The Kite Runner is a phenomenal, wide ranging story that draws you into a rollercoaster of pain and fortune. It offers a superb depiction of Afghanistan in the late 20th Century, and how it changes. You will come to love the characters, who the author does not fain to pretend are heroes, and you’ll find yourself yearning their memories with them, in latter chapters, with plenty of tears.

The book offers a fantastic representation of power, positions of privilege, and the pride & guilt that come with them.

Amir & Baba live a life of tremendous privilege, served by their familial servants Ali & his hair-lipped son Hassan.

Amir comes to understand his power over Hassan, as he taunts him, mocks him, even harms him physically. We see his regret wash over him, ever as he does this, the guilt of his privilege, and his willingness to wield it. When other children come to his house, he leaves Hassan out. The pride in his wealthy superiority. Amir’s struggle with this is brought to a head when he witnesses Hassan raped. He is unwilling to intervene because he wants the kite Hassan has fetched for him. Hassan has been his protector many times, but Amir does not feel compelled to do the same. This is a guilt he is forced to stomach for the rest of his life.

Baba’s position is harder to understand, at the beginning of the book. He is a wealthy man, served by his servant and childhood friend Ali. Yet Baba never spends time with Ali. Just like Amir, Baba prefers to spend him time with the wealthy, although he expresses his love for Ali often. Baba’s most notable characteristic through the first half of the book is how hard he is on his son, Amir. He sees Amir as a pathetic child, nothing like him. In contrast he is continually proud of Hassan, who is courageous.

Later, we learn that Hassan is in fact Baba’s son, having slept with Ali’s wife. Just as Amir betrays Hassan, Baba betrayed Ali, “with impunity”, as it is often described in the book. This sheds some light on his treatment of Amir, who Baba sees as his privileged half, willing to assert his position over Hassan just as Baba has done to Ali. Amir believes his dad doesn’t love him because he is weak, nothing like Baba, but in fact the opposite is true: it is their likeness that causes the rift between them. In contrast, Baba loves Hassan for the generous, hard working, courageous characteristics that we see in Baba at times, like when he faces down an armed Soviet soldier.

When Baba & Amir flee to America, everything in their lives is flipped. They have no money, and have to work a menial job to get by. Their name, over which they were so proud, means nothing. This is depicted literally when Baba is asked to show some ID to buy something from the local shop. Baba is enraged that his name should, literally, be questioned. Amir describes the large houses he sees there, and says that Baba’s opulent house in Afghanistan looked “like a servant’s hut” in comparison. The comparison of Amir & Baba’s life in America, to the life of Ali & Hassan as servants, is evident. They are forced to live the lives of the poor, unprivileged.

In this lower position, Amir having to work for his own survival, Baba no longer proud of his name or guilty about betraying Ali, the two are able to connect as they never could before. The power and privilege of their respective positions had made them dislike and unlike one another: the guilt and resentment had pulled them apart.

On Amir’s return to Afghanistan, we watch a mirrored reversal of his previous life there. Rather than framing Hassan for theft by planting his expensive gifts, symbols of his privilege, he leaves a stash of money to help those less fortunate. When forced to choose to defend Hassan’s son against Asseff, Hassan’s rapist, he makes the courageous choice he didn’t when it was Hassan being harmed. This fight earns him a scar on his lip, and the comparison to Hassan is complete.

Hassan’s role, of kite runner, was an act of complete loyalty. Doing all the hard work so Amir could have the glory: “for you, a thousand times”. It is an act of complete servitude, a perfect metaphor for the relationship between them, and the guilt that Amir felt.

At the end of the book, Amir becomes a kite runner for Hassan’s son, and feels some redemption that he is able to serve someone other than himself, as fully as Hassan had done years before.