The Kite Runner - Rahim Khan

The Kite Runner - Rahim Khan


"My friend Rahim Khan called from Pakistan [...] I knew it wasn't just Rahim Khan on the line. It was my past of unatoned sins". In this first passage (Chapter One), Rahim Khan is the first to be introduced in the novel, and his name is repeated twice. With his name also comes the most significant memory of his life and "past of unatoned sins". This suggests that in Amir's life, Rahim Khan is very central to his past - throughout the novel, Rahim Khan acts as another father figure to Amir.
"...but it's Rahim Khan's pinky my fingers are curled around".
"It was Rahim Khan, not Baba, who had told me that story. I was always learning things about Baba from other people" - this reinforces the dismantled relationship between Baba and Amir, and the idea that Amir has a stronger bond with Rahim than his father.

"-grateful that he's healthy, [...] Children aren't colouring books. You don't get to fill them with your favourite colours".

AO4 - context: The name Rahim means 'compassionate'.