Character Analysis: Rahim Khan
In The Kite Runner, Rahim Khan is the moral
centre and guiding light throughout. He is the voice of reason, someone who
stands out in the entire novel for his undying loyalty and honesty to Baba and
his family.
We get our first glimpse of Rahim Khan when
he calls Amir in Chapter One and says, “There is a way to be good again.” This
gently hints at what is to happen ahead in the story, yet not giving everything
away, supplying the reader with adequate suspense at the start of the novel
itself. He is a man who has stood up for the right cause and is portrayed as a
no-nonsense man. There also is a fatherly-aura about him, the main reason why
Amir is attached to him more than his own father.
Between Rahim Khan and Amir, the former
literally fills in as a second parent to the latter. When Baba ignores or fails
to understand Amir, Rahim Khan is right behind with an understanding word or
encouragement, so as to keep the child going. We can see this clearly when
Hosseini writes, “As always, it was Rahim Khan who rescued me.”
Rahim Khan was always the one to try and
bring literature to Amir’s interest, something which Amir takes up as a hobby,
and eventually ends up to be his passion. Also, Amir lands up learning more
about his dead mother from Khan, rather than his own father. We could also
attribute the understanding of Amir’s sense of religion and ethnicity to Rahim
Khan’s casual story-telling, where he drops small hints of his own dislike
towards racial discrimination in Afghanistan. He once tells Amir a story of how
he had fallen in love with a Hazara woman, and his family reacted strongly,
even threatening him with death lest he should marry her. This fact shows that
Rahim Khan had a just mind and that he looked upon Hazaras as complete equals.
It complements Amir’s feelings towards Hassan, and that someone he admires
shares the same views.
Rahim Khan’s character certainly does not
pop up much in the middle of the story, but we feel he is present due to Amir’s
rare reminiscences. Such memories keep him going in the tough life of America.
Even though Rahim Khan is not related to Baba by blood, there is a certain
level of comfort and understanding that they both share, and the absence of
this very companion in America reflects on Baba, where for the first time in
the novel, we see him place his son Amir in control of all affairs and himself
takes a backseat.
Towards the end of the book, we see Rahim
Khan feature in one of the most important scenes in the entire novel. He calls
Amir to Pakistan, revealing very little through the telephone, yet too much.
His few words are enough for Amir to understand that the time for him to
confess his sins had come at last. The events of this scene largely recount
what happened after Amir and Baba left Pakistan for America. Several elements
like the pain of guilt, racial prejudice, striving loyalty, discord between a
father-son relationship and closely-kept secrets are revealed, throwing the
reader into a completely unpredicted situation.
Rahim Khan lives up to his character in
this last scene of his, where he bares all to Amir and confesses that Hassan is
his half-brother and that he knew of all that happened in the alley. He
emotionally reveals how tough it had been for him and Amir’s dead father to
keep the secret hidden away, almost lock it in a cupboard forever and throw the
keys away. He admits he is ashamed, and we see how hard it is for Rahim Khan to
break Baba’s trust and loyalty for one last time in his life. He is literally
ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of Hassan’s son, and to prove to
Amir how strong the bond of blood can be. His one last request brings out his
true character and we see what a wonderful person Hosseini has brought into the
novel.
Although Rahim Khan is not a character who
is present throughout the story, he is one who binds everything together when
the reader needs it most. He is the person who finally reveals what brotherhood
really means and conveys the basic theme of love and forgiveness in the story.
Even though his role in the novel is small, it remains incomplete without him.