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Kite Runner: Chapter 20
Element

Notes

Plot summary

Farid and Amir take a four hour drive on the pothole-ridden roads
from Jalalabad to Kabul
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He gets out of the car briefly for a walk, just as a
Talib border control truck is driving past
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Amir meets a beggar who knew his mother and
he asks him everything about her, but cannot remember much
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After
some persuasion, Farid and Amir enter but Zaman tells them that
Sohrab has been sold and it might be too late
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Characters

Farid - Amir's driver, Dr Rasul - the beggar in Kabul and Zaman director of the orphanage
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These include rusting Russian tanks and vehicles,
which barricade the rickety road
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This
symbolises the apathy and numbness which has overcome all of
Kabul’s residents, becoming the norm
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This appears particularly
poignant as many of the homeless are orphaned, fatherless
children, reminding the reader of Baba’s orphanage
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Even the Kabul River
has dried up, showing how the city has turned into a ruined
desert
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The Taliban appear to be very intimidating and violent as they
drive large trucks and sling Kalashinikovs on their shoulders
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They also are portrayed as
anti-social but uniform, with the blackness of their beards and
turbans symbolising death and destruction
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This makes it seem like the wild
west, linking to Amir and Hassan’s love of Western movies
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Amir’s tourist-like, Western nature is portrayed through his
donation to the old man, despite resistance from Farid
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Dr Rasul,
the beggar, knew Amir’s mother as he was a university teacher
from 1958-1996
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He
remembers her, visibly pregnant with Amir, stating that she was
“profoundly happy” b
​ ut found this scary
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Zaman initially refuses to speak to or see Amir and he also
denies any knowledge of Sohrab twice
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Amir desperately gives Zaman all the information he
has about Hassan and Sohrab before confessing that he is his
half-uncle
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The orphans live in horrific conditions amongst ​“dim, grimy
hallways” ​with no carpet, windows, heating or water supply
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The Taliban also claim to have no money
to invest in the orphanage, whilst thumbing their

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