Amanda Iliadis

Ms. Maynard

ENG3U104

May 21st 2013

The Power of StorytellingThe art of storytelling is very powerful; in fact so powerful that it can

bring people together and mend relationships. Khaled Hosseini

demonstrates a flawless representation of how one character’s love for

stories, connects him to the people he loves in an incredible way in his novel;

The Kite Runner. Amir and Hassan almost never leave each other’s sides,

but it’s storytelling that binds those special moments together. Their special

tree signifies the spot in which Amir reads Hassan his favourite stories.

Rahim Khan was always like a second father to Amir, but the bond through

writing has brought them closer than ever before. When Baba fails to

recognize Amir’s talents and interest, Rahim steps up to the plate. Amir and

Baba’s father-son relationship was never built on strong ground, but as time

moves forward their personalities seem to merge partly through Baba’s

support towards Amir. Baba finally supports Amir’s choice of career, but all

too soon, he comes to an untimely death. In The Kite Runner Amir’s talent

and ability to write cleanses his paternal connection to Baba, strengthens his

delightful relationship with Rahim Khan, and provides Hassan with something

to believe in.

Amir and Hassan have an outstanding, yet troublesome friendship

fueled by the stories they share together. Growing up, the two shared a

special tree where “[Amir] would read to Hassan” (30). Hassan was always

so captivated and “despite his illiteracy… [he] was drawn to the mystery of

words, seduced by a secret world forbidden to him” (30). In pity, friendship,

and compassion, Amir “read him poems…stories…riddles… [that] he couldn’t

read for himself” (30). Amir did not just do this for Hassan. He loved to read

and sometimes when reading to Hassan, he would suddenly “[stray] from the

Iliadis 2

written story…pretend [he] was reading from the book…but [abandoning]

the text altogether, taken over the story, and made up [his] own” (32). Amir

partly did this to tease Hassan about his illiteracy because to Hassan “the

words on the page were a scramble of codes, indecipherable, mysterious”

and for Amir “words were secret doorways and [he] held all the keys” (32).

So even though Amir knew of Hassan’s illiteracy and teased him often, it did

not change the fortitudinous friendship between them. Hassan, in turn for

Amir’s teachings of the written language, was the person who inadvertently

sparked Amir’s entire future career. After reading a made-up story to

Hassan and receiving a fantastic response, Amir felt “like a man who

discovered a buried treasure in his own backyard” (33). He remembered

Hassan’s words: best story you’ve read me in a long time, and his mind was

immediately made up (33). He knew that he had made up this story and

Hassan still loved it more than any published story he had ever read to him.

When Amir wrote his very first short story, he reads it to Hassan who claims,

“someday, Inshallah, you will be a great writer…and people all over the

world will read your stories…you will be great and famous” (36). However

once Hassan moves away and contact between the two companions seizes,

Hassan has no idea that Amir has indeed become a famous writer, and has

followed his dream. In the middle of the novel, Amir receives and old letter

from Hassan proving that after all these years, the influence of storytelling is

still embedded in his mind from childhood. The fact that Hassan learned to

read and write himself to be able to produce a letter was astounding but he

even taught his son Sohrab “to read and write so he doesn’t grow up…like

his father [did]” (228). Hassan clearly does this not only to educate him and

Sohrab but to feel closer to Amir and feel worthy in his eyes. Amir and

Hassan’s, despite the toils brought on by illiteracy, are bonded by Amir’s love

for stories and Hassan’s willingness to listen to them.

Iliadis 3

Amir and Rahim Khan have an amazing connection that nobody else

shares in the novel; this is largely based on Amir’s talent for writing and

Rahim’s constant support. When Amir writes his very first short story, Rahim

Khan offers to read it out of interest when his own father will not. Rahim

Khan replies to his story with great encouragement and optimism:

Amir Jan, I enjoyed your story very much. Mashallah, God had

granted you a special talent. It is now your duty to hone that talent,

because a person who wastes his God-given talent is a donkey. You

have written your story with sound grammar and interesting style. But the

most impressive thing about your story is that it has irony…it is

something that some writers reach for their entire careers and

never attain. You have achieved it with you first story. My door is and

always will be open to you…I shall hear any story you wish to tell.

Bravo (35).

Amir admits that Rahim Khan “did more to encourage [him] to pursue writing

than any compliment any editor has ever paid [him]. [The] word was Bravo”

(34). Rahim Khan further supports Amir, when on his birthday; he gives Amir

“a brown leather-bound notebook” to write all his stories in (106). Time

passes, but when Amir visits Rahim Khan in Pakistan many years later, Amir

tells Rahim “about [his] schooling, [his] books- four published novels to [his]

credit...he smiled at this, said he had never had a doubt” (208). Amir also

tells Rahim Khan that if “it weren’t for him, there would be no books” and

that’s why he dedicated his most recent novel to Rahim Khan (Benioff).

Rahim Khan was constantly there for Amir when no one else was, and even

when Amir had a new family, Rahim felt bound to him unconditionally

through the bond they shared with writing. Rahim khan and Amir have an

outstanding relationship; one of the closest bonds in the whole novel based

upon Rahim’s fatherly support and Amir’s talent of writing.

Iliadis 4

The parental relationship between Baba and Amir was never a strong

one; however Amir’s stories brought the two closer together drastically.

Right from the beginning of the novel it is apparent that Baba objects to his

son’s niche. He does not want Amir “always buried in those books or

shuffling around the house like he’s lost in some dream” because “[he]

wasn’t like that” (23). He wants Amir to be exactly like him instead of being

himself. When Amir tells Baba he has written a story, “Baba [nods] and

[gives] a thin smile that [conveys] little more than feigned interest” (33).

This constant carelessness and disregard ultimately scars Amir and forces

Amir to look further for Baba’s validation. Baba and Amir flee to Pakistan

before departing to California where they will be safe from the Soviet

invasion in Afghanistan. During the journey, Baba sees that Amir is scared

and holds Amir close asking him to recite one of his favourite poems to calm

himself down (Benioff). Baba would never normally adhere to Amir’s love of

writing but in this instance it is apparent that Baba is willing because deep

down his love and support for Amir is there. After moving to California, Amir

graduates high school at the age of twenty and while out celebrating, Amir

tells Baba he wants to “major in English…creative writing” (142). Baba’s

response however harsh shows that he cares about Amir’s future just not in

the way Amir hoped: “Stories, you mean. You’ll make up stories. They pay

for…making up stories? What will you do while you wait to get good and get

discovered? How will you earn your money? you’ll study several years to

earn a degree, then you’ll get a chatti job like mine…on the small chance

that your degree might someday help you get…discovered” (142). Amir

noticed that Baba was always grunting something about medical school, law

school, and “real work” (142). However Baba’s attitude forever changes

once they meet the Taheri family and Baba can see Amir’s interest in

General Taheri’s daughter, Soraya. Baba tells the family that “Amir is going

to be a great writer”

Iliadis 5

and that “he has finished his first year of college and earned A’s in all of his

courses” (147). Baba is diagnosed with cancer and one day while he is in the

hospital after a collapse, Amir reads his novel to him…Baba does not object,

he enjoys it (Benioff). In the last effort before Baba dies, he shows Soraya

Amir’s notebook that Rahim Khan had given him for his stories and shares it

with her out of interest. He dies the same night, but that was his final act

towards Amir and it was a virtuous one at that. Throughout the novel, Amir

and Baba’s damaging relationship evolves to a pleasant one filled with

support from Baba’s end towards Amir’s career in writing.

The Kite Runner is a novel that represents the art of storytelling in a

beautiful style; tightening the bonds of fellowship in a ground-breaking way.

Friendships and parental relationships are challenged but in the end, the

power of storytelling heals them in an incredible way. Amir and Hassan’s

bond becomes stronger through the familiar stories they share together,

giving Hassan hope to challenge his illiteracy and giving Amir a plan for his

future. Without this early childhood bond, the two could have never

connected and remained connected their entire lives. Rahim Khan, a second

father to Amir constantly supports his dreams and encourages him to carry

on when no one else will. Rahim Khan supports Amir and is by his side when

he has no one else. And finally Baba, Amir’s parental figure eventually

comes to terms with Amir’s goals in life and supports them even in the face

of others…something he would have never done before. One of the most

ground breaking moments is when Baba steps up in front of the Taheri’s to

support his son’s fulfillment. In The Kite Runner Amir’s talent and ability to

write makes his parental relationship with Baba grow, encourages his

friendship with Rahim Khan, and keeps the bond strong that he has with

Hassan. “The world is shaped by two things- stories told and the memories

they leave behind” (Nazarian).

Works Cited

Benioff, David. The Kite Runner. DreamWorks SKG. 26 December, 2007.

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Anchor Canada: Random House of

Canada Limited.

Nazarian, Vera. “Dreams of the Compass Rose.” Goodreads.

<www.goodreads.com/quotes>

Amanda Iliadis