Chapter 5 What literary devices does Hosseini use at the start of this chapter to establish a sense of conflict? Describe Amir’s envy of Hassan and Ali’s relationship? Explain in your own words the situation being portrayed in this section of the text p.34. Explain the effect of the reference to Hitler on page 37. What might the slingshot symbolise? P. 39 Explain the religious allusion on pg 40. ‘the disciples followed’? Find quotes that show the building conflict between Assef, Hassan and Amir. Explain the effect of the closing line of Chapter 5 on the audience.
Chapter 6 Explain the effect of the simile on page 47. ‘In Kabul, fighting kites was a little like going to war’. Explain the quote on page 54. ‘better to get hurt by the truth than comforted by a lie’. Chapter 7 Explain the effect of the simile on page 59 ‘like paper sharks roaming for prey’. Why is Amir preoccupied with Baba’s response to the kite tournament? Explain the significance of this quote on pg. 63 ‘for you a thousand times over’hesaid. Then he smiled his Hassan smile and disappeared around the corner. The next time I saw him smile unasbashedly like that was twenty-six years later, in a faded polaroid photograph’. ‘I crept closer to the mouth of the alley. Held my breath. Peeked around the corner’ how do the truncated sentences contribute to the tension? How does the quote above merge with the opening chapter when it says ‘I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years’. How does the first person contribute to the tension in this extract ‘I felt my body clench up, and something cold rippled up my spine’ p. 67 and ‘I bit on my fist. Shut my eyes’. P.69. Why does Hosseini incorporate a memory on pg.69 as a transition further back in time? ‘I caught a glimpse of his face. Saw the resignation in it. It was a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb’. How does this position the audience to see Hassan? How is this extended with the flashback into Dhul-Hijjah? P.71 Why has Hosseini presented the metaphor of the lamb? What is the effect of the imagery on page 72. ‘I stopped watching, turned away from the alley. Something warm running down my wrist. I blinked, saw I was biting down on my fist, hard enough to draw blood from the knuckles. I realised something else, I was weeping’. How does this quote capture the sense that this moment set Amir’s journey in motion ‘I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan – the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past – and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran. I ran because I was a coward.’ Explain how Amir’s choices influenced his sense of self ‘Where were you? I looked for you,” I said Speaking those words was like chewing on a rock’. P.73‘In his arms, I forgot what I’d done. And that was good’. P.74 Chapter 8 Explain the significance of the realisation of the monster in Hassan’sdream? P. 80-81 Find two quotes that show Amir is agitated by the guilt he is carrying? Find quotes that reveal Amir’s attitude through his confrontation with Baba and Hassan in the chapter. Explain the significance of the similes p. 86 ‘All I know is that, when I stopped, exhausted and panting, Hassan was smeared in red like he’d been shot by a firing squad’ and then ‘He opened it and crushed it against his own forehead. “There”, he croaked, red dripping down his face like blood.” P.87. Chapter 9 Explain why Amir told the lie? Find 3 significant quotes about Amir’s understanding of forgiveness on pg.98. Find 3 quotes that show the emotions felt in this interaction? How does Hosseini use weather to symbolise emotions? Find quotes.
Chapter 10 How old is Amir in this section of the text? How does Baba’s action on the physical journey contrast to Amir? What is the effect of Amir’s italicised internal dialogue? ‘So this is where Baba dies, I thought. This is how it’s going to happen’.p107 “Tell him I’ll take a thousand of his bullets before I let this indecency take place’. P107 How does this relate to Hassan’s promise to Amir before he ran the kite. (See Ch 7 q3). How does Hosseini evoke a sense of fear through his descriptions of the physical trauma on pg 112. Explain the metaphor for memories at the bottom of pg113. Chapter 11 Describe the changes between Amir and Baba’s life in Kabul and their life in America. Explain Amir’s comment ‘For me, America was a place to bury my memories. For Baba a place to mourn his’. Explain the imagery ‘A pair of steel hands closed around my windpipe at the sound of Hassan’s name. I rolled down the window. Waited for the steel hands to loosen their grip’. P124. Explain the metaphor ‘Kabul had become a city of ghosts for me. A city of harelipped ghosts’. P.126
Chapter 12 How does meeting Soraya change things for Amir? Find quotes that show how Baba’s illness changes the relationship between them. Explain Amir’s thoughts after Soraya shares her secret. Chapter 13 Describe the significant life events in this chapter and their impact on Amir. Why is this quote significant: ‘I think a big part of the reason I didn’t care about Soraya’s past was that I had one of my own. I knew all about regret’. P.166 What does this reveal about the way our past influences our future ‘The idea of fatherhood unleashed a swirl of emotions in me. I found it frightening, invigorating, daunting and exhilarating all at the same time. What sort of father would I make, I wondered. I wanted to be just like Baba and I wanted to be nothing like him’. P.169 Explain the significance of the sign above the doctor’s desk p.170 Chapter 14 The opening of Chapter 14 links to chapter 1. Explain how Rahim Khan has been the catalyst for Amir to proceed on his journey. How has the motif of dreams recurred in this chapter? What is the significance? P.178 Chapter 15 Explain the physical journey Amir takes and his motivation for this. Make dot points about the changes that have taken place since Amir left. Chapter 16 Explain why Hosseini has shifted from Amir’s perspective to Rahim Khan. What information does Rahim Khan share with Amir. Chapter 17 What is revealed about Hassan’s life and his feelings in this chapter? What does Rahim Khan reveal after Amir reads the letter? How does Rahim Khan challenge Amir to take action himself? P.204. How is this evidence again of his past determining his future? What does Amir discover that changes his life? Chapter 18 Explain the realisations Amir has in this chapter? Chapter 19 Describe the physical journey. Explain how Hosseini has used the motif of dreams in this chapter. Explain the relationship between Amir, Wahid and Farid. Why does Amir again stash money under a mattress? Chapter 20 Find quotes that demonstrate the impact of the Taliban. ‘Kabul is not the way you remember it’ p.225 Does every journey involve some change? What does Amir learn about his mother? How has his journey been one of understanding? How does Hosseini establish a sense of sadness in this chapter? Chapter 21 What realisation does Amir have when he returns to his home? What is the significance of the symbol of the pomegranate tree? Describe the events at Ghazi stadium. Chapter 22 What does the quote ‘Despite what I had learned about Baba, I wished he was with me now’p251 Reveal about the support needed on the journey? Find three quotes that reveal Amir’s emotional state. How does Amir’s past come back in this chapter. Why has Hosseini drawn from the sheep metaphor to describe Sohrab’s eyes? P.262 What does the quote ‘ What was so funny was that for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace’ and ‘My body was broken – but I felt healed’. P266 show about the journey. P. 265-266 Explain the symbolism of the slingshot in this chapter. Chapter 23 Explain the repetition of ‘I fade out’ in this chapter how does this involve the reader in Amir’s journey? What is ironic about Amir’s injuries? Find quotes about the journey in Rahim Khan’s letter. Explain the significance of the repetition of the word ‘forgive’ in the letter from Rahim Khan. Explain the effect of the repetition of the words ‘What had I’ p. 278 Why does Amir cry in response to Farid’s words. P. 280 Explain the significance of Assef’s dream in the hospital? P.282