Ch 10-14 Reading Qs - Notes PDF

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// Reading Questions Chapters 10-14 //

1.

The “weakness” of Amir’s that Baba apologizes for is his car sickness.

2.

Karim was a people smuggler who drove people out of the Kabul to Pakistan,

3.

Amir and Baba flee Afghanistan because of the Soviet occupancy and stricter rules placed, making Pakistan a more relatively safe option.

4.

Baba challenges the Russian officer who was on drugs because Baba was a man who believed in honour and respect, and wouldn’t allow such indecency to take place before him.

5.

- The only way Amir can survive the long ride in the fume-filled tank is by remembering flying kites with Hassan. → Amir thinks of flying kites with Hassan after Baba tells him to think of something good, something happy to keep his mind off of the fumes. This is ironic because Amir completely avoided Hassan prior to when he left, and tries to not think of him. This happy memory also very opposite to the last/most recent memories of Hassan, which of betrayal. - Baba gathers up the dirt of his homeland and places it next to his heart. → This could be foreshadowing the fact that they wouldn’t return to Afghanistan again after they left, so Baba takes a last piece of his homeland, somewhat knowing he wouldn’t come back. - Kamal’s father commits suicide after Kamal dies from breathing the fumes of the tank. → Unsure, I don’t see how it would be either. But if I had to choose, it could be foreshadowing, since it’s not really ironic. It could foreshadow the lengths that a father would go and commitment they have to their child, that their life literally revolves around them. - Kamal, one of Hassan’s rapists, has been raped himself and hasn’t spoken since. → This was ironic and in a sense, karma.

6.

The new setting in chapter eleven is Fremont, California - where Baba and Amir start a new life

7.

Amir says the quote (listed in the Q’s page), and it reveals his thoughts on America and why he embraced it because it was a fresh start for him. This quote shows how Amir uses America and its vastness to hide from his true thoughts and wrongdoings. The metaphor explains how America meant being free from a past that dominated his life and the weight that he carried with it felt a little lighter. In America, his life kept moving on and there was a lot going on in it, without much time to think about the past, unless in moments it is brought up by someone.

8.

Baba gave Amir a Grand Torino - a Ford car as a graduation present. Amir feels very appreciative for all the things Baba had done for him, and touched by his act of kindness. Baba is very happy and humbled, but also wished that Hassan was there with them to celebrate.

9.

Soraya is the daughter of General Taheri. She catches Amir’s eye at the flea market when her father converses with Amir and Baba and she comes over to their stand.

10. On the weekends, Baba and Amir go to garage sales to buy items and resell them at the flea market in San Jose to earn more money. 11.

General Taheri was a decorated general in Kabul who Baba knew. Now in America, he doesn’t work and collects welfare, but believes that Afghanistan would be freed and returned to its previous state, and that he would be able to move back.

12. Amir tells his father he wants to major in English and do creative writing in college. Baba doesn’t support Amir’s idea, saying that only “real work” such as medical or law school would be good enough to support oneself. He also didn’t believe writing could help support a family, and that Amir would end up in a job like Baba’s. 13. In the quote (listed in the Q’s page), Baba speaks about Soraya because of the her actions in the past and rumours that spread about her as a result of that. This quote also might be significant because it can apply to Amir and Hassan on the day of the Hassan’s assault, and how that one day changed both of their lives forever as well. 14. Amir observes that the Afghan double standard favoured his gender. People wouldn’t say, “Did you see him chatting to her?” but instead, “Did you see how she wouldn't let him go?” 15. The first visit to the pulmonologist was unsuccessful when Baba asked him where he was from because he was of Roussi descent, and Baba refused care from him. 16. Baba is diagnosed with cancer - oat cell carcinoma. Baba decides to not do anything to treat it. 17. Amir asks Baba to meet with General Taheri to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. 18. The “bears” Baba wrestled were losing his young wife, raising a son by himself, leaving his beloved homeland, poverty, and indignity. An his final bear to wrestle was one he couldn’t beat cancer. 19. After sending out query letters to agencies, one requested a complete manuscript, and later a man offered to represent him. The good news Amir learns about in chapter 13 is that he was finally going to be a published novelist. 20. The disappointment that Soraya and Amir face is that they wouldn’t be able to have kids of their own due to Soraya’s unexplained infertility. I think Amir should have told Soraya of his betrayal to Hassan because she had opened up to him with her secret, and it would’ve helped him not carry the burden of his own secret anymore. I think secrets and especially discovering them after can put a bit of a strain on a relationship because there is a small distrust created. 21. 1989 was the year that the Shorawi completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Mujahedin were Afghans who fought against non-Muslim forces, such as the against the Soviet puppet government of Najibullah. The Najibullah were in charge. 22. Rahim Khan asks Amir to visit him in Pakistan because he was very ill and there was something he wanted Amir to do for him - “There is a way to be good again,”...