Quotes
The Mullah at school told Amir that drinking is a sin. Amir tells his father about this, and his father replies with what he thinks is actual sin.
Amir witnesses Hassan's assault at the end of a dead-end alleyway. Which Ancient Greek motif does this parrallel? (Hint: covered in class).
The Minotaur, or the "innocent monster stuck in a maze."
Ali's parents were killed in a car crash. True or False?
True
Who is Farid?
Context: "It was the cry of a wild animal trying to pry its mangled lef free from the bear trap. Two more Talibs joined in and helped force her into one of the chest-deep holes."
Amir and Farid go to the soccer stadium to find the Talib with Sohrab. Instead, they witness a public execution where they stoned a woman to death.
Context: "The swelling subsided, and the wound healed with some time. Soon, it was just a pink jagged line running up from his lip. By the following winter, it was only a faint scar. Which was ironic. Because that was the winter that Hassan stopped smiling."
Dr. Kumar performs a surgery on Hassan's lip during the winter of 1975, which is the same winter of Hassan's assault (and he stops smiling).
He says Hassan stole his birthday money. Amir actually framed Hassan by putting the cash under Hassan's mattress.
Amir's father-in-law, General Taheri, was the former Vice President of Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion. True or false?
False, he was an army general. He fled the country around the same time as Baba and Amir.
He receives a phone call from Rahim Kahn
Context: "WHAT'S SO FUNNY?"
Assef keeps asking this to Amir, while Amir continually gets pummeled. Amir starts laughing, which only makes Assef more angry.
Context: "Slithering beads of rain sliced down my window. I saw Baba slam the trunk shut. Already drenched, he walked to the driver's side. Leaned in and said something to Ali in the backseat, perhaps one last-ditch effort to change his mind."
Baba tries to persuade Ali and Hassan to stay after they decide to leave for good. Ali knew about the assault, and knew about Amir's lie regarding the stolen money.
How does Amir find out that John and Betty Caldwell do NOT, in fact, exist? (Hint: this is the so-called American couple that want to adopt Sohrab).
When Amir goes to the orphanage in Kabul (with Farid), the orphanage director confirms that there never was an American couple interested in Sohrab. Amir knew right then that Rahim Kahn plan all along was for Amir to get the boy for himself - which is a way towards redemption.
Soraya was locked in her room as a punishment from her father. True or false?
True. She ran-off with a man that her father didn't approve of. He found her (and he had a shot gun with him).
What could be considered the "the supreme ordeal?" in this novel? (the one, last obstacle for Amir and then he's in the clear).
Answers vary; will accept a well-explained response.
Context: Then: "Bas." A thin voice.
"Please, no more."
Sohrab points a slingshot towards Assef as Amir is getting thrashed. He innocently asks for the commotion to stop, then shoots the brass ball into Assef's eye socket.
Context: "And one more thing, General Sahib,' I said. 'You will never again refer to him as a 'Hazara boy' in my presence. He has a name and it's Sohrab."
Amir introduces Sohrab to his in-laws. The general is prejudiced against Hazaras, however Amir is able to (finally) show some bravery and he stood up for the boy.
“My body was broken... but I felt healed. Healed at last” (Ch. 22). What is the context of this quote?
After adult Assef physically assaults him rather badly, yet even with a punctured lung and broken bones, Amir felt better standing up for something.
False. He becomes a published author.
How does Amir finally obtain the necessary paperwork in order to bring Sohrab into the United States?
Soraya's uncle who works for the INS is able to expedite his humanitarian visa (and they would formally adopt the boy when they arrive in the U.S.)
Sohrab leaves their hotel room and walks to the Shai Fasal Mosque, where Amir finds him. Sohrab is traumatized by everything.
Context: "I saw a dead body near the restaurant. There had been a hanging. A young man dangled from the end of a rope tied to a beam, his face puffy and blue, the clothes he's worn on the last day of his life, shredded and bloody. Hardly anyone seemed to notice him."
Amir travels back to Kabul for the first time in decades. He's stunned to see how much it's changed, including a dead boy left over from a public execution.
Which activity are Sohrab and his uncle doing in the final scene of the novel? And where?
Flying a kite in San Francisco.
Baba dies seeing his son become happily married to a woman he loves. True or false?
True. He dies shortly thereafter.
Describe the context: "I throw my makeshift jai-namaz, my prayer rug, on the floor and I get on my knees, lower my forehead to the ground, my tears soaking through the sheet. I bow to the west. Then I remember I haven't prayed for over fifteen years."
Amir in the hospital, praying, while Sohrab is in critical condition in the hospital.
Context: "This is different. It would be here in Islamabad, not in Kabul. And I'd visit you all the time until we can get you and take you to America."
"Please! Please, no! I'm scared of that place. They'll hurt me! I don't want to go!"
Amir is trying to organize Sohrab's adoption, and has determined that in order to take him to America, he needs documents. Until Amir can secure the documents, Sohrab must stay in an orphanage, which Sohrab does NOT want to do.