Structure

The novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is divided into 25 chapters. Although it is not officially divided into three parts, the novel mainly focuses on three settings that cover life in Afghanistan, life in America, and life in Pakistan. The novel’s structure is mainly chronological, as it begins with events from Amir’s childhood in the 1970s and ends in 2002 when Amir and Sohrab live in the United States. 

Because the events are presented from adult Amir’s perspective, there are several instances in which Amir foreshadows what is going to happen next. For example, the novel foreshadows a defining moment in Amir’s life from the beginning of the first chapter: 

I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. (Chapter 1, 0%)

Here, Amir foreshadows the moment he witnessed his best friend Hassan being raped, and chose not to intervene. 

The first part of the novel focuses on Amir’s life in Afghanistan, his unlikely friendship with Hassan, the servant’s son, and his attempts to win his father’s approval. The end of the second chapter foreshadows the main focus of Amir and Hassan’s lives: 

Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We...