The Kite Runner: Sample Essay on Character Analysis

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.