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by Khaled Hosseini. Pages 201 - 220. Go to the Beginning (Brought to you by jat impatientreader.com) Rahim says he is sick and dying. Amir asks him to come back to America with him, but Rahim says no. Rahim mentions that Hassan had lived with him in Baba's old house. He also says he has something to tell Amir. Amir tells him to go ahead. We then go into a flashback with Rahim in 1986. Rahim goes to find Hassan because he can't stand living in Baba's old house by himself, plus keeping it up has proven to be too much for him. He finds Hassan in a small village next to the town of Bamiyan. Hassan is living there with his wife Farzana. Unfortunately, Ali and his cousin had been killed by a land mine two years ago. Rahim wants Hassan and Farzana to move back to Kabul with him, but at first they refuse. Hassan asks about Amir, and Rahim tells him that Amir is doing well. Hassan says a teacher has taught him to read and write, and if he'd take a letter back to Amir. Rahim then tells him about Baba. The next morning, Hassan and Farzana tell him that they've changed their minds and that they want to go to Kabul with him. When they get there, they insist on moving back into the servant's quarters. Hassan and Farzana do all the work around the house. Farzana's first child is stillborn, but their second is healthy. One night a woman knocks on the door of the house, almost collapsing on the doorstep. They take her in and find out it is Sanaubar, the woman who left Ali five days after Hassan was born. She helps Farzana deliver her healthy child, a boy, and names him Sorhrab. She takes care of him until he is four, then she passes away in the night. In 1995, the Russians leave Afghanistan and the various factions start fighting. The area where they are in is reasonably safe, however, and Sorhrab is raised as well as they can manage. In 1996 the Taliban come in, and although Rahim is happy, Hassan knows that there is a bad time coming. Two weeks later the Taliban ban kite flying and fighting, and then two years later they start killing Hazaras in Afghanistan. In the present, Rahim gives Amir a letter written by Hassan and meant for him. In the letter, Hassan says how he'd like to see a photo of him, and also tells him how bad things are under the Taliban. But he also talks about Sorhrab, and how he is going to grow up to be a good person, and how he hopes both he and Sorhrab will see Amir again. Unfortunately, Rahim also has to tell Amir that six months ago, a Taliban patrol pushed Hassan and Farzana out of Baba's old house and shot both of them. He tells him that Sorhrab is in an orphanage in Kabul, and that he wants Amir to go and get him out so he can go to an American orphanage in Peshawar. Amir is very reluctant to do this. Characters introduced: Farzana (Hassan's wife) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Rahim asks him to grant his dying wish to bring Sorhrab back to Peshawar. Amir says he cannot do that, that he has a wife and career back in the US. Then Rahim tells him that Hassan was not Ali's child, but Baba's. Amir wants to know if Hassan knew; Rahim tells him that he did not. Amir storms out. He goes to a tea house and thinks about how all the signs were there that Hassan was really Baba's child. Amir realizes that Rahim did not ask him to Peshawar to atone for his own sins, but for Baba's too. He goes back to Rahim and tells him that he'll look for Sorhrab. Rahim tells him that he'll pray for him. Amir starts towards Afghanistan in the company of a man named Farid. Farid is driving a truck along the Khyber Pass, and Amir is motion-sick from the drive. He also notices that Farid isn't very friendly towards him. He asks Farid why, and Farid tells him that since Amir hasn't lived through the occupation of the Russians and the Taliban he has no right to say that he is returning to his homeland. When they reach Jalalabad, they stop at Farid's brother's house. Farid introduces him to his brother Wahid, and his family. Wahid asks him what he does in America, and Amir tells him he's a writer. Just then Farid breaks in and says that all Amir is interested in is selling his old land and house for money to take back to America. Wahid chastises him and says that Amir is a guest in his house. Amir takes no offense, and explains that he's searching for the boy in Kabul. Wahid understands, and says that Amir is an honorable man. Later on they are served dinner, and Amir notices the three young children seemingly looking at his watch. Amir gives it to them as a gift, but notices later that they've abandoned it. Farid asks Amir later why he didn't tell him they were searching for an orphan, and Amir says that he didn't ask. Farid volunteers to help Amir find the boy. Later, Amir has a dream that he was the one that shot Hassan in the street. He wakes up, and realizes that as much as it has changed, Afghanistan feels like home again. Characters introduced: Farid (Amir's guide into Afghanistan) |
