Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Amir is in hospital, and Khaled Hosseini creates tension by using short sentences. This also highlights Amir’s memory loss, as he can’t put much detail into what he is saying, just states the facts. It can also make him seem a bit un-human, as there isn’t much detailed emotion; he simply says he is in pain, or who is by his bedside, or at the most detailed point, what they are wearing. His lack of memory is also shown when he starts talking about one of the nurses, called Aisha, after a prophet, and then fades out. He then fades back in again, but this time says-

 “What’s her name? Something to do with a prophet”. His memory is shown to be worse, when he says –

 “I know her from a few years ago. She used to wear her hair in a ponytail. Now it’s tied back in a bun. Soraya wore her hair like that the first time we spoke. When was that? Last week.”

Amir is clearly so confused in his mind that he mistakes the dates that he met the nurse and Soraya. This shows that he could be an unreliable narrator at this point, as it is only from Amir’s point of view, and his memory is not great so we could get incorrect information.

When Amir fully comes around, Doctor Faruqi tells him why he is in the hospital. He tells Amir he is lucky to be alive, which shows that he was brave to go and fight Assef, especially as it was his first fight. The Doctor says that Amir broke seven of his ribs, and one of them caused his lung to be punctured. He has wires in his jaws, to help his eye socket bone, and these come out in six weeks.

When Farid and Sohrab come to visit, Amir notices that Farid and him have suddenly become friends, and Farid is now very respectful of him, saying “Bas, it’s not worthy of your thanks”, and how he blushes a little when he says it. When Farid has to go, Amir asks Sohrab to stay, to which he shrugs, still not saying a word. This continues, Sohrab not speaking, until when he leaves. Amir reads the letter Rahim Khan has given to Farid to give to him, as Farid says that Rahim has “gone”. Rahim has choosen to spend his last few moments of lie alone, and does not want anyone to find him. This could be of the guilt of not telling Amir that Hassan was his half brother, and feels he is not worthy of seeing him, after he has saved Sohrab. There are three other patients in the room Amir is in, and this is very important to mention, as they are all men. At the time, women were not allowed to have access to any healthcare or to be treated by a male doctor, so only men will be treated in hospital.

In Rahim’s letter, he admits he is “ashamed for the lies we told you all those years”. He also uses some colour imagery when writing to Amir about Baba’s passing – “I cannot describe the blackness of my sorrow”, the black connotates sorrow, which ties in with Rahim’s emotion well. He tells Amir that the most important thing is to forgive himself, and that he has left the rest of his savings for Amir, as he is sure he will need them. He ends the letter saying that he does not want anybody to find him, he is spending his last days by himself, which may mean that maybe he is trying to forgive himself.

Amir questions himself, asking, “what had I ever done to right things?”. This shows that he is being quite harsh on himself, and tends to be, as he has already started his good deeds by saving Sohrab.

When Farid comes to visit, he informs Amir that it may not be the best idea to spend too long here. “The Taliban have friends” he says, showing that Amir is not safe, evn in the hospital. We remember earlier that Dr Faruqi said that he would have to spend some time in the hospital before he was suitable to be released. Amir questions Farid as to whether he should be here, considering he has a family to care for. Farid says “for you a thousand times over”, reminding Amir and the reader of what Hassan said, and immediately, Amir begins to weep.

Later, Amir starts to play cards with Sohrab, a game he used to play with Hassan. Sohrab says a few words, but goes over to the window and looks out, the sky is “awash with streaks of red and purple”. The colour imagery here, by using the red, could be foreshadowing the danger of what is about to happen to Sohrab, especially as he is linked in with looking at the red.

Amir takes his first steps after the fight, and later tells Armand that he is leaving, after he has spent a day playing panjpar with Sohrab. He can hardly walk, but it’s better than the Taliban finding him, as they have very close links.

Earlier, Amir has a dream about Baba fighting a bear, and Baba merges with Amir. This shows that finally, Amir is equating himself with Baba, as if he is good enough for Baba.

When Amir leaves, he goes and gets the money from the bank, and admits that going through Peshawar with a paper bag of money was a very frightening experience. Amir sleeps through nearly the whole journey to Islamabad, most probably to regain some strength. Amir has various analepsises whilst asleep, a lot featuring Baba and Hassan, as if he is doing these good deeds for their sake, for their forgiveness. The imagery of the blood comes in again, show the strong family link.