Student Question

In The Kite Runner, does Amir and Hassan's favourite story hold the same meaning for both? Why does Hassan name his son after a character?

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Amir and Hassan's favorite story, "Rostam and Sohrab," holds different meanings for them. Hassan is emotionally moved by the tragedy, while Amir sees it through the lens of his relationship with his own father. Hassan names his son Sohrab as a nostalgic nod to his favorite character and perhaps to symbolically give the story a happy ending, reflecting his hope for familial reconciliation and connection, which he never experienced with his own father.

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The favorite story of Amir and Hassan when they are young is "Rostam and Sohrab", from the Shahnamah, an epic of ancient Persia.  It is the tale of the great warrior Rostam, who mortally wounds his nemesis Sohrab, only to discover that Sohrab is his long-lost son.  Hassan loves the story because its tragedy touches his heart, and he ofter cries when Amir reads it.  Amir, on the other hand, likes the story for a selfish reason.  He plays a trick on the unsuspecting Hassan one day by making up his own version of the tale, and Hassan likes it so much that Amir is encouraged to write a story of his own.  Amir discovers his lifelong talent and passion for writing because of Hassan's genuine appreciation for the story he so treacherously fabricates.

On a conscious level, Hassan names his son after the story's hero Sohrab because he loves...

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the story so much and remembers it many years later when his child is born, but on a metaphorical level the tragedy of Rostam and Sohrab mirrors his own life.  Hassan never knows that Baba is his true father, and is never able to experience the love that they might have shared, just like Sohrab does not discover his own father until it is too late (Chapters 3 and 16).

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Does "Rostam and Sohrab" have the same meaning for Amir and Hassan in The Kite Runner?

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini tells the story of Amir and Hassan, best friends who are very different. Amir is wealthy, while Hassan is the son of a servant who works in Amir’s home. Hassan is a Shi'a Muslim and an ethnic Hazara, while Amir is a Sunni Muslim. However, the two boys love one another and spend all of their time together.

The story of "Rostam and Sohrab" has different meanings for Amir and Hassan. Hassan is sweet and good natured. He loves Amir unreservedly. Although Amir also loves Hassan, throughout his life he is tormented by what he perceives as his abandonment of his best friend when he was attacked and raped. For Amir, therefore, the tragic death of Sohrab takes on a very personal meaning, as he sees himself leaving Hassan to die metaphorically on that fateful day in that alley. It seems, however, that Hassan forgives Amir, understanding that Amir was only a frightened boy.

The story does not have this association for Hassan. He names his son Sohrab perhaps to reference his ultimate hope that he will reunite with his lost family someday—Amir and Baba—after the latter flee Afghanistan. They are, in fact, truly related. Amir writes after Baba’s death:

I was 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...

Moreover, Hassan names his son Sohrab in a nostalgic nod to his childhood and his long-lost brother, whom he treats almost as a son at times by protecting and defending him.

Early in the novel, when Amir and Hassan are flying kites together, Amir thinks about the tragic story of “Rostam and Sohrab” and how he can give it a happy ending:

Rostam and Sohrab sizing each other up. A dramatic moment of silence. Then the old warrior would walk to the young one, embrace him, acknowledge his worthiness. Vindication. Salvation. Redemption. And then? Well...happily ever after, of course. What else?

Perhaps naming his son Sohrab is also Hassan’s way of giving the tragedy a happy ending. After Amir adopts Sohrab, he tells him, "Your father's favorite was the story of Rostam and Sohrab and that's how you got your name, I know you know that."

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Do Amir and Hassan interpret their favorite story differently? Why does Hassan name his son after a character?

Amir and Hassan enjoyed readings from the Shahnamah, with special emphasis on the story about Rostam and Sohrab. In the story, Rostam killed Sohrab only to learn Sohrab was his son. The emotions evoked by the story brought tears to Hassan’s eyes, but Amir did not know who the tears were for, Rostam or Sohrab.

The story was interpreted differently by the two boys. Amir saw himself as Sohrab, the young warrior, and his father as Rostam. The story reflects his relationship with his father. Amir does not comprehend Rostam’s grief or fate.

Personally, I couldn't see the tragedy in Rostam's fate. After all, didn't all fathers in their secret hearts harbor a desire to kill their sons?

Hassan’s interpretation is not explicitly given, but his emotions suggest he understands the situation between the father and his son. He goes on to name his son Sohrab because he was his favorite character in the story.

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