Kite Runner - Chapter 17-25

How does Amir react?

Amir reads the letter twice and asks how he is.

What realizations does Amir come to in Chapter 19?

Amir realizes that he is home again for the first time in years and that somewhere over the mountains Kabul still existed in real time, where so much of his, and his family's, and Hassan's past had occurred. Most of all, he realizes that the one choice he had made years ago, to not help Hassan, had led him right back to Afghanistan a quarter of a century later.

What does Amir reveal to Sohrab about what had happened to Hassan? What does Sohrab say about himself? What does Amir reveal to Sohrab about himself and Hassan?

Amir reveals that he and Hassan were half brothers, but that no one had told Hassan, and that Amir had just found out recently, because a Pashtun and Hazara weren't meant to be brothers. He says that Baba loved them equally, just in different ways. He asked if he was ashamed to be Hassan's father, but Amir says he was more ashamed of himself.

Where do Amir, Soraya, Sohrab, and Kala Jamila go?

Amir, Soraya, Sohrab, and Khala Jamila go to a gathering of Afghans at Lake Elizabeth Park in Fremont.

What occurs at halftime? Why were these people being punished? What was their punishment?

At halftime, a man and a woman are brought in and placed in chest deep holes. There is a cleric who reads from the Koran. A tall man with sunglasses throws rocks at the man's head until he's dead, then the woman. They are being punished for adultery and dishonoring the sanctity of marriage, and for throwing rocks at god's house and spitting in god's face.

Where do Amir and Farid go at the beginning of this chapter?

At the beginning of the chapter Amir and Farid go to the Wazir Akbar Khan district to visit Baba's house.

What do Amir and Sohrab discuss? What is Sohrab afraid of?

Sohrab talks about the blue mosque, he asks whether Amir misses his parents, and he asks whether he remembers what they look like. He asks if it's bad that he's starting to forget his parents' faces. Amir tells him it's normal. But then he asks if he'll go to hell for hurting Assef. Amir tells him that Assef would never be good, that he had hurt his father and had deserved that slingshot years ago. Sohrab also asks if his father would be proud of him, and Amir tells him absolutely, his father would be proud. Then, Sohrab says that although he misses his family, sometimes he's glad they aren't here so they don't see how dirty of sin he is. Amir reassures him he isn't and he pulls Sohrab closer, telling him he won't hurt him. Sohrab relaxes a bit and Amir notices the bond between them, he asks if he'd like to live in America with him.

How has the soccer stadium changed since Amir's childhood?

The soccer stadium used to have a bigot green field, but now it was covered in holes and craters, and no grass, just dirt.

What event is being held at the stadium?

A soccer game.

Where do they go after the hospital? To what city do they travel?

After the hospital they go to the bank to pay for the hospital bill, and then they travel four hours to Islamabad.

Who is Aisha?

Aisha is a woman with graying hair, tied up, and nose piercing who was the nurse for Amir.

Who do Amir and Farid encounter? Why does Faird get angry with Amir in connection with this encounter?

Amir and Farid encounter the Taliban and Farid gets angry at Amir for looking at the Taliban because they are always waiting to be provoked so they may attack.

How do Amir and Sohrab escape?

Amir and Sohrab escape when Sohrab hits Assef in the eye with a brass ball from his slingshot.

In what project do Amir and Soraya become involved?

Amir and Soraya become involved in Afghan projects, specifically raising money for a hospital with many Afghan refugees.

What conversation does Amir have with the hotel manager?

Amir asks if he'd seen the boy but the hotel manager keeps telling him about how boys are always running around, about how they want bicycles, and how it is his fault for not caring for Sohrab. Eventually, he answers saying he didn't see him. As Amir is walking away, the manager asks whether the boy has any interests and Amir tells him about the mosque. The manager then drives him to the mosque for free, because he is a father like him.

What are some things that Amir converses with the people there about?

Amir converses about Baba, about the job Karzai had in front of him, about the upcoming Loya jirga, and about the king's imminent return to his homeland after 28 years of exile.

What are some of the things Amir describes seeing at the beginning of this chapter?

Amir describes seeing lots of hazy faces with green hats. He hears lots of voices, and beeps, and alarms. He sees someone named Aisha, her hair is gray and parted in the middle and tied in a ponytail, she has a nose piercing and bifocals. He sees a man, I assume Farid, who is dark and lanky with a long beard. He also sees Sohrab standing with him, and he imagines himself wrestling a bear.

When the Soraya's parents come over to dinner, what does Amir discuss with her mother?

Amir discusses his injuries with Soraya's mother and reassures her that the wires would come out in a couple of weeks so that he could eat her food again.

What does Amir give Farid?

Amir gives Farid an envelope with a little over two thousand dollars.

What startles Amir when he wakes up?

Amir is startled when he wakes up and finds Sohrab's bed empty.

What does Amir leave under the mattress at Wahid's house? Why is this significant? What does it show about Amir?

Amir leaves money under the mattress at Wahid's house. It is significant because it shows growth in Amir's character. 26 years ago he had left money under Hassan's mattress to accuse him of stealing, but now, he leaves the money to hopefully provide the family with food, even if it only lasts a bit.

What does Amir look at that practically horrifies him?

Amir looks at his face, and it horrifies him. His eyes were puffy and blue, his mouth was a blob of purple and red covered in bruises and stitches, and he had stitches across his left cheek, just under his chin, and on his forehead below his hairline.

What does Amir notice when they get to Kabul?

Amir notices a lot of rubble and beggars.

What does Amir notice about Islamabad?

Amir notices that Islamabad was the city that Kabul could have become someday. The streets were wider and cleaner, lined with rows of hibiscus and flame trees, the bazaars were more organized, the architecture more elegant and modern, and there were flowers blooming in the shadows of the trees in parks.

What does Amir read to Sohrab?

Amir reads the Shahnamah to Sohrab.

What does Amir tell Sohrab about? What does Amir end up doing? How does Sohrab react?

Amir tells Sohrab about how Hassan used to be the best kite runner in Wazir Akbar Khan, maybe all of Kabul. He tells Sohrab about how Hassan just knew where the kite would land. Amir ends up flying the kite, and offers Sohrab to try. He knocks the green kite down and Sohrab smiles.

What does Amir think that Wahid's children are looking at? Later, Amir realizes that the children were actually looking at his food.

Amir thinks Wahid's children are looking at his digital wristwatch, but they are actually looking at his food.

What else does Amir want to see before he and Farid continue their journey? Why is this important?

Amir wants to see the old pomegranate tree before him and Farid continue. This is important because it was a symbol of the beginning and end of Hassan and Amir's friendship, and with the tree dead, it also symbolizes the death of Hassan, gone forever just like how the tree will most likely never have fruit again.

What does Assef take out? What happens to Amir? How does he react?

Assef takes out his stainless-steel brass knuckles. Amir had fought Assef, who had beat him up. His jaw had shattered, teeth knocked out, his ribs cracked, his cheekbone cracked, his nose cracked. Amir, however, started laughing. It hurts so much but still he laughs because he feels healed. He felt at peace, for the first time since 1975, and he was healed.

What story does Assef tell about his "revelation"?

Assef tells Amir that he had spent some time in jail at Poleh-Charkhi in 1980 after a group of Parchami soldiers had forced Assef and his father out of the house at gunpoint. The commandment had been beating him, and he had a kidney stone, but when he was kicked in his left kidney it passed, and he just started laughing. When he was thrown back in his cell he realized that God was on his side and wanted him to live for a reason.

What happens at the end of the story?

At the end of the story, Amir runs after the kite smilining, seeing progress in Sohrab and being reminded of his childhood all those years back.

What clues throughout the book hint at the secret that is revealed in Chapters 17-18?

Baba hiring Dr. Kumamoto to fix Hassan's harelip, Hassan being born about a year later, Baba never missing Hassan's birthday, Baba refusing to send Hassan away because it was his home and they were his family, the way he had wept when Ali announced they were leaving, and the way he sat in the ford on Amir's graduation day and said how he wished Hassan were there.

What does Dr. Faruqi (Armand) tell Amir happened to him? What ironic aspect occurs in Amir's injuries?

Dr. Faruqi tells Amir that he is in a hospital in Peshawar, where he has been for two days. His spleen has ruptured, he has seven broken ribs, one of them caused a pneumothorax (punctured lung), he had several cuts, his lip had been cut in half, and there was a fracture in his eye socket bone. One ironic injury is his cut lip, cut right down the middle like Hassan's harelip.

Where do Farid and Amir go? What is the house like? With whom does Amir meet?

Farid and Amir go to visit the Talib with the sunglasses at a house in the Wazir Akbar Khan region. The house is on the street of the guests and it's very large. The lawn is manicured, and inside the house is large but sparsely decorated. They took Amir to a room with a big-screen TV, a prayer rug, a Mecca nailed to the wall, a coffee table, and two mint green sofas.

In Chapter 19, Farid drives Amir from Peshawar to Afghanistan. Describe Farid's first impression of Amir.

Farid doesn't like Amir and thinks of him as a tourist.

What did Farid mean when he said, "You've always been a tourist here, you just didn't know it,"?

Farid means that Amir has always lived in a nice house, with Hazara servants and workers who decorated, and a father who drove an American car. Everything had always been handed to him and he had never dealt through any suffering in Afghanistan, and then he lived in America for 20 or so years. When he comes back to Afghanistan, he is still a tourist, because never in his life has he had to deal with any of the problems that are even more pronounced in Afghanistan now, and he never lived in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over.

What news does Farid bring back for Amir?

Farid tells Amir that Thomas and Betty Caldwell aren't in Peshawar and that they had never even existed there.

Why does Farid want to get Amir out of Peshawar?

Farid wants to get Amir out of Peshawar because the Taliban have friends there who would start to look for Amir soon. Although Amir thinks that the bearded man who had stared at been one of those friends.

What has happened to Hassan's son, Sohrab?

Hassan's son Sohrab had been sent to an orphanage in Karteh-Seh.

What is Farid's impression of emigrant Afghans who return to visit Afghanistan

He dislikes them and thinks that all they want is to sell their Baba's land and bring the money back to their mother in America.

What does he have his guard take from Amir?

He has his guard take Amir's beard.

What does he say he wishes Amir did?

He wishes Amir had left him in the water.

Describe the head Talib. What do his sunglasses look like? Why is this ironic? If you don't know, do a little research on what John Lennon stood for.

His sunglasses were dark and round like those of John Lennon. This is ironic because John Lennon stood for world peace, and yet here this Talib was, killing a man for a sin.

Do you think Rahim's dying wish is unfair? Why or why not?

I think that Rahim's dying wish is fair. First of all, Sohrab is technically Amir's step nephew, and after the way that Amir had treated Hassan before he left, it is only fair. It may be dangerous, but Sohrab deserves to be saved, and Amir needs a way to redeem himself.

What does Farid do in response to this information? What causes Farid to stop? How does he tell them to find the man who has Sohrab?

In response, Farid leaps over the death and starts strangling Zaman and tries to kill him. He only stops when Amir tells him that the children are watching. The man tells them to go to Ghazi Stadium tomorrow and they'll see him at halftime. He tells them that he's the one wearing black sunglasses.

What had happened in the hotel room bathroom?

In the hotel room bathroom, Sohrab had cut himself with the razor.

What is the tone of this letter?

In the letter Hassan is hopeful for Amir and Kabul. He seems proud of his son, and mostly happy, but he also seems scared and sad.

What does Omar Faisal say may be the best option for getting Sohrab to America?

Omar Faisal says the best option may be to give him to an orphanage here, file an orphan petition, and start his I-600 form and home study while Hassan's in a safe place.

Who is Omar Faisal? What information does Amir give him?

Omar Faisal was a chubby, dark man with dimpled cheeks, black-buttoned eyes, and a gap-toothed smile, with his thinning gray hair tied into a ponytail. Amir gives him the uncensored truth to what had happened.

What does Rahim Kahn tell Amir that Amir must do? How does Amir feel about this? How does he react?

Rahim Khan tells Amir that he needs to go to Kabul and bring Sohrab to Pakistan. Amir is not happy and refuses, talking about how Kabul is dangerous and how he has his own life in America. Rahim Khan, however, reminds him of why it must be him, and he seems to think it through, till Rahim Khan tells him that Ali was not able to have children and Hassan was really the son of Baba and Sanaubar.

What advice does the embassy official Raymond Andrews give Amir? What does Amir later find out about the embassy official?

Raymond Andrews advises Amir to not try and adopt him, he thinks it's too much work and wont work anyways. Later on, he finds out that his daughter had died of suicide.

What does Sohrab say to Amir?

Sohrab says to Amir that he was tired of everything. That he wanted his old life back with his parents and playing with Rahim Khan and he wants to live in their old house again.

What does the Talib make him do? What question does the Talib ask Amir that shocks him? Who does Amir realize the Talib is?

The Talib makes Sohrab dance. The Talib asks Amir what happened to old Babalu, and it shocks Amir who finds out that the Talib is Assef.

How does the chapter end?

The chapter ends with Amir walking into the bathroom and screaming until an ambulance arrives.

Who is Amir supposed to meet at 3:00pm?

The head Talib in the sunglasses.

When Amir shows the head of the orphanage Sohrab's picture, how does the head first react? What finally gets him to admit Amir and Farid to the orphanage?

The head says that he has never seen the boy before and locked the door. He finally admits them into the orphanage, however, when Amir tells him that he's his half uncle.

How has Amir's house changed since he last saw it? What does he notice about the house?

The house now has weeds growing in the driveway, the driveway didn't look as long as he remembered, most poplar trees were cut down, there was no longer any corn by the Wall of Ailing Corn, the paint had begun to peel, and the lawn was brown with patches of dirt. The house looked smaller, the roof sagged, the plaster cracked, broken windows, the paint was gray and eroded and the front steps had crumpled.

What does the manager of the hotel ask Amir to do?

The manager of the hotel asks Amir to leave the hotel.

What does the orphanage director reveal about Sohrab's whereabouts?

The orphanage director reveals that a Talib official who came every month or two with money, and who usually takes a girl, had taken Sohrab about a month ago.

What mistake does the secretary at the embassy make?

The secretary thinks that Sohrab is Amir's son.

Who do they then meet? How did this person know Amir's mother?

They meet an old beggar who knew Amir's mother because he used to teach at the university where his mother taught and they used to sit and talk after class.

What are some of the things Amir and Farid see as they drive toward Kabul?

They see burned old soviet tanks along the road, overturned military trucks that had gone rusty, a crushed Russian Jeep that had fallen over the mountain side, mud-hut villages, the charred remains of a tiny village, and a dog that I assume is dead, lying on a wall.

Where were they when this happens?

They were in the street in front of Baba's house.

How does the cliché, "like father, like son", relate to Baba and Amir? How are Baba and Amir actually quite similar?

This cliche relates to Baba and Amir because they had both betrayed the people who would have given their lives for them, Ali and Hassan.

Who is Wahid? What does he offer Amir?

Wahid is Farid's older brother. He offers him tea and another blanket.

In Chapter 17, what do we discover has happened to Hassan and his wife? Why did this occur?

We discover that Hassan and Farzana had been shot. This happened because the Talib officials had accused Hassan of lying and told him to be out of the house by sundown. Hassan protested and so they shot him, and then Farzana ran out and attacked them, and they shot her too.

What do we find out about Rahim Khan? What does Rahim Khan's letter say? How does Amir react to the letter?

We find out that Rahim Khan had left his apartment without saying where he'd gone. He had left Amir a letter and a key and then left. His letter states that Rahim Khan had known about what Amir had done shortly after it happened. He tells Amir that what he did was wrong, but that he was just a boy when it happened. He hopes the trip to Afghanistan will end his suffering, and he apologizes to Amir for keeping Hassan's real father a secret. He also apologizes for the way Babahad treated him, but he asks Amir to accept that his father was torn between having to keep his affection a secret to Hassan and how he took it out on Amir, who he had seen himself in. He tells Amir that true redemption is when guilt leads to good, and he knows that God will forgive him. He left Amir some money and said to not look for him because he wants to spend the little time he had left alone.

In Chapter 17, Rahim gives Amir a letter from Hassan, who wrote it six months before. What important information do we learn about Hassan through this letter?

We learn that Hassan has taught his son to read and write, and to use the slingshot. Sometimes they sit beneath the pomegranate tree, or they visit the monkey man. We learn of how the Taliban treat Hassan and his wife, and we learn about how sick Rahim Khan is.