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Kite Runner: Chapter 19
Element

Notes

Plot summary

Amir travels with Farid to Jalalabad, through checkpoints and the
Khyber Pass
...
Wahid questions Amir's
intentions and reveals his respect for him, then Amir and Farid
eat a home cooked meal while Wahid's three sons watch on
...

The next day, Amir overhears a discussion between Wahid and
his wife, saying that they now have nothing to eat, but couldn’t
allow their guests to go hungry
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Characters

Farid (Amir's driver), Wahid (Farid's brother), Maryam (Wahid's
wife) and her mother (unnamed)
...

The symbolism of the area, which Amir drove through with Baba
in 1974 whilst escaping to the US, hints at Afghanistan's
unkempt and destroyed landscape - the rocks seem tribal and
ancient in comparison with contemporary Kabul, which is now
just as dilapidated
...
Initially, Farid barely speaks to
Amir and gives him a ​“dismissive look
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Farid believes
that Western medicine is unnecessary and almost arrogant,
before he tells Amir about the great personal loss of his
daughters to a landmine
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Farid believes that Amir’s a fake and has been
Americanised after living in the US for 20 years
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Amir says that he feels like a tourist in his own country,
which has changed drastically
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Farid believes that
Amir has been living in a bubble and has always been a tourist in
his own city, creating a sense of disgust and injustice
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Jalalabad is filled with signs of neglect and destruction - even the
smells of the city have changed
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Wahid's family gives Amir a warm welcome and tries to make
him feel comfortable with a blanket and tea
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The sensationalist nature of Amir's last novel juxtaposes Wahid's
humble life and desire for the reality of Afghanistan to be
revealed
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The
women listen silently, wear the hijab and do not make eye
contact or speak loudly
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Wahid tells Farid off for his lack of manners and
dishonouring him and his guest
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Bowls of
vegetable shorwa and bread are brought to Farid and Amir,
whilst Wahid claims that the family have eaten beforehand
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He gifts them the watch,
which later lies discarded
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This also reinforces the
discrimination and injustice towards Hazaras
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This surprises him and he feels a strong
connection towards Kabul and the nostalgic memories that the
city holds
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Amir realises that Wahid's family have nothing, so he ​“planted a
fistful of crumpled money under a mattress
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This suggests that Amir has evolved
emotionally and is becoming a real man, therefore completing his
unfinished business
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Afghan tradition for hospitality and generosity towards guests
(despite decades of war) particularly emotive in this chapter
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Representative of the oppression of the Taliban
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Hijab ​= headscarf, sometimes with attached veil
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