Chapter 20

The chapter begins when Farid and Amir enter Kabul, and Amir cannot believe what he sees. This could make us believe that he is an unreliable narrator, as from what we’ve heard about Kabul, Amir seemed to think it was a lovely place. But now, we hear the total opposite. Amir says that Fahid gave him a look that said, “Hearing is not the same as seeing.”. This really sums up Amir’s pain, as he hasn’t actually experienced it, for example he heard Hassan getting raped, he didn’t see it. He heard Baba’s cancer take over him, he didn’t actually experience it. It says that Amir has a “stupefied” expression, which shows how much Kabul must have changed, if all power was lost from Amir. As he is describing what he sees, he notices that the father’s are lacking because of the war, which is the opposite way round to when he was younger, as mothers were more rare than fathers. The repetition of the word “mud” really shows how dirty the place is, as the children had “mud caked faces”.

As they drive on, Amir notices a sign saying, “Drink coca co-“. This shows the merge of cultures, as this is American, and can symbolise the dream, but it is broken here, as the sign is also broken. He also mentions the kite shop to Fahid, who responds saying, “those days are over”. This could be symbolic of the beginning of Amir’s guilt free life, as when the kite running days are over, so are the days of Hassan’s rape.

Pathetic fallacy is used when describing the area, as it says “a haze of dust hovered over the city”. This could be symbolic of the sadness hanging over the area, and how much it has changed, compared to Amir’s memories, as they are also hazy.

When Fahid pulls over, Amir sees the Taliban for the first time. When they gaze at him, he says “I’ve never felt more naked in my entire life”. This shows that Kabul makes all of his flaws come out, and it seems as if he thinks the Taliban can see straight through him, and all of his flaws and sins. The truck that the Taliban were travelling in was “red”, which again reminds of danger, and the rape of Hassan with the colour of his blood. They are also wearing black, which connotates power and evil.

Amir hears a beggar, and gives him some money out of his good will, which could remind us a bit of Baba’s personality. He starts to speak to the beggar, about the Taliban, the orphanage and eventually come onto the subject of Amir’s mother, Sofia. The beggar knows him, and Amir tries to get as much information out of him as possible, which isn’t much. He learnt more about his mother from a stranger than he ever did from Baba.

They find an orphanage, and show the guard the picture of Sohrab. The guard barely looks at the photo before he says he does not know the child. Amir gives up, but Farid pressures, and eventually says that they are not the Taliban, they are here to rescue the little boy. They are let in, and learn that the orphanages are very poor and do not have enough supplies. This shows the time of Afghanistan, and how they are struggling with basic supplies like blankets and food due to the political status. Zaman, the director, says that Sohrab has already been taken, and Farid does not react well to this. He flings Zaman to the floor in anger that he gives the children away for money. Amir breaks them up and some of the children are crying at the action. Zaman tells them to go to Ghazi Stadium the next day, and they immediately do. When they are on the truck, Amir looks back and sees Fahid “put on his broken glasses”. This could be showing that he wants to see everything correctly, as if everything is all right, but he cannot, everything around him is wrong and broken.