Central Characters The Kite Runner

Amir 

• the central character and narrator of the story 
• he has a priveleged upbringing. His father, Baba, is rich by afghan standards and as a result, Amir grows up accustomed to what he wants 
• The only thing he feels deprived of is an emmotional connection with Baba, which he blames on himself. He thinks Baba wishes Amir was more like him, and that Baba holds him responsible for killing his mother - who died giving birth. 
• Amir consequently behaves jealously towards anyone receiving Baba's affection. 
• Though Amir and Hassan are best friends, Amir feels that Hassan, a Hazara servant, is beneath him.
• When Hassan receives Baba's affection, Amir tries to assert himself by passively-attacking Hassan. He mocks Hassan's ignorance and the fact is illiterate and plays tricks on him. At the same time, Amir never learns to assert himself because Hassan alsways defends him. 
• All of these factors play into his cowardice in sacrificing Hassan, his only competition for Baba's love, in order to get the blue kite, which he thinks will bring Baba's approval. 
• The change in Amir's character we see in the novel centers on his growth from a selfish child to a selfless adult 
• After allowing Hassan to be *****, Amir is not any happier. On the contrary, his guilt is relentless, and he recognises his selfishness cost him his happiness rather than increasing it. 
• Once Amir has married and established a career in America, two things cost him his happiness: his guilt and his inability to have a child with Soraya. Sohrab, who acts as a substitute to Hassan for Amir, actually becomes a solution to both problems. 
• Amir describes Sohrab as looking like a sacrificial lamb during his confrontation with Assef {early compared to Hassan in **** scene} but it is actually himself that Amir courageously sacrifices. 
• In doing this, Amir redeems himself, which is why he feels relief even as Assef beats him Amir also comes to see Spohrab as a substitute for the child he and Sohrab cannot have, and as a self-sacrificing father figure to Sohrab, Amir assumes the role of Baba and Hassan. 

Hassan

• From the start and through his death, Hassan remains the same: loyal, forgiving and good-natured. 
• As a servant to Amir and Baba he grows up with a very particular role in life and as a result, Hassan learns that…