The Kite Runner
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Amir-
 He is the main character in "The Kite Runner."  Amir lives in a very luxurious house in Kabul, Afghanistan with his father, and their servants. Amir is the type of person that values what other people think of him. He is afraid of being in the world by himself; without his father's protection. His best friend is Hassan, who happens to be their servant. Even though he works for Amir's dad, Amir considers him a brother. They do everything together; they even fed from the same breast when they were younger. Amir is always looking for his father's acceptance, so he gets very jealous when his father is treating Hassan just like he is his son. As Amir gets older, his personality starts to change. He starts to realize what life is really all about. He learns what is important and not so important in life. He goes from being an immature child, to an adult that knows what he wants out of life. Amir witnessed Hassan being tormented and he has felt a strain on his relationship with his wife due to their infertility, so these are the only things that are holding him back from true happiness. Amir wants to become a changed man, so he trys to do something that will make Hassan and his wife happy. Amir became a true man, after going through everything he did to gain back his friends and family.

Hassan- Hassan is the type of person that never changed throughout the story. Hassan always had to save Amir from some type of situation he got himself into. He is considered to be the responsible one. He was always such a great loyal, trustworthy, and caring friend towards Amir. Hassan lives a very different life than Amir. Since he is their servant, he has to prepare all of their food and do other house hold chores, while Amir is going to school and having fun. But, Hassan doesn’t know any different than serving others. He doesn’t mind doing this for Hassan and Baba because they have given him and his father a nice place to live. Hassan is a very content person, he enjoys what he has, and does not expect anything else from anyone. Hassan is hurt in the story, and being the good person that he is, he doesn’t tell on the people that committed it. He likes to keep to himself, but he likes to be very respectful to everyone.

Baba- Baba is the father of Amir.. He is respected by many high officials because of his businesses and his wealth. Baba is the type of person that is not easily influenced by others. He believes in his own beliefs, and he is a strong promoter of being an individual. He is especially hard on his son, Amir, because he wants him to inherit some of the characteristics that he displays. Baba is always willing to stand up for what he believes in, even if he has to die for it. But no matter what, he wants his son to learn some of his great characteristics as being a noble, respected man.

Ali- Ali is Hassan’s father through most of the book. Ali is a very good friend to Baba. As Baba’s servant, he is always more than willing to do anything for him. Ali loves his son, Hassan, very much. He is a poor Hazara so he is not respected by many people in Afghanistan. In spite all of his weaknesses; he is a very genuine person who is full of love and respect for Baba and Amir.

Sohrab-Sohrab is the son of Hassan and his wife, Farzana. Sohrab is also a Hazara. He displays many characteristics of his father, like his facial features and his attitude towards life. Sohrab is also very good at the slingshot, like his father.  Sohrab is not treated very well when he is with the Taliban, so when the book first introduces him, he is very vulnerable and shy, but as it continues, he grows into a very strong and confident young man.

Assef-Assef is a very mean man and does horrible things to Hassan and Sohrab.  He is the leader of the Taliban, so he was the one that turned Afghanistan into a very different country than it used to be. Assef is also a racist against all Hazaras so he wants to do anything in his power to get rid of them. Since he is the leader of the Taliban, he is capable of inflicting violence and sexual abuse on those who are powerless. He even claims Hitler as a role model. He is a very powerful man, but he uses his power to hurt others in extreme ways.

Rahim Khan-  Rahim Khan is Baba and Amir’s good friend. Baba shared all of his secrets with him because he was one of the few people that he could trust with his life. When Baba dies, Rahim Khan is considered a father to Amir. He treats him with a lot of love and respect, sometimes even more than Baba would give Amir.

Farid- Farid is Amir's driver and eventually becomes one of his closest friends. At first, Farid is not very fond of Amir because he thinks that he is not a true Afghan, but he doesn’t know his intensions yet. After he finds out why he is there, Farid does everything he can to help Amir find Sohrab. He becomes a very noble friend to Amir.

Sanaubar- She is Hassan's mother and Ali's wife. Even though she betrays Ali and Hassan, she proves herself to be a wonderful grandmother when Hassan has his son Sohrab. She knew that she had hurt her family, but she wanted to do everything she could to make up for all the years that she had missed in Hassan’s life. She wasn’t going to make that same mistake and miss out on her grandson’s life too.

Soraya-Soraya is Amir’s wife. She is a very sweet, genuine, and is always there for Amir when he needs her. She values what she believes, so she likes to stick up for what she believes in. She is a very good mother to Sohrab later in the story.

General Taheri-Soraya’s father and Baba’s good friend. General Taheri places great value on Afghan traditions. In many ways, he is considered to be a normal Afghan male because of the traditions that he values, such as being a father and a husband.  

Jamila-Jamila is General Taheri’s wife and Soraya’s mother. She is the typical Afghan wife and mother, like General Taheri is the typical Afghan husband and father. She is also very sweet, and she cares about her family a lot. She does whatever her husband tells her to do because that is what the traditional Afghan wife does.

Kamal-Kamal is a young boy from Amir’s and Hassan’s neighborhood. He is one of the boy’s that helps Assef rape Hassan. He also becomes a victim to rape, which shows what type of country Afghanistan is becoming throughout “The Kite Runner.” He is forced to do many things, even though he doesn’t want to.

Sharif-Sharif is Soraya’s uncle. When the story first introduces Sharif, he is at Soraya’s and Amir’s wedding. However, he becomes a bigger character in the story when he helps bring Sohrab into the United States. Without him, Sohrab probably would not have been able to come to America.

Sofia Akrami- Sofia is Amir’s mother. She died while giving birth to Amir. He feels guilty for his mother’s death, and feels like his father thinks that it is his fault that she’s gone. She loved to write, so Amir loved reading all of her literature. Amir wishes his mother was still alive because he wants to become something like her.

Farzana- She is Hassan’s wife and Sohrab’s mother. When Farzana is mentioned in the story, she seems like a very caring mother. Hassan is her life, so she values his opinion.

Wali-Wali is another one of the boys from the neighborhood who helps Assef to rape Hassan. He also is forced to do things that he does not want to do. Assef is a very cruel young boy, makes Wali his hit man.