Chapter 23-25

Chapter 23

• Amir is in hospital, but cannot do, see or remember much.
• He sees a blur of images as he slips in and out of conciousness; A lady called Aisha, a man with a moustache and someone he recognizes.
• He has strange dreams, he imagines Baba wrestling a bear, then looks up to see that it is actually himself wrestling the bear. 
• When he wakes up he realises that the people he saw blurs of are doctors, and that he is in a hospital in Peshawar. The man that he recognized was actually Farid.
• His mouth is wired shut, the doctors tell him that he has split his top lip, broken the bone in his left eye socket, cracked several ribs and ruptured his spleen. 
• Farid lets Amir know that Rahim Khan has gone and left a note behind
• In the note Rahim Khan says that he knew about what had happened to Hassan, and thought what Amir did was wrong but Amir had been too hard on himself. He said he knew Amir suffered because of the way Baba treated him, but there was a reason; Baba could not love Hassan openly and so felt guilty, taking it out on Amir who Baba felt was socially legitimate. However, Rahim Khan says that good came out of Baba's remorse, the orphanage that he built and the poor he fed were his way of redeeming himself and making up for his sin. It also says that Rahim Khan has left some money in a safe to cover Amir's expenses. He says he has very little time left and that he does not want Amir to look for him.
• The next morning Amir tells Farid the names of the people who run the orphanage, and spends the day with Sohrab playing cards, althoug Sohrab hardly speaks.
• Farid tells Amir that there is not such couple or orphanage, and Amir decided Peshawar is not safe. He leaves with Sohrab to Islamabad.

Chapter 24

• Amir and Sohrab arrive at a hotel in Islamabad.
• Amir takes a nap and waked up to find that he is gone. He remembers Sohrabs fascination with the  mosque they had passed on the way, and finds him there. 
• The two talk about their parents, and Sohrab asks Amir if God will send him to hell for hurting Assef, to which Amir replies that Assef deserved more than he got and Hassan would have been proud of Sohrab for saving Amir's life.
• Sohrab admits to Amir that what Assef did to him makes him feel dirty and sinful, and Amir reassures him that he is not, and it was not his fault at all.
• Amir asks Sohrab to come with him to America to live with him and Soraya. Sohrab does not answer.
• One afternoon a week later Sohrab asks Amir what San Francisco is like. Amir tells him all about it, then Sohrab admits to him that he is worried Amir and Soraya will get bored of him. He says he never wants to go back to an orphanage, and Amir promises he won't let him go back.
• Sohrab says yes to going back to America, and Amir calls to tell Soraya to explain the whole story. She is happy for him to bring back Sohrab.
• The next day they go to the American embassy, where Amir is told the adoption is almost impossible. He is told that without the death certificates there is not proof that Sohrab is an orphan. The man tells him to speak to an immigration attorney, Omar Faisal.
• They talk to Faisal the next day, who says it will be difficult and that they should consider other options; Amir could put Sohrab into an orphanage for 2 years until the government approve the adoption.
• That night Amir breaks the news to Sohrab, who screams and cries until he falls asleep in Amir's arms. 
• While Sohrab sleeps Amir tells Soraya the bad news. She tells him that Sharif, a family member who works for the INS, says that once they have gotten Sohrab into the country there are ways to keep him in.
• Amir goes to Sohrab to tell him the good news, but finds that he is bleeding in the bathtub. He had run a bath and cut his wrists in an attempt to kill himself.

Chapter 25

• Sohrab is rushed to the emergency room.
• In the waiting room Amir uses a sheet as a prayer rug and prays for Sohrab to survive. It is the first time he has prayed for over 15 years.
• Eventually he falls asleep on a chair, dreaming of Sohrab in the bloody bath.
• When he wakes up a doctor comes to tell him that Sohrab has lost a lot of blood, but he will live.
• For several days Sohrab sleeps and Amir waits in the hospital for him. When he finally wakes up Amir asks how he is feeling, but he doesn't reply. Amir reads to him, but he does not pay attention. When he finally speaks he tells Amir he is tired of everything and wanted to be left in the water. Amir tells Sohrab why he came to find him, to tell him that he can go to America, but Sohrab stops speaking entirely.
• The story skips forward to when Amir and Sohrab arrive in San Francisco, in August 2001. 
• General Taheri and Jamila come round for dinner. They discuss the Taliban and what Kabul has become.
• When General Taheri finally asks about Sohrab in a derogatory way Amir calmly explains the story to him, telling him never to call Sohrab 'Hazara boy' again. 
• After September 11th, and the bombing of Afghanistan after that, there is a lot of talk about the places Amir group up all over America. 
• Amir and Soraya take it upon themselves to run and raise money for a hospital on the Afghan-Pakistan border. 
• General Taheri is called to Afghanistan for a ministry position, which Jamila worries about.
• Sohrab still doesn't speak. 
• In March 2002 Amir, Soraya, Sohrab and Jamila go to an Afghan gathering at the park. There is a tent full of people cooking traditional Afghan food.
• Sohrab still doesn't speak, and stands out in the rain away from everyone. Eventually the weather clears up.
• Soraya points out lots of kites in the sky. Amir goes to find a kite seller, buying one and taking to Sohrab. Amir offers him the string but he does not accept. When Amir runs with the kite flying up into the air Sohrab follows him and takes the string. 
• Amir and Sohrab battle with another kite, which is green. They use Hassan's old trick and manage to beat the other kite. People cheer for them.
• Sohrab smiles a little, and Amir asks is he should run the kite Sohrab nods. Amir tells Sohrab "For you, a thousand times over", and begins running after the kite with all the other kids.

Chapter 20-22

Chapter 20

• Amir does not recognise Kabul when he and Farid arrive, the war changed it completely. There are beggars everywhere, the buildings are all piles of rubble and all the trees are gone.
• When the Taliban pass by Amir stares at them in shock, Farid tells him not to, that they will use any excuse for some violence.]
• Near by a beggar agrees with Farid, saying that the Taliban look for a fight wherever they can. The beggar turns out to be an old literature professor who used to work with Amir's mother, Sofia Akram. Amir asks a few questions about his mother, but soon has to leave.
• Amir and Farid find the orphanage where Sohrab is meant to be. They try to get the director of the orphanage, Zaman, to tell them where Sohrab is but he won't until Amir tells him that he is Sohrab's half uncle. 
• The orphanage is full of children and does not have enough beds, mattresses or blankets for all of them. They are told that last year a child froze to death because of this.
• Zaman says that although Sohrab is no longer at the orphanage he knows where he might be. He also tells them it might be 'too late' and when they ask what he means he tells Amir and Farid that every month or two a Taliban officer comes with money and often leaves with a child.
• When Farid realises what this means he attacks Zaman for letting it happen. He notices that children are watching him and stops as he doesn't want to upset them.
• Zaman says there is nothing he can do as the Taliban are so strong, and this is the only way he can get enough money to feed the children. He tells Amir and Farid that Sohrab was only taken a month ago, and that the official who took him will be at the Ghazi stadium the next day.

Chapter 21

• Farid and Amir go to Baba's old house. It is still there however it is falling apart. 
• Amir goes up to the hill with pomegranate tree where he and Hassan would sit when they were little. 
• Farid tells Amir that they need to leave. They go back to a dilapidated hotel and stay there the night.
• The next day they go to the Ghazi stadium to find the official. It is very different to what Amir thought, the crowd is just dirt and the audience have to be careful not to cheer too loud.
• At half time a men in trucks drive into the stadium onto the pitch. Two men get out, bringing out a blindfolded man and woman. The woman is screaming as the men bury her and the blindfolded man in a hole in the pitch. A man recites a prayer from the Koran to the audience then says that they are going to carry out 'Gods law'. The official that Amir and Farid are looking for comes onto the pitch, stones the man and woman to a pulp then leaves, letting the match continue.
• Farid tells one of the nearby Taliban that he needs to meet with the official to discuss some personal business, and the Taliban agrees to let them see him that afternoon.

Chapter 22

• Amir and Farid arrive at the house where the official is meeting Amir. Farid waits in the car.
• Amir is led to a room by 2 guards where he is to wait for the meeting. He thinks that it may have been a bad idea to stop being a coward.
• The Taliban official comes in with 2 guards, Amir stands up to greet the official and one of the guards tears off his fake beard.
• The official asks Amir if he enjoyed the show at the stadium, saying it wasn't as good as when they went door to door shooting families in their own homes (the massacre of the Hazarara's in Mazar-i-Sharif which Amir had heard about).
• Amir tells the official that he is only there to find Sohrab, so two guards bring him in. He is in a blue silk outfit with bells around his ankles and mascara on his eyes. The guards make him dance, then the official tells them to leave.
• When the official asks what happened to 'Babalu' Amir realises that it is Assef, as that is what he used to call Ali.
• Amir says to Assef that he will pay money for the boy, but Assef says it is not about money, that is not why he joined the Taliban. He says to Amir that a while ago he was imprisoned, and in this prison the guard kicked him, and somehow it dislodged a kidney stone that had been incredibly painful. The relief was so great he started laughing, and realised God was on his side. He then says that he is on a mission to rid Afghanistan of 'garbage'
• Amir tells him that all he wants is the boy, and Assef replies by shoving Sohrab and saying that he and Amir have 'unfinished business'. He then tells the guards outside that if Amir gets out alive then he earned the right to live. He puts on his brass knuckles.
• Amir does not remember very of the fight, just little sections of being hit, but also relief, so much so that he remembers laughing becuase he looked forward to the relief so much. He felt he was mended for the first time. 
• Assef is close to killing Amir when Sohrab tells him to stop and aims his slingshot at him, Assef lunges at him but Sohrab releases his slingshot, hitting Assef in the eye. 
• Sohrab and Amir escape, shocking the gaurds because they survived. They get into the car where farid is shocked at Amir's appearance, then Amir passes out as they drive away.

Chapter 17-19

Chapter 17

• When Amir asks Rahim Khan if Hassan is still living in Baba's house he is given a letter.
• The letter is from Hassan and tell Amir all about how the Kabul they knew has gone, and about how Rahim Khan is very ill.
• Rahim Khan tells Amir that a month after the letter had been written the Taliban went to Baba's house to find Hassana and his family living there. They told Hassan he must leave with his family before the morning, even though the neighbours supported him when he told the Taliban he was just looking after the house for someone else. They called him a liar, like all Hazaras. They made him kneel in the street, and shot him in the head. Farzana came out, and they shot her too, claiming it was 'self defence
• Sohrab was sent to an orphanage, and the Taliban moved into the house.
• Rahim Khan tells Amir that he knows a couple in Pakistan that care for orphans, and asks him to find Sohrab and take him to them.
• Amir refuses, saying that he cannot go to Kabul, that Rahim Khan should pay someone else to go.
• Rahim Khan tries to persuade Amir, saying it is not about money and Amir knows why he must go. He says that Baba was worried about him because a boy cannot stand up for himself grows up to be a man who can't stand up to aanything.
• He then tells Amir that Ali was unable to have children, that Baba is Hassan's real father. They weren't allowed to tell anyone as it would bring shame upon Ali. 
• Amir storms out.

Chapter 18

• Amir goes to a teahouse and thinks about all he has learnt, realising that both him and Baba have betrayed their truest friends, and they Rahim Khan wants Amir to atone for both his and Baba's sins.
• He goes back to Rahim Khans house, realising that he needs to stand up for himself, and tells him that he will find Sohrab. 

Chapter 19

• The two arrange some transport for Amir, a man named Farid who will take Amir to Kabul. Farid and his father fought against the soviets, losing 2 daughters and 3 fingers.
• Amir wears an Afghan hat and a fake beard to blend in. He is very carsick.
• When Amir says he feels like a tourist in his own country Farid laughs and says that he should not see this as his country, he assumes that Amir has come to sell land, take the money and go back to America. He also assumes that Amir grew up in a big house in America with his father, with Hazara servants and an American car.He says Amir has always been a tourist here, pointing at an old man with ragged clothes and saying that is the real Afghanistan.
• They stay the night at Wahid's house, Farid's brother. When Wahid asks why Amir has come Farid goes on another rant, but Wahid stops him. 
• Amir tell Wahid why he has come, and about Baba's secret. Wahid apologises for prying, and calls Amir a true Afghan. Farid looks ashamed.
• Amir and Farid eat dinner. Amir notices that Wahid's children are staring at them and thinks they want his watch, so hands it to them. Later he finds out that they were staring at his food as they do not have enough money to eat.
• Farid apologises to Amir, saying that Amir should have told him. He says that he will help Amir to find Sohrab.
• Just before they leave Amir places a wad of money under they mattress he stayed on.

Important quotes from chapters 14-16

Chapter 14

• "Come. There is a way to be good again"
  In a way this quote is quote foreshadowing. We know now that Rahim Khan knows what happened with Assef and Hassan, that he know Amir did not step into protect Hassan but instead tried to get rid of him so he didn't have to live with the guilt. The quote makes the reader suspect that Amir is going to have to do something in Afghanistan which makes him 'good again'.
• "He's sit in the back of the room, dressed in his shiny old gray suit, wooden cane across his lap, smiling. Sometimes he even took notes."
  This quote is about the General's relationship with Soraya. It has improved as he is older, and since he has been on a journey of various ailments, things have softened between them. This renewed relationship may be symbolic of how Amir needs to go through some sort of painful process to fix guilt and the hatred he feels towards himself.

Chapter 15

• "I told him I had written stories in the leather bound notebook he had given me, but he didn't remember the notebook."
  This quite is very melancholic as throughout the novel so far it has been made clear how much the leather bound notebook meant to Amir, and now we see how Rahim Khan has even forgotten something as important as that.
• "And now it was just another pile of rubble"
  Amir is talking about Baba's orphanage. Amir talks about how hard Baba had worked on it, and now it had been blown up.
• "Peace at last. But at what price?"
  Rahim Khan is talking about how the Taliban were seen when they first took control. Everyone had seen them as heroes, when in fact they were strict and brutal, mistreating people severely. This quote links back to Hassan's rape, when Assef said that nothing is free in the world. This is sort of ironic now as he is part of the Taliban. 

Chapter 16

• "Hassan had so many questions about you"
  Shows that he is still loyal and caring, even after all the years that Amir had been away, and whathe did.
• "Saunbar cried that coming back had been a mistake, maybe even a worse one than leaving"
  Foreshadowing, Amir may find that it was a mistake for him to come back as well.#
• "I guess some stories do not need telling"
• "They named him Sohrab, after Hassan's favourite hero from the Shahanah..."

Chapters 14-16 summary

Chapter 14

• Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan, asking him to come to Pakistan to see him.
• He goes for a walk to think about the call, and sees a man playing catch with his son and some people  flying kites.
• Amir thinks of his and Soraya's relationship, how it has changed because of them not being able to have a child.
• A week after the phone call Amir leaves for Pakistan, telling Soraya that he should only be a week or two.

Chapter 15

• Amir lands in Peshawar where Rahim Khan now lives. He gets a taxi to the house and the driver tells him all about how bad Afghanistan has become.
• As they drive through 'Afghan town' Amir remembers the last time he saw Rahim Khan, on the night that he and Baba left for America and they had visited Rahim Khan, promising to stay in touch.
• Rahim Khan looks very skinny and ill when Amir arrives at his home. Amir tells him all about his new life, talking about Soraya and his career as a writer. However, the conversation inevitably turns to the Taliban's rule over Afghanistan, and how Rahim Khan got the scar on his face.
• Amit finds out that Rahim Khan lived in the old house when he and Baba had left, looking after it for Baba's return. He also learns that Kabul became a dangerous fighting space for Afghan factions.
• Rahim Khan tells Amir that he is dying, and that he will probably not live through the summer.He says that he needs a favour from Amir, that when he was living in Baba's old house Hassan lived with him.
• He tells Amir that before he asks the favour he must tell him about Hassan.

Chapter 16 (Rahim Khan is narrative voice)

• After a while of looking after the house Rahim Khan became lonely and it was difficult to do it alone. He went to Hazarajat and found Hassan and his wife, Farzana.
• He asked the two to come back to Kabul to look after Baba's house with him, but they declined.
• Hassan asked many questions about Amir, and when he found out that Baba had died he became very upset. The morning after he said that they would like to come to Kabul with Rahim Khan.
• Rahim Khan asked them to stay in one of the guest rooms in the house as they were not in use, however out of respect they declined, they stayed in the hut where Hassan and Ali used to live.
• Farzana gives birth to a stillborn girl in the fall of 1986, who they bury in the garden. Farzana is very upset, but becomes pregnant again in 1990.
• In that same year Hassan's mother, Saunbar, appears at Baba's house. She is severely injured, and Hassan and Farzana have to nurse her back to health. They become very close.
• When the baby arrives in winter Saunbar delivers it. It is a boy, and they name him Sohrab, after the character from Amir and Hassan's favourite book as children.
•  He and Saunbar become close, she cares for him very much. When he is 4 she passes away.
• In 1995 Hassan teaches Sohrab to read and to fly kites, while there is fighting between rival Afghan groups after the Soviets are pushed out.
• In 1996 the Taliban take over Kabul, and just 2 weeks after they have taken control they ban kite fighting, and 2 years later they massacre Hazaras. 

Soraya in The Kite Runner

Soraya's role

• Soraya is General and Jamila Taheri's daughter. She is from Afghanistan and a Pashtun, like Amir. She does not get on well with her father until later in the book, and gets on with her mother but finds her a little over the top in her care.
• Amir meets Soraya at the flea market which he visits every Saturday with Baba. He thinks she is beautiful, liking her instantly. For a while he sits with her and Jamila, getting to know the two.
  Amir and Soraya get married in chapter 13, however they cannot conceive a child as Soraya's parents would have liked.
• Soraya is Baba's main carer towards the end of his life. When she moves in with Amir she looks after him, mothering him completely.
• Sohrab and Soraya have a strained relationship when Amir brings him back from Afghanistan, as she had many plans for him however he is so scarred from what happened he does not speak or anything at all.

Soraya's appearance 

• "A slim-hipped beauty with velvety coal black hair..."
  A slim hipped beauty is what men typically like in a woman, so from the start Soraya is presented as a desirable character.Velvet is a very luxurious and rich fabric, whereas coal is more dirty and unappealing, so there is a lot of contrast between the two. Black is often symbolistic of darkness and can be quite sinister, possibly showing that she has a dark past (Running away with a man, dishonouring her family).
• "She had a thick black eyebrows that touched in the middle like the arched wings of a flying bird, and the hooked nose of a princess from Persia..."
  The part about a flying bird could symbolise freedom, as he sees Soraya as a way to be free of his guilt and sins. It is also a very graceful simile, again making her seem desirable. The simile comparing her to a princess infers she is of royalty, or seems that way compared to him.
• "Her eyes, walnut brown and shaded by fanned lashes..."
  The fanned lashes again makes me think of royalty, when princesses have people to fan them. It also makes her seem quite mysterious as the eyes are supposedly the 'window to the soul' however hers are shaded by the lashes, not allowing Amir to see into them clearly.
• "Hair pulled back and crowned with a tulip shaped bun"
  Again, the use of the word crowned implies royalty, and the tulip is the flower that young Persian men give to their beloved as an offering.

Key Quotes

• When Soraya tells Amir the story of why she wants to be a teacher he says:
  "I thought of how I had used my literacy to ridicule Hassan. How I had teased him about the big words he didn't know."
  This quote shows how contrasting Soraya and Amir are. Amir sees her as a good person, maybe even wants to be like her. She was to her servant what he should have been to Hassan, and he knows this. He feels regret, but also as though she could help him to change and take back what he used to be, by helping him become good now. 
• When we [the Taheris] lived in Virginia, I ran away with an Afghan man. I was eighteen at the time...rebellious...stupid, and...he was into drugs...We lived together for almost a month. [...]. Pader eventually found us. He showed up at the door and...made me come home. I was hysterical. Screaming. Saying I hated him..."
  This quote shows that Soraya is not as innocent as the reader and Amir first thought, she has made mistakes in the past and they still haunt her. I think this makes him feel better and more relateable as they have both done bad things. However, it also makes him jealous, as she has now got her secret off her chest, whereas he is still bottling his sins up.
• "It was Soraya who suggested she move in with Baba and me."
  This shows it is Soraya making the moral decision as Baba is very ill. It also shows that she does have some power in the relationship to make decisions. She comes across as very kind hearted, choosing to care for Baba rather than live with Amir and finally have a bit of freedom.
• "Their sons go out to nightclubs looking for meat and getting their girlfriends [...] I make one mistake and suddenly everyone is talking about nangs and namoos..."
  This shows that Soraya regrets what she has done but cannot seem to escape it. She knows it is unfair, that women experience double standards, and wants people to stop talking about it.
• "The General did not approve of women drinking alcohol and Soraya did not drink it in his presence"
  Soraya obviously has respect for her father, however she does disobey him in things such as drinking and in her career choice.
  
  How typical is Soraya of an Afghan woman and of an American woman?
  Soraya is not particularly a strict Afghan woman as she does do things which would be forbidden in their culture. 
• She ran away with a man when she was young, dishonouring her family by not keeping her virginity until marriage.
• She speaks to Amir a lot without permission from her father, this would be frowned upon and when the General finds out he tells Amir to stop seeing Soraya.
• She swears.
• She does not wear appropriate Afghan women's clothing, so she is not fully covered.
• She wants to get a career in teaching.
• She doesn't let her father boss her around and make all the decisions for her. She also stands up to him when he is being unfair to her.
• She makes a lot of her own decisions in her relationship with Amir.
  
  She seems a lot more typical of an American woman in these ways as she has more freedom to make her own choices than a Afghan woman would have. However, although she has a lot more freedom than most she still is not allowed to be alone with Amir during their engagement, she had no choice in marrying him and she has to go through the traditional marriage process.

Women's role in Afghan culture - The 80's and present day

Women in Afghan culture live by very strict rules, which restrict their actions and every day decisions. Here are just a few simple things which, even now, Afghan women are expected to do.

• Women and men  have different roles in the family, men are the bread winners whereas women should be doing housework and looking after the children.
• Women and men are not meant to mix too much, and free mixing between genders only takes place in families, and women must avoid eye contact with men to maintain their reputation as a 'proper woman'.
• Women are expected to dress appropriately, making sure none of their body shape can be distinguished. They are also advised to wear a headscarf.

Even just looking at these 3 things we can see how different it is to be a woman in Afghan culture compared to us, we are allowed to wear almost anything we like and can go on to work at a job we like. 

Things were improving, more girls are allowed to go to school, resulting in more women getting jobs. When the however when the Taliban took over this was no longer the case, women were sent back home to do domestic work as before, and once again became controlled by the male figures in their lives, even though they had had a good education and job. Some women did not want to stop working, and even tried to continue their job secretly, women who used to be teachers would educate girls privately without anyone knowing. If it had been found out they were still working they would have been arrested and even tortured. 

The segregation between female and non-relative males was reinforced. Men and women could not ride on the same bus, and from the age of eight they were allowed no contact with men who were not blood relatives.

Women were no longer allowed to be independent at all, the Taliban even made a law as soon as they took over, that women were not to leave the house without the company of a male relative. This meant that if a woman had no male relatives or a husband she would be under permanent house arrest. They also were not allowed out without a Burqa to cover their whole body and hide any signs of their body shape. If they did not own one then, again, they would be under house arrest.

These extreme rules and punishments have not improved much. Women are still under harsh rules and are oppressed by men. Many of the practices in Afghan culture deny women simple rights, such as stoning and baad. There are organizations working to help women who are oppressed in Afghan culture, however it is very difficult as a culture is part of life and it may be viewed as inappropriate to interfere. Women may also feel that they should not accept the help as they are meant to live the way they do because of their culture, and they would not want to dishonour it.

Over all women in Afghan culture were and still are oppressed, both by their culture, the Taliban and male figures. It is still very difficult for them to be independent because of the way they think they should be living.

How are women in Afghan culture shown in the Kite Runner?

Women's role in Afghan culture is best shown through the characters of Soraya and Jamila. There are many examples in the Kite Runner where these women are controlled in their decisions because that is what they are meant to do in the Afghan culture:

• Soraya has no choice in whether she wants to marry Amir, it is General Taheri who must agree that Amir is suitable. 
• Amir finds out that Jamila is an amazing singer, but the General refuses to let her sing in public. She wanted to sing at the wedding, only one song,  however she was not allowed to.
• When Soraya and Amir speak at the flea market they only do so when the General is not there as he would not allow it. When he does find out that they have been meeting he tells gently that it is not allowed for him and Soraya to do that, even in her mother's presence.
• When Baba is ill in the hospital and Soraya goes to comfort Amir he tells her she should go back because her father may go after him if he finds out she's with him.
• Soraya wants to be a teacher and is very passionate about it, but her father wants her to be a lawyer.

These examples show that Soraya and Jamila are controlled by General Taheri because he seems to have power over them.
There are also a few examples of women experienceing double standards in the book:

• "Their sons go out to night clubs looking for meat and getting their girlfriends pregnant, they have kids out of wedlock and no one says a god-damn thing. Oh they're just men having fun! I make one mistake and suddenly everyone is talking about nang and namoos, and I have to have my face rubbed in it for the rest of my life."
• When Amir first speaks to Soraya in the flea market he says that people would find it charming that he strikes up conversation with her, but would call her a 'lochack' for 'not letting him go'.

The General's relationship with Jamila is very unloving, and I think this is also caused by how strictly and seriously he takes their culture, but also because he seems to be quite an compassionate character. They sleep in separate rooms, and have done for as long as Soraya can remember. He is also very cold towards her:
"I learned that he could be petty, such as when he'd take a bite of the qurma his wife placed before him, sigh, and push it away."

This could be explained through the quote:
"People here marry for love, family name and ancestry never even come into the equation."

Which shows that, to him, it is most important to marry for reputation, rather than love or happiness."

Hassan and Amir are both motherless, which makes it difficult for us to see what would be expected of a mother, however it Amir says that Ali lost his wife to a "fate most Afghans considered far worse than death: She ran off with a clan of travelling singers and dancers." This shows that men find it embarrassing for their wives to run off, as it means that they are unsatisfied and shows that the husband cannot provide for her or please her.

Chapter 13 summary

Chapter 13
-Baba and Amir go to the Taheri's house for the ceremony of 'giving word'.
-Because Baba is very ill they choose to plan and have the wedding soon.
-Baba pays for the Afghan banquet hall, the ring, Amir's wedding tuxedo and everything else needed for the big day.
-Amir remembers a moment from the wedding: Him and Soraya are sitting together under the veil and looking at each other in a mirror, and that is the moment Amir tells Soraya he loves her.
-That night the two of them are together for the first time.
-Soon after the marriage Baba dies. Many people come to the funeral to pay their respects, and as Amir listens to them he realises it was Baba who defined him.
-Amir begins to learn about Soraya's family; General Taheri doesn't work as he feels it is below him, and so the family is on welfare. He also does not allow Jamila to sing in public, even though she was once a great singer. When the General came to find and bring home Soraya he came with a gun, and made her chop off her hair once she was home.
-Amir finishes his novel in 1988 and it is published.
-Soraya and Amir start trying to have a baby.
-They cannot conceive but it is unknown why, even though many tests are done.The two consider adoption, however General Taheri disagrees and so does Amir, however he does seem a little uncertain.
-Amir receives an advance from his second novel, which he and Soraya use to buy a house in San Francisco.
-There is still tension between the two because of the inability to have children.

Chapters 11 and 12 summary

Chapter 11
-There is a skip forward in time, Baba and Amir are now in Fremont, California, and have been there for 2 years. Baba now works at a gas station and has found it hard to adapt to his new life.
-We are told about an incident with Baba and some shop owners, where he gets angry and flips over a magazine rack because they ask him for his ID to pay with check. He is not used to this as in Afghanistan everyone trusted each other.
-After the incident Amir asks Baba if it is best for them to return to Pakistan where they stayed for a while when escaping Kabul, but Baba says no, they are there for Amir to finish school and college.
-When Amir graduates Baba buys him a Ford Torino as a gift, and later that night says he wishes Hassan was there with them, which ruins the moment for Amir.
-Amir tells Baba that he wants to study writing, which Baba disapproves of and says is useless, but Amir stands his ground.
-Amir talks about how he takes long drives in his car, and says America is a place to forget the past.
-The next summer Baba buys an old van which the pair use to load with old junk which they sell for a profit at a flea market the next day.
-At the flea market one day Baba and Amir speak to General Taheri, who has a beautiful daughter called Soraya that Amir  takes a liking to.
-Amir asks about her but all Baba knows is that she was once involved with a man but it did not end well.
-That night he falls asleep thinking of her.

Chapter 12
-Amir finally speaks to Soraya after a year of wanting her. He only speaks to her and her mother when the General is not around.
-One day Amir is giving Soraya one of his stories when the General returns. He throws away Amirs story and reminds him that he is around 'other Afghans'. Amir is disheartened.
-Baba is diagnosed with lung cancer, but tells Amir not to tell anyone and refuses treatment.
-One day Baba collapses as the cancer has spread to his brain. In the hospital many people come to visit, including the Taheris.
-At Baba's bedside Amir asks him if he will speak to the General about marrying Soraya. Baba very happily agrees and phones General Taheri straight away and agrees to visit him the next day.
-The next day Baba goes to ask the General for Sorayas hand. He agrees, and Baba phones Amir to give him the news. Baba puts Soraya on the line and she tells Amir that she is very happy that they will be getting married but she has to tell him something important which may change his mind. Amir says nothing will change his mind but she says she has to tell him.
-As it turns out Soraya had run away with an Afghan man when she was 18, and lived with him for nearly a month before her father, General Taheri, found her. While she was gone her mother had a stroke. Amir says it bothers him a little but he definitely has not changed his mind about wanting to marry her.

Chapter 9 and 10 summary

Chapter 9
-Amir opens his presents the day after the party
-He thinks either him or Hassan has to leave
-Ali gives Amir his present, it is a new version of the Shahnamah
-The next morning Amir takes his birthday money and the watch Baba gave him and puts them under Amir's pillow.
-Hassan lies and says he did steal the money and watch, but Baba forgives him.
-Ali says that he and Hassan are leaving, Baba pleads for them to stay but Ali refuses.
-Hassan and Ali leave, Amir watches them go.

Chapter 10
-Amir and Baba are in a truck with others trying to escape Kabul in March 1981.
-A Russian soldier says he will only let the truck pass if he can have half an hour with her. Baba sticks up for the woman, the soldier is about to shoot Baba when another soldier comes in and stops him by killing him. The woman's husband is grateful and kisses Baba's hands.
-When they arrive in Jalalabad to switch trucks they are informed that it has broken down. Baba attacks Karim, the driver, for not telling them earlier.
-The group stay in Jalalabad a week waiting for the truck.
- Kamal (One of Assef's henchmen) is with them, and Amir over hears his father speaking to Baba about Kaml being caught by 4 men, and bleeding from 'down there' when he returned, suggesting that he was raped. 
-Finally a truck arrives to take them to Pakistan, it is a fuel truck so it is full of fumes and thick air, making it hard to breath.
-When they arrive in Pakistan they find Kamal has died. Kamal's father becomes frantic and shoots himself with Karim's gun, before anyone can stop him.

Chapter 8 summary

Chapter 8
-Ali asks Amir if something has happened to Hassan, but Amir snaps at him and denies it.
-Amir, Baba and some other relatives and friends go to Jalalabad. Amir does not invite Hassan, telling Baba that he is not well.
-Baba tells the people they go with about the kite tournament but Amir isn't enthusiastic. Rahim Kahn is the only one who is not praising him.
-Amir is sick and everyone pulls over to air the coach.
-Now Amir has his fathers appreciation he does not feel happy as he thought he would.
-Amir becomes an insomniac because he can't stop thinking about how he watched Hassan get raped.
-The next week Amir asks Hassan if he wants to go up to their tree, but when they get there he changes his mind and goes home.
-Amir tells Hassan he wants him to leave him alone, so he does, but what Amir really wanted was Hassan to retaliate.
-After that he avoids Hassan
-Amir asks Baba if they would ever get new servants, but Baba gets angry and after that the two start drifting apart again.
- Amir and Hassan go out again, but Amir throws pomegranates at him in an attempt to get him to fight back, but Hassan doesn't.
-Baba throws a party for Amir's 13th birthday. He invited everyone.
-Assef is invited to the party and Baba seems very fond of him which annoys Hassan.
-Amir escapes from the party, and sits in a secluded area.
-Rahim Kahn joins Amir and they talk for a while. He says that Amir can tell him anything he wants, hinting that he knows something is wrong.
-They head back to watch the fireworks. Amir sees Hassan serving drinks to Assef ans Wali.

The characters of Assef, Wali and Kamal

Assef
Assef is the neighbourhood bully. He is part of the gang of boys who bully Ali, Hassans father, and is the most relentless. He dislikes Amir and threatens him because he is friends with Hassan, who is Hazara, and Assef does not approve of Hazara people. He has very strong views on the Hazara's and how they do not belong in Afghanistan, that Afghanistan should be just for the Pashtuns. Assef seems to enjoy threatening and hurting people, and is known for savagery. Amir thinks it is possible he may not be completely sane.

Wali
There is not much of a description of Wali, other than that he is one of Assefs wingmen. Him and Kamal follow him around and do as he tells them. In chapter 5 he is described as their 'god'. In chapter 7 however he does seem to stand up for himself a little, saying his father would be disappointed, but still helps Assef with raping Hassan.

Kamal
Kamal is very much the same as Wali in that he seems to have no personality of his own but just follows Assef round, helping him hurt innocent people.Him and Wali try to act as though they are the same as Assef by saying things they think he would say, and always agreeing with him when he is threatening people.

The only reason Kamal and Wali follow Assef around is because they are scared of him. If they left him not they don't know what he would do to them. They also have no idea what he is capable of and do not want to find themselves on the end of it.

In the book they play the role of the 'baddies'. They cause the main complications and they are the enemies of Amir and Hassan, so are instantly disliked by the reader. Assef is intimidating, so we do feel some sympathy for Wali and Kamal, who are dragged into being Assefs wingmen through fear.

Chapter 7 summary

Chapter 7
-Hassan tells Amir about the dream he had. It adds tension and seems to be a warning.
-Amir and Hassan go out to the contest, Amir can't help looking at Baba a lot as he feels he must win to gain his fathers respect.
-Amir and Hassan win the contest, everyone is congratulating them and Baba seems very proud.
-Hassan goes to run the last kite for Amir.
-Amir gets worried when Hassan has not returned and goes looking for him, a man tells him that he saw Hassan with the blue kite but he was being chased by some boys.
-Amir finds Hassan, he has been cornered by Assef and his friends. They are threatening him.
-Hassan refuses to give them the kite and so Assef beats him up.
-Amir does not defend Hassan but runs away.
-He pretends he doesn't know what happened when Hassan returns to him.
-They go home and Baba is proud of Amir.

Plot diagrams scene 1-7

Key quotes chapters 4-6

Chapter 4
-"In the end, I was Pashtun and he was Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi'a, and nothing was ever going to change that."
-"-after all, what use did a servant have for the written word?"
-"What does he know, that illiterate Hazara? He'll never be anything but a cook."
The historical problems between Hazara and Pashtuns affects the way Amir views his friendship with Hassan and the wasy Baba views his with Ali. Although they are close friends it is made clear that they are also the servants, a lower class than Amir and Baba.
-"My favourite part of reading to Hassan was when we came across a big word he didn't know. I'd tease him, expose his ignorance."
Amir's cruelty is shown in this quote, he is teasing Hassan because he can't read, playing mind games with him as he doesn't understand the meaning of the words.
-"That same night I wrote my first short story."
This is said after Hassan compliments Amir on the story he made up as a joke. It shows that Hassan is the reason Amir starts writing and goes on the get published.
-"As always it was Rahim Kahn who rescued me"
Baba does not even offer to read Amir's first short story, and instead Rahim Kahn steps in. This supports my idea that Rahim Kahn is more loving to Amir and he seems to have a stronger connection, always being the one to 'rescue' him.
-"My door is always open to you, Amir jan. I will always hear any story you have to tell. Bravo.
Said by Rahim Kahn and supports the above.
-"But right then, I wished I could open up my veins and drain his cursed blood from my body."
In this quote Amir is talking about Baba, it is said when Baba does not read Amir's story and instead goes upstairs to get ready for an evening out. This shows that he sometimes feels ashamed to be his son, and he does hate the way Baba does not have a stronger relationship with him, and cherish him more.

Chapter 5
-"Later, I would tell myself I hadn't felt envious of Hassan. Not at all."
Amir says this during the 'bloodless coup' when Ali had held Hassan close to comfort him. Amir is obviously jealous that Hassan gets more affection from his father than him.
-"Afghanistan for Pahtuns, I say. That's my vision"
Said by Assef, the neighbourhood bully. Shows the extreme view of some Pashtuns that the Hazara don't have a place in Afghanistan.
-"How can you call him your friend?" said by Assef about Hassan
"But he's not my friend! I almost blurted. He's my servant" -Amir
-"Why did I only play with Hassan when no one else was around?"
This shows, again, that the cultural and political differences between the two boys cause a problem for Amir and in some ways cause him problems. It also makes him ashamed.
-"I wished I too had a scar that would beget Baba's sympathy. It wasn't fair."
Amir is jealous that Baba has got Hassan a surgeon to fix his cleft lip and sees it as unfair that he gets such a present when he has 'done nothing.'
-"Because that was the winter Hassan stopped smiling"
Giving more clues about a complication.

Chapter 6
-"Baba and I lived in the same house but in different spheres of existence. Kites were the one paper-thin slice of intersection between those spheres."
Amir finally has something he can talk with his father about that Baba approves of.
-"Sometimes I wished he wouldn't do that. Wished he'd let me be the favourite
Again Amir's jealousy is shown in this quote. Baba treats Amir and Hassan equally, and Amir finds this unfair and becomes jealous, wishing Baba would show more affection towards him than Hassan.
-"But Hassan was by far the greatest kite runner I had ever seen"
Although Amir sees Hassan as a servant and gets jealous of him he does have a lot of respect for his talents at kite running
-"Kind of like when we used to play insect torture. Except now, he was the ant and I was holding the magnifying glass."
This is Amir when he and Hassan are talking about Hassan eating dirt if Amir told him to. It shows the power which Amir has over Hassan, and the way he knows what he can do with that power.
-"Then Hassan blinked and it was just him again. Just Hassan."
Amir says that he sees some other face sometimes when he is looking at Hassan. This may be a clue as to the complication later on in the book, the other side of Hassan we can't see yet.
-"Show him once and for all that his son was worthy."
-"And maybe, just maybe I would be pardoned for killing my mother."
-"I wasn't going to fail Baba. Not this time"
Amir thinks that if he wins the big kite fighting tournament it will solve the problems between him and Baba. He thinks that it will stop Baba from thinking that is not the perfect son. The last 2 quotes show that Amir feels as though he is responsible for his 'failures' and that is why Baba was not very affectionate towards him.
-"That was the thing with Hassan. He was so goddamn  pure, you always felt like a phony around him."

Chapter summaries 4-6

Chapter 4
-We find out how Hassan and Ali came to live with Baba and Amir; Ali's parents were killed in a drink driving accident and Amir's grandfather took him in.
-Hassan and Amir seem to be quite cruel and don't  realise, they throw things at animals for entertainment.
-Amir often teases Hassan about his inability to read and understand words, occasionally playing mind games
with him. Again this shows his cruelty as he enjoys it.
- Amir makes up a story without Hassan knowing, and Hassan says it's the best book he had ever heard and so Amir begins writing.
-Again we see how Baba is not very involved with his son when Amir writes his story but Baba is not interested, so instead Rahim Kahn reads itand praises him
-When Hassan reads the story and makes a comment on it Amir gets angry, thinking of him as an 'illiterate Hazara'

Chapter 5
-Daoud Khan, the Kings cousin, take over the government.
-Assef, the bully of the neighbourhood, and his friends threaten Amir and Hassan with brass knuckles. Luckily Hassan saves Amir using his slingshot and Assef retreats, claiming that is not the end of it.
- After Daoud Khan has taken over things go back to normal.
-It comes to winter and it is Hassan's birthday. As a present Baba get Hassan a plastic surgeon to fix his cleft lip, leaving only a faint scar.

Chapter 6
-It is winter and the schools are closing, so the boys start buying, making and flying their kites.
-Hassan and Amir are talented Kite Fighters.
-This is a passion which Amir can share with his dad, in fact it is one of the only things they have in common.
-We find out the Winter of 1975 is the last time Hassan runs a kite.
-There is talk of televisions and Amir promises to buys Hassan one.

Hazara and Pashtuns

Amir's best friend, Hassan, is a 'Hazara', whereas Amir is 'Pashtun' which seems to be a point made throughout the book.
But what are Hazara and Pashtun, and what is their history?

Hazara

Hazara are Persian speaking people who mainly live in central Afghanistan and Pakistan. They have Mongolian ancestry and are primarily Shi'a Muslims. However most people from Afghanistan are Sunni Muslims, and so the Hazara have been discriminated against for centuries.
Pashtun
The Pashtun are Afghanistan's largest ethnic group, and Pakistan's second largest. Most Pashtun's are Sunni Muslims, however a small minority are Shi'a.
The taliban are a group of severely right wing Pashtuns.

History
The Sunni and Shi'a Muslims have had a history of conflict. They are distinct ethnic groups and, as said before, the Hazara are a minority group in Afghanistan.
The battle of Uruzgan was between the Pashtun and the Hazara people. The Pashtuns pushed the Hazara out of Uruzgan and re-occupied it.
The two groups had different views on who should've been the successor when Mohammad died, and this is what split them and caused problems.

Character descriptions chapters

Amir
Straight away we find out Amir has a troubled past, the first chapter makes this quite clear. Throughout chapters 2 and 3 we see that his relationship with his father is not a particularly affectionate one. His mother died whilst giving birth to him and so he feels responsible. He is very close to a Hazara boy named Hassan, they seem to be very close friends. Amir is a Pashtun.
There are some parts in chapters 4-7 where we see the meaner side of Amir. He and Hassan enjoy throwing rocks and other items at animals and torturing insects. Amir is cruelest though, he enjoys teasing Hassana about his inability to read and understand words, playing mind games with him.

Baba
Baba comes across as a very cold man. He is said to see things in black and white, showing he is not very tolerant of things which he doesn't like. He is not a particularly religious man, he smokes and drinks. Very imposing, tall and dark. He likes to prove people wrong, both in his work and personal life. He sees his son as a bit of a disappointment as he has not turned out as he had hoped. Baba shares an interest with Amir in kite fighting, it seems to be the only thing the two have in common.

Hassan
There is a lot of description of Hassan at the beginning of chapter two, but what particularly stands out is his cleft lip, an imperfection. He was a very loyal friend to Amir and they were very close when they were young. He is a Hazara. Hassan is very truthful and quite naive in some ways. He always tells the truth, and thinks others always do too.

Ali
Ali is Hassan's father. He is a very gentle man, also a Hazara. He has a flawed appearance and is teased by locals for this. His wife ran away when Hassan was born. Ali is also very truthful, like Hassan. He is said to be 'incapable of lying'.

Sanaubar
Hassan's mother who ran away with travelers just after Hassan was born. Comes across as promiscuous and  not a particularly nice person. She was very beautiful and many men were attracted to her.

Rahim Kahn
There is not much information on Rahim Kahn in the first few chapters, but it seems as though he likes Amir and is kind to him. Throughout the first few chapters it seems as though Rahim Kahn is closer to Amir than Baba is.

Assef
Assef is the bully of the neighbourhood. He carries round brass knuckles to beat people up with. He is one of the people who bullies Ali because he is Hazara and has a bad leg. He does not like Amir because he is friends with Hassan, who is also a Hazara like his father. He has very extremist views on the Hazara being in Afghanistan, similar to Hitler's about the Jews in Germany.

Important quotes from chapters 1-3

Chapter 1
-"There is a way to be good again"
-"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."
-"It was my past of unatoned sins."
These quotes straight away show that there has been some conflict in Amir's life, and something in his past is troubling him. The 'unatoned sins' also implies that he may have done something in his life which was related to the event which he is trying to forget.

Chapter 2
-"Hassan never denied me anything"

This quote shows the strong bond between the two boys. It also shows how loyal Hassan was towards Amir.
-"I'm in his arms, but it's Rahim Kahn's pinky my fingers are curled around"
The relationship between Amir and his father is clear in this quote, he is obviously not very close to his father, and the way his fingers are curled around Rahim Kahn's pinky shows he may feel closer to him than his father.

Chapter 3
-"At parties when all six-foot-five of him thundered into the room, attention shifted to him like sunflowers turning to the sun."
This quote shows how powerful Baba is, and the simile used, comparing him to the sun, also shows respect from others.
-"You can't love someone who lives that way without fearing him too. Maybe even hating him a little."
-"It wasn't often Baba talked to me, let alone on his lap"
-"The least I could have done was to have the decency to have turned out a little more like him."
-"I already hated the kids he was building the orphanage for; sometimes I wish they'd all dies with their parents"
Again these show the unstable relationship between Amir and his father. Even though Amir looks up to his father and seeks his affection he also fears him and resents him slightly for the way he controls everything and  doesn't pay much attention to his son. The last quote shows that he is jealous of people who get attention from Baba, and this is also shown in chapter 2 where Amir talks about Baba putting his arm around Hassan.
-"If I hadn't seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I'd never believe he was my son."
Shows Baba is slightly disappointed that Amir has not turned out like him at all.

Chapters 1-3 summaries

Chapter 1

-In chapter 1 we find out that something happened to Amir at the age of 12 which has made him what he is today.
-He received a phone call from Rahim Khan, who is in Pakistan, last summer. He asks Amir to come to Pakistan and see him.
-Once off the phone he takes a walk in the park, noticing 2 red kites which remind him of Hassan.

Chapter 2
-Amir reminisces about his childhood with Hassan and how they used to be troublemakers
-We are given a detailed description of Hassan, and find out his is a loyal friend.
-Amir and Hassan have different lifestyles, Hassan lives in a mud hut whereas Amir lives in a mansion. They both with their fathers and neither know their mother; Amir's mother died giving birth to him and Hassans mother eloped with a group of travelling singers and dancers
-Hassan is shouted at by a soldier as they are walking, he tells Hassan that he had sex with his mother. We then find out she had a 'dishonourable reputation'
-Hassan is a Hazara and Amir is a Pashtun. Amir finds out that the Hazara had an uprising which was brutally suppressed by the Pashtuns.

Chapter 3
-We get a description of Baba, who comes across a little scary. He does all the things people say he cannot: design and build an orphanage, marry well, become a successful business man etc.
-Baba is not very strongly religious and only believes in one sin; theft. He believes every other sin is just a variation of theft.
-Amir tries to impress his father, but thinks his talents (reading and poetry) are not considered manly enough by Baba.
-Amir feels responsible for his mothers death.
-He over hears his father talking to Rahim Kahn saying he isn't like other boys and may not be able to stand up for himself as an adult.