Name ____________________________

Score ______________________

THE KITE RUNNER

CHAPTERS ELEVEN-THIRTEEN ACTIVITY GUIDE QUESTIONS

Directions: Read Chapters Eleven-Thirteen and answer the questions below in complete sentences.

KNOWLEDGE

1. Where do Baba and Amir live in America in the 1980s?

2. According to Baba who are the “only three real men”?

3. In Chapter Eleven on page 129 Amir reveals what America meant for him and his father. Fill in the quotes below:

 “For me [Amir] America was a place to ___________________________________.”

 “For Baba, a place to ___________________________________.”

4. What do Amir and Baba celebrate in the summer of 1983?

5. On page 141 what does Baba say about Soraya’s rumored past?

6. Why does Amir envy Soraya?

7. What is Amir’s reason why he believes he will not be able to have children?

APPLICATION

8. Describe the disagreement between Mr. Nguyen and Baba and explain how this scene reflects cultural
differences.

9. After Baba gives Amir the car, Amir comments, “My eyes were tearing over and I was glad for the shadows that
hid our faces.” Why is he glad for the “shadows”? (page 133)
10. On page 135, Amir says, “But I would stand my ground, I decided. I didn’t want to sacrifice for Baba anymore.
The last time I had done that, I had damned myself.” Which event is Amir referring to (connect to the winter of
1975)?

11. On page 146 when Amir approaches Soraya when she is alone, many people began to take notice, why? What
is the “double standard”?

12. In Chapter Thirteen on page 173, Baba dies. It is a very simple scene. Briefly describe the scene and discuss
how his death compares to the way he lived his life.

13. Analyze Soraya’s character. List key words and phrases.

 What does she wear? What does she look-like?

 How does she behave?

 How does she speak towards others? What does she say?

Symbolism (Greek, `to throw

ANALYSIS/SYNTHESIS together') - symbols-like
metaphors, similes, personification,
SYMBOLISM AND ARCHETYPAL THEORY and allusions-are a type of
figurative language. Symbols must
be something material or visible
According to Carl Jung water associated with the sea, ocean, river etc. has
such as colors, objects, animals,
traditionally symbolized the unconscious. To dive is to probe beneath the
people, and places, while the idea
surface for hidden meanings, to learn about one’s submerged desires and
it symbolizes must be something
emotions. Amir comments, “I could wade into the river, let my sins down to the
abstract or universal.
bottom, let the water carry me someplace far. Someplace with no ghosts, no
memories, and no sins. ”

14. What is the context of this comment? How does this passage relate to Carl Jung’s symbolic meaning of water?
And, why is Amir’s reference to “wading” important to this analysis?
 A simile is defined as a
comparison using the words like or
as that show how two unlike things
are similar in one important way.
LITERARY DEVICES AND SIMILE
Underline the word or phrase that is being described in the simile. Draw
parentheses around the word or phrase it is being compared to.

Example: Her sadness was as unending as the (waves).

Baba walked out of the welfare office like a man cured of a tumor.

15. What is the significance of this device in connection with Baba’s refusing to buy food stamps?

Diction is the author’s choice and

use of words.

DICTION AND CHARACTERIZATION The word character derives from

the Greek verb charassein,
Analyze Baba’s speech, in Chapter Thirteen on page 168, to General Taheri meaning to mark with a cut.
and underline all the important words: Characterization is the method
used by an author to develop a
Baba cleared his own throat. When he began, he couldn't speak in character. When an author
introduces the reader to the
complete sentences without stopping to breathe. "General Sahib, characters within the work, he or
Khanum Jamila jan... it's with great humility that my son and I... have she has two choices: to use direct
and indirect characterization.
come to your home today. You are... honorable people... from
distinguished and reputable families and... proud lineage. I come with
nothing but the utmost ihtiram... and the highest regards for you, your family names, and the memory... of your
ancestors." He stopped. Caught his breath. Wiped his brow. "Amir jan is my only son... my only child, and he has
been a good son to me. I hope he proves... worthy of your kindness. I ask that you honor Amir jan and me... and
accept my son into your family.

16. What is Baba’s description of Amir? Explain how is this particular speech is poignant.
UNIVERSAL THEME

17. How is the theme that Baba’s pride and dignity has impacted him negatively being developed in Chapter Eleven?

READER-RESPONSE/PERSONAL CONNECTION

Directions: Read the response question below and write one paragraph in the space provided.

 Soyora's father, General Taheri, comments that “people need stories to divert them at difficult times….” Do you
agree with his statement about the use for stories? Why or why not?

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ACROSS THE CURRICULUM/SUBJECT CONNECTION (Suggestion for further study)

Geography Find Freemont, California on a map and research the city

Literature Research Carl Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious and water symbolism
Name ____________________________
Score ______________________

THE KITE RUNNER

CHAPTERS FOURTEEN AND FIFTEEN ACTIVITY GUIDE QUESTIONS

Directions: Read Chapters Fourteen and Fifteen and answer the questions below in complete sentences.

KNOWLEDGE

1. What is the current date of Chapter Fourteen?

2. How does Chapter Fourteen connect to Chapter One?

3. Where does Amir go in order to meet Rahim Khan?

Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban.

4. Why is Amir going to see Rahim Khan?

5. What phrase does Amir recall when he goes for a walk?

6. What phrase does Amir recall while he is lying in bed?

7. Whom does Rahim Khan want to tell Amir about?

APPLICATION

8. When was the last time Amir saw Rahim Khan?

9. Why did the people in Afghanistan initially accept the Taliban?

10. According to Rahim Khan how has life become more difficult under the Taliban rule?
11. What is significant about “Afghan Town” being in Peshawar?

Theme is the central and

dominating idea incorporated
throughout a literary work.

ANALYSIS/SYNTHESIS

SYNTAX AND REPETITION AND THEME

12. How is Chapter One different than Chapter Fourteen for the reader? What is significant about the repeated
phrases that Amir recalls?
Syntax originates from the Greek
words uυν meaning "together" and
taxis meaning "sequence, order,
arrangement." Syntax refers to
grammatical order of words and
sentence structure. The
arrangement of words and phrases
Themay
wordbecharacter
shifted toderives
create from
emphasis,
the make
Greekaverb charassein,
connection between two
meaning
words,toormark with emotional
suggest a cut.
Characterization
implications. is the method
used by an author to develop a
character. When an author
introduces the reader to the
CLICHÉS AND CHARACTERIZATION characters within the work, he or
she has two choices: to use direct
13. Amir discusses clichés and how his creative writing teacher would say, and indirect characterization.
“Avoid them like the plague.” He then mentions the cliché of the “elephant
in the room.” What does this cliché mean? Who or what is the “elephant” A cliche is defined as “trite or
that Amir is alluding to? overused expression or idea” that it
has lost its original impact and
meaning.

UNIVERSAL THEME

14. In Chapter Fourteen Amir and Soraya’s life will take a dramatic turn because Amir must face his past. Briefly
describe Amir’s decision. How can Amir find atonement for his sins?
READER-RESPONSE/PERSONAL CONNECTION QUESTION

Directions: Read the response question below and write one paragraph in the space provided.

 Why is it so important for Rahim Khan to tell Amir about Hassan?

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ACROSS THE CURRICULUM/SUBJECT CONNECTION (Suggestion for further study)

HISTORY Find other examples in history that are similar to the rise of the Taliban
 Name ____________________________
Score ______________________

THE KITE RUNNER

CHAPTERS SIXTEEN AND SEVENTEEN ACTIVITY GUIDE QUESTIONS

Directions: Read Chapters Sixteen and Seventeen and answer the questions below in complete sentences.

KNOWLEDGE

1. Who is the narrative voice in Chapter Sixteen?

2. What is one of Rahim Khan’s reasons he goes to Hazarajat to find Hassan?

3. About how old was Hassan in 1986?

4. In early 1990 who was the woman in the sky blue burqa that knocks on their
door?

5. Describe Farzana, Hassan’s wife:

Bamyan is one of the thirty-four
provinces of Afghanistan. The
majority of the population is
Hazaras.

6. What happened to Ali?

7. What is the name of Hassan’s son?

8. What happened to Hassan and his family?

9. At the end of Chapter Sixteen, Rahim tells Amir that the Talban banned which sport in 1996?
10. In 1998 what did the Taliban do to the Hazaras?

APPLICATION

11. What does Amir learn about Hassan and Baba?

Theme is the central and

dominating idea incorporated
throughout a literary work.

ANALYSIS/SYNTHESIS

SIGNIFICANCE OF NAME AND THEME

12. What is the significance of Sohrab’s name? How can Amir’s helping Sohrab a way for Amir to “be good again”?

Foreshadow indicates and/or

gives a suggestion of something
happening that has not yet
happened.

PLOT AND FORESHADOWING

13. Rahim Khan gives Amir an envelope with a Polaroid photograph and folded letter. Describe the photograph
briefly (page 215). Who is in the photograph? Connect how Amir foreshadows that he has not seen Hassan’s
smile since the Winter of 1975 with the photograph.
UNIVERSAL THEME

14. Sanaubar returns home and builds a relationship with Hassan and his family. How has she changed? What is
the significance that she asks Hassan to smile?

READER-RESPONSE/PERSONAL CONNECTION

Directions: Read the response question below and write one paragraph in the space provided.

 Now that you know the secret regarding Hassan’s father, why do you think Rahim Khan never told Baba the
truth about Hassan’s assault and victimization?

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ACROSS THE CURRICULUM/SUBJECT CONNECTION

History Research the Taliban’s treatment of the Hazara people

Name ____________________________
Score ______________________

THE KITE RUNNER

CHAPTERS EIGHTEEN AND NINETEEN ACTIVITY GUIDE QUESTIONS

Directions: Read Chapters Eighteen and Nineteen and answer the questions below in complete sentences.

KNOWLEDGE

1. Amir feels that he was “blind” for not realizing that Hassan was Baba’s son. List the “signs” (memories) that Amir
has that helps him make the connection:

2. In addition to his own sins, whose sins does Amir think he is atoning for as well?

3. At the end of Chapter Eighteen, what does Amir decide to do?

APPLICATION

4. What is Amir’s point when he says he never wore a “garment” and “beard” when he lived in Afghanistan?

5. Farid describes Amir’s life in Afghanistan and seems resentful. What point is he making about Amir’s experience
living in Afghanistan?

6. Atonement is defined as “making amends for a wrong or injury.” Find one passage from these chapters that
reflects the need for one to find atonement. Write the passage word-for-word.
 The word character derives from
the Greek verb charassein,
meaning to mark with a cut.
Characterization is the method
ANALYSIS/SYNTHESIS used by an author to develop a
character. When an author
CHARACTERIZATION AND CLICHÉ introduces the reader to the
characters within the work, he or
7. Amir uses another cliché in the novel, “…like father, like son. But it was she has two choices: to use direct
true, wasn’t it? As it turned out, Baba and I were more alike than I’d ever and indirect characterization.
known.” How is Amir and Baba “like father, like son”? Who are the people
that they have betrayed? A cliche is defined as “trite or
overused expression or idea” that it
has lost its original impact and
meaning.

Personification is a type of
figurative language. The use of
personification is when an
inanimate object is given the
characteristics as being a living
person or animal.
PERSONIFICATION AND THEME

8. On page 231 Amir gives the past human qualities. How does this use of Theme is the central and
personification enhance the theme of atonement? dominating idea incorporated
throughout a literary work.

UNIVERSAL THEME

9. It is a common belief that keeping secrets can be emotionally destructive. Describe how secrets in the novel
have been destructive for Amir and how can one overcome them?
READER-RESPONSE/PERSONAL CONNECTION
Directions: Read the response questions below, choose one, and write one paragraph in the space provided.

 Would Baba have survived living in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule? Why or why not?

 Amir stats that he is learning that “Baba had been a thief. And a thief of the worst kind, because the things he’d
stolen had been sacred: from me the right to know I had a brother, from Hassan his identity, and from Ali his
honor.” Do you agree with Amir? Why or why not?

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ACROSS THE CURRICULUM/SUBJECT CONNECTION (Suggestion for further study)

History/Culture Research acceptable clothing for males and females defined by the Taliban

Literature What are clichés? Is there an acceptable use for them?

 Name ____________________________
Score ______________________

THE KITE RUNNER

CHAPTERS TWENTY AND TWENTY-ONE ACTIVITY GUIDE QUESTIONS

Directions: Read chapters Twenty and Twenty-One and answer the questions below in complete sentences.

KNOWLEDGE

1. What does Amir notice about the children sitting with the burqa-clad mothers who are begging in the streets?

2. List two reasons there are not a lot of trees:

1.

2.

3. What is the smell that makes Amir’s eyes water?

4. When Amir first sees the Taliban, why is Farid upset with him?

5. Who does the old beggar used to know?

6. List everything that Amir learns about his mother (page 250-251)

7. What does Amir see hanging near a restaurant?

8. What horrific display happens at the soccer game?

APPLICATION

9. Farid tells Amir that the “only people in Kabul who get to eat lamb now are the Taliban.” What is implied about
the Taliban from this statement?

10. The old beggar that talks to Amir quotes poetry. We learn that he used to teach at the University. What does his
situation suggest about the educators who live in Afghanistan during the Taliban rule?

11. There are about two hundred and fifty orphans. What are some of the reasons that Zaman gives why there are
so many children in the orphanage? And, how does the Taliban contribute to the problem?

12. Summarize what Zaman tells Amir about where he can find Sohrab The word character derives from
(pages 255-256): the Greek verb charassein,
meaning to mark with a cut.
Characterization is the method
used by an author to develop a
character. When an author
introduces the reader to the
characters within the work, he or
ANALYSIS/SYNTHESIS she has two choices: to use direct
and indirect characterization.
CHARACTERIZATION AND THE HERO CYCLE
According to the scholar Joseph
Campbell there are stories from
13. Hero Cycle and Amir: Review Amir’s journey since he left Afghanistan with his father.
many Describe
culturesthree struggles
that have similar
and/or obstacles that Amir must overcome. List them in order of patterns. One common storyline is
importance-1 being the most difficult and 3 being the least difficult. the hero cycle. The hero (usually
the protagonist of the story) goes
1. ___________________________________________________________ through various stages in order to
learn from the experiences and
___________________________________________________________ transform into a better person.
___________________________________________________________ During the hero’s journey, he or
she will move into a real and/or
___________________________________________________________ metaphorical world of darkness,
___________________________________________________________ which is called the “belly of the
whale.” This stage in the hero
_______________ cycle involves many struggles and
2. obstacles that the hero must
overcome in order to change.

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 The word character derives from
__________________________________________________________ the Greek verb charassein,
meaning to mark with a cut.
__________________________________________________________ Characterization is the method
__________________________________________________________ used by an author to develop a
character. When an author
________________
introduces the reader to the
3. characters within the work, he or
she has two choices: to use direct
and indirect characterization.

Theme is the central and

dominating idea incorporated
throughout a literary work.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________ An archetype is a pattern
repeated through the ages in folk
___________________________________________ and literary expressions. All of
these items are considered
archetypes: symbols (such as
CHARACTERIZATION AND THEME colors, numbers, and objects),
characters, plots, and themes
14. On page 263 Farid tells Amir that it is “Best to forget.” Amir responds that
he does not “want to forget anymore.” How is this statement significantly
different than how Amir felt since the beginning of the novel?

CHARACTERIZATION AND DEVIL ARCHETYPE

15. Page 271 Describe the Taliban man that Amir is looking for at the soccer game. This man is the Devil Archetype
of the novel. The Devil Archetype is the villain, who represents the forces of evil, chaos, and darkness. He or she
is almost as strong as the hero. Sometimes he or she will take a monstrous form, but other times the appearance
is more subtle. These subtle differences are usually presented with contrasts. For example, he or she will have
dark hair with light eyes. How does this Taliban man’s dress/appearance represent the devil archetype?
UNIVERSAL THEME

16. Page 261 Amir visits his childhood home in Kabul: “Gingerly, I walked up the driveway where tufts of weed now
grew between the sun-faded bricks. I stood outside the gates of my father’s house, feeling like a stranger. I set
my hands on the rusty bars, remembering how I’d run through these same gates thousands of times as a child,
for things that mattered not at all now and yet had seemed so important then. I peered in.” What is the
significance of his feeling like a “stranger.” And what does he mean by caring for “things that mattered not at all”?

READER-RESPONSE/PERSONAL CONNECTION QUESTION

Directions: Read the response question below and write one paragraph in the space provided.

 Farid tells Amir that “hearing is not the same as seeing.” What does he mean by this statement? Do you agree or
disagree? Explain

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ACROSS THE CURRICULUM/SUBJECT CONNECTION (Suggestion for further study)

Culture Research and locate the school system and universities in Afghanistan before and after the Taliban

Name ____________________________
Score ______________________

THE KITE RUNNER

CHAPTERS TWENTY-TWO TO TWENTY FIVE ACTIVITY GUIDE QUESTIONS

Directions: Read chapters Twenty-Two to Twenty Five and answer the questions below in complete sentences.

KNOWLEDGE

1. At the beginning of Chapter Twenty-Two when Farid drives Amir to the house, what are the men in the house
carrying?

2. Which childhood enemy does Amir face in the beginning of Chapter Twenty-Two?

3. Where is Amir in the beginning of Chapter Twenty-Three?

4. What does Farid say to Amir in the hospital that makes Amir cry?

5. After Amir gets out of the hospital, who does Amir take with him to Islamabad?
6. Sohrab leaves the hotel while Amir is asleep, where does Sohrab find him?

7. What does Amir give Sohrab after he finds him?

8. Why is Sohrab in the hospital?

9. How long does Sohrab not speak?

APPPLICATION

10. Where did Sohrab hit Assef with his slingshot? And, how is this action similar to another event in the novel?

11. Summarize Rahim Khan’s letter: (page 300)

12. List all the reasons Raymond Andrews from the American embassy in Islamabad tells Amir to “give up” trying to
take Sohrab to America.
13. What good news does Amir’s wife tell him about getting Sohrab into the
United States?
Diction is the author’s choice and
use of words.

Irony comes from the Greek eiron,

which itself derives from eironeia,
meaning "dissembling." In Greek
drama, the eiron is a character
who, although weaker than his
opponent, the braggart alazon,
defeats him by misrepresenting
himself
14. What act of terrorism does Amir reference in Chapter Twenty-Five “while  situational irony is when the
Sohrab was silent and the world was not”? situation is significantly
different from what is expected
 dramatic irony is when the
audience knows more than the
characters in the play
 verbal irony is when the
speaker intends to be
understood as meaning
something that contrasts with
the literal meaning of what he
or she says

ANALYSIS/SYNTHESIS QUESTION

DICTION AND IRONY

15. On page 277 Assef tells Amir, “You don’t know the meaning of the word ‘liberating’ until you’ve done that, stood
in a roomful of targets, let the bullets fly, free of guilt and remorse, knowing you are virtuous, good, and decent.
Knowing you’re doing God’s work. It’s breathtaking.” What is ironic about Assef’s meaning of the word liberating
and his concept of “doing God’s work”?
 Theme is the central and
dominating idea incorporated
throughout a literary work.
CHARACTERIZATION AND SYMBOLISM
Analogy is a comparison of two
things based on their being alike in
16. While Amir is in the hospital he has a dream about his father. Describe the dreamsome
in 2-3way
sentences? How does
this dream compare to the one in Chapter Three? What does Amir’s
seeing himself fighting the bear symbolize and how does this dream
reflect how he has been feeling about himself?

Diction is the author’s choice and

use of words.

ANALOGY AND THEME The word character derives from

the Greek verb charassein,
17. On page 340 what analogy is Sohrab making about the sour green meaning to mark with a cut.
apples? Characterization is the method
used by an author to develop a
character. When an author
introduces the reader to the
characters within the work, he or
she has two choices: to use direct
and indirect characterization.

Symbolism (Greek, `to throw

together') - symbols-like
metaphors, similes, personification,
and allusions-are a type of
figurative language. Symbols must
be something material or visible
such as colors, objects, animals,
DICTION AND THEME people, and places, while the idea
it symbolizes must be something
18. Read the passage below and pay close attention to diction. What is the abstract or universal.
difference between “quiet” and “silence”?

IT WOULD BE ERRONEOUS to say Sohrab was quiet. Quiet is peace. Tranquillity. Quiet is turning down
the VOLUME knob on life.
Silence is pushing the OFF button. Shutting it down. All of it.
 Sohrab's silence wasn't the self-‐imposed silence of those with convictions, of protesters who seek to
speak their cause by not speaking at all. It was the silence of one who has taken cover in a dark place,
curled up all the edges and tucked them under. (page 361)

UNIVERSAL THEME

19. What is the significance of the title of the novel The Kite Runner? Who is the kite runner? How does this
reference to a specific character relate to the narrator and the overall meaning of the work?

READER-RESPONSE/PERSONAL CONNECTION QUESTION

Directions: Read the response questions below, choose one, and write one paragraph in the space provided.

 Amir tells Sohrab that “there are there bad people in this world, and sometimes bad people stay bad.” Do you
agree with this statement? Why or why not? Explain.

 While Assef is beating Amir, Amir tells the reader, “I don’t know at what point I started laughing, but I did. It hurt
to laugh, hurt my jaws, my ribs, my throat. But I was la…What was so funny was that, for the first time since the
winter of 1975, I felt at peace.” How is it that this beating is bringing Amir “peace”?

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ACROSS THE CURRICULUM/SUBJECT CONNECTION (Suggestion for further study

Government Research adoption policies in various countries

ACTIVITY GUIDE QUESTIONS ANSWER KEYS