hassan. When Amir receives a phone call from Baba's
old friend, Rahim Khan, imploring him to return to Pakistan to see him, Rahim (who seems
to have recognized what Amir did to Hassan) assures Amir that "there is a way to be good
again." While there, Rahim reveals secrets about Baba that only makes Amir more
determined to ease his conscience. Amir returns, first to Pakistan and then to the
dangers of Taliban-held Afghanistan, to search for Hassan's son.
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