The life lessons of the kite runner, the story of two boys, Amir and Hassan the Sultan of Kabul, is that the life lessons will repeat themselves until we get to that lesson.
The story begins with Amir and Hassan being inseparable. Amir, the son of a rich merchant, believes that his father blames him for the death of his mother, who died giving birth. Hassan along with his father Ali were servants of Amir and his father Babba. Hassan showed an incredible character, loyal, honest, caring and brave. Hassan admires Amir and professes that he would eat dirt if Amir asked him. Amir overhears a conversation between his father Babba and Rahim Khan, who is Babba’s business partner and best friend in Kabul. Babba secretly harbors in Rahim Khan his concerns about his son’s lack of courage and strength.
During the annual kite fighting contest in Kabul, Amir’s kite is the last to fly. Hassan runs off to pick up the last kite that Amir cut. When Hassan doesn’t return after a spell, Amir searches for Hassan and finds him cornered by three local thugs who harassed Hassan and Amir earlier in the film. The biggest of the thugs offered to spare Hassan at a price, the price being the kite Hassan swore to lower and return to Amir. Hassan told the thugs that the kite was not his, and in return, the thugs beat and raped him, while Amir watched, afraid to come to Hassan’s defense.
Amir’s shame at not standing up and fighting for Hassan inspired him to betray Hassan further as Amir sought to have Hassan and his father driven from their home. Amir asked Babba if he would get any new servants and Babba cursed Amir and told him that Ali had been part of the family for over forty years and that his father raised him like a brother and that he would never speak of it again. Amir then framed Hassan, placing his watch and money under Hassan’s pillow. When Babba confronted Hassan and Ali, Hassan took responsibility and admitted to stealing the watch and money, further protecting Amir. Babba spared Hassan, but Ali informed Babba that he and Hassan were leaving.
Rahim Khan calls Amir and asks him to come home to fix things again. Rahim Khan explained to Amir that Hassan died protecting his father’s house in Kabul, loyal until his death, and that both Amir and Hassan were unaware that they were half-brothers. Amir had relations with Hassan’s mother, who gave birth to Hassan. Rahim Khan gave Amir a letter that Hassan wrote to him telling him about his son and how he missed the good times they had as children. Amir decides to fix things and go to Kabul and take Hassan’s son Sohrab with him. When Amir finds Sohrab, he discovers that the child had been taken by his childhood nemesis, Assef, who raped Hassan. Sohrab was traumatized and raped by Assef, the rapist of his father, forcing him to dress as a girl and dance for Amir. Amir confronts Assef and tells him that he is here to take Sohrab back to America. Assef fights Amir and Sohrab defends Amir with his father’s slingshot that Amir gave Hassan for his birthday earlier in the movie.
Amir returns to America with Sohrab, who is traumatized and withdrawn. When Amir’s father-in-law, General Taheri, asks Amir what he should tell people why he has taken a Hazara (considered an inferior race) into his house. Amir confronted General Taheri and told him that his father slept with his servant’s wife and that he was Sohrab’s uncle and that the general would not refer to Sohrab as that Hazara boy in his presence. .
Amir’s courage and loyalty are tested multiple times throughout the film, and he doesn’t live up to either his father’s expectations or his own. He leaves and betrays his brother and his best friend Hassan. However, true to real life, Amir was given the chance to redeem himself and become the man his father wanted him to be and the friend Hassan deserved. Amir saved Hassan’s son Sohrab from the Taliban and brings him to America and raised him as his son. If ever there was a movie written to evoke emotions, this is it. The book has been controversial as has the film. The Kite Runner shows us that in life, regardless of our shame, guilt, or mistakes we have made in the past, we will be presented with new opportunities to make different choices and opportunities for personal growth. Amir was given the opportunity to face his fears, face his nemesis and his father-in-law, and prove his loyalty and courage.
As in the real life movie The Kite Runner, we often find ourselves making decisions based on our fears. For Amir, his fear was that his father would blame him for his mother’s death during his birth. This fear led Amir to resent his friend Hassan, who showed loyalty and courage. The traits that Amir’s father wanted Amir to learn. Like Amir, we find ourselves making life decisions based on our fears. Perhaps we choose to remain silent when someone we know is being treated unfairly. It could be a more personal choice, perhaps we get stuck in a relationship that is abusive or a job that is a dead end, because our fears of change overshadow our desire for change. We may discover our lack of self-esteem due to shame or guilt from our past. The lesson of The Kite Runner is that when life presents us with new opportunities, we can make different choices, we can face our fears, and we can grow as people. We can develop those characteristics and traits that we value and become the person we want to become.