The Kite Runner has a circular plot format. The beginning chapter of the novel dates December of 2001, a direct parallel to the books conclusion in the winter of that same year. Hosseini's method of linking the beginning and end of his novel with a specific date provides fluidity to his writing as well as creating an atmosphere of foreshadowing that evokes his readers to continue. The book begins with the events that lead to the first kite fight that Amir won. It also marks the day that everything changes between Amir and his best friend, Hassan. The book ends with another kite fight, but this time without tragedy. This time it marks a point in time that changes the life of Sohrab, Hassan's son, and relationship between him and Amir. These moments create a link between the beginning and end of the book. This circular plot Hosseini employs is also ideally suited for reoccurring themes such as loss of innocence. Hassan loses his innocence when he is raped by Assef and Sohrab, Hassan's son, is equally violated by Assef. This brings the plot full circle. What happens to father also happens to son, until Amir steps in and takes action.
Another way that Hosseini plays with plot is the way he masterfully weaves two plots together; the immensely emotional and personal story of Amir's life and the story of Afghanistan as a nation. Amir's life in the book is shaped by the national turmoil of Afghanistan. Hosseini begins this process of melding the plots together by giving specific dates. These dates are inserted into the book to give concrete data as to what was happening at the time and to keep track of how many years have passed in Amir's life. For example, on page one hundred and ten Hosseini begins with a date in italics: March 1981. At this time in history the Soviets have begun invading Afghanistan and a war is raging between them and the Mujaheddin. As the book progresses, the dates create a time line of Afghanistan with each political event directly affecting Amir's life.
The story of Amir's life is sectioned into three distinct portions: his childhood in Afghanistan, his early adulthood from his birthplace to America, and his return to Kabul to redeem himself. Amir's story begins in the 1970's in Afghanistan, a time when he was innocent and pure of. This time period is also representative of the foundation of his friendship with Hassan. Amir's childhood starting from the closeness he initially describes with Hassan to his betrayal marks the first, and most impacting, phase of his life. Amir's childhood in Kabul is what sets the foundation for each proceeding portion of his life. The political disruption and war in Afghanistan force him and his father to flee their homeland. Hassan is no longer what Amir would call his friend after this and this leads into part two.
Part two is the time in which he and his father leave Afghanistan and settle in America. This phase is significant in the relationships and drastic change in lifestyle that Amir adopts. While his childhood was framed by the unstable relationship with his father, Amir establishes a loving, mutual tie to Baba that was never present in Afghanistan when they are in America. By starting their lives over from a simple beginning, Baba and Amir form a new relationship that outlines their complete new start in America. Amir also finds a wife and a job as a writer, two factors that impact his present happiness and settlement in life. Even after Baba's death, Amir maintains a productive, content lifestyle in America shaped by relationships that he did not have before. Amir's adulthood in America represents the gradual shift from an uncomfortable, traumatic childhood to a confident life as an established young man. While in America, Amir is granted the ability to purge all memories of Kabul and establish the perfect life that he had always wanted, free of past guilt and horror, describing it as "a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past” (Hosseini 136). This time period is also the bridge between Amir's former relationship with Hassan and the reconnection he will have with his old friend in the next stage of his life.
Amir's next stage is structured by his return to Kabul by Rahim Khan. After finding a perfect life in a new environment, Amir is thrown into the place in which he faced such fear as a child. This phase in Amir's life is the height of his character's change, the moment when he finds a courage never present in himself before in order to save the child of slaughtered Hassan's child. Amir's return to Afghanistan keeps in mind the circular plot in which Hosseini regulates throughout his novel, changing the country from a feared scar of the past to a time of triumph and victory for Amir's character. Once returning to America with Hassan's child, Sohrab, Amir puts to rest the unsettled guilt that he was burying while living as a young adult in America. This last portion of Amir's story signifies the connection with his ongoing life with Hassan, whether in person or in kin, that runs throughout his entire life.
Another way that Hosseini plays with plot is the way he masterfully weaves two plots together; the immensely emotional and personal story of Amir's life and the story of Afghanistan as a nation. Amir's life in the book is shaped by the national turmoil of Afghanistan. Hosseini begins this process of melding the plots together by giving specific dates. These dates are inserted into the book to give concrete data as to what was happening at the time and to keep track of how many years have passed in Amir's life. For example, on page one hundred and ten Hosseini begins with a date in italics: March 1981. At this time in history the Soviets have begun invading Afghanistan and a war is raging between them and the Mujaheddin. As the book progresses, the dates create a time line of Afghanistan with each political event directly affecting Amir's life.
The story of Amir's life is sectioned into three distinct portions: his childhood in Afghanistan, his early adulthood from his birthplace to America, and his return to Kabul to redeem himself. Amir's story begins in the 1970's in Afghanistan, a time when he was innocent and pure of. This time period is also representative of the foundation of his friendship with Hassan. Amir's childhood starting from the closeness he initially describes with Hassan to his betrayal marks the first, and most impacting, phase of his life. Amir's childhood in Kabul is what sets the foundation for each proceeding portion of his life. The political disruption and war in Afghanistan force him and his father to flee their homeland. Hassan is no longer what Amir would call his friend after this and this leads into part two.
Part two is the time in which he and his father leave Afghanistan and settle in America. This phase is significant in the relationships and drastic change in lifestyle that Amir adopts. While his childhood was framed by the unstable relationship with his father, Amir establishes a loving, mutual tie to Baba that was never present in Afghanistan when they are in America. By starting their lives over from a simple beginning, Baba and Amir form a new relationship that outlines their complete new start in America. Amir also finds a wife and a job as a writer, two factors that impact his present happiness and settlement in life. Even after Baba's death, Amir maintains a productive, content lifestyle in America shaped by relationships that he did not have before. Amir's adulthood in America represents the gradual shift from an uncomfortable, traumatic childhood to a confident life as an established young man. While in America, Amir is granted the ability to purge all memories of Kabul and establish the perfect life that he had always wanted, free of past guilt and horror, describing it as "a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past” (Hosseini 136). This time period is also the bridge between Amir's former relationship with Hassan and the reconnection he will have with his old friend in the next stage of his life.
Amir's next stage is structured by his return to Kabul by Rahim Khan. After finding a perfect life in a new environment, Amir is thrown into the place in which he faced such fear as a child. This phase in Amir's life is the height of his character's change, the moment when he finds a courage never present in himself before in order to save the child of slaughtered Hassan's child. Amir's return to Afghanistan keeps in mind the circular plot in which Hosseini regulates throughout his novel, changing the country from a feared scar of the past to a time of triumph and victory for Amir's character. Once returning to America with Hassan's child, Sohrab, Amir puts to rest the unsettled guilt that he was burying while living as a young adult in America. This last portion of Amir's story signifies the connection with his ongoing life with Hassan, whether in person or in kin, that runs throughout his entire life.