Outside the walls of that house, there was a war raging. In early , Farzana became pregnant again. It was that same year, in the middle of the summer, that a woman covered in a sky blue burqa knocked on the front gates one morning. When I walked up to the gates, she was swaying on her feet, like she was too weak to even stand. I asked her what she wanted, but she would not answer.
One of the cuts went from cheekbone to hairline and it had not spared her left eye on the way. It was grotesque. I patted her brow with a wet cloth and she opened her eyes. None of us had seen Sanaubar since she had eloped with a band of singers and dancers in , just after she had given birth to Hassan. You never saw her, Amir, but in her youth, she was a vision. She had a dimpled smile and a walk that drove men crazy. Hassan dropped her hand and bolted out of the house.
I went after him, but he was too fast. I saw him running up the hill where you two used to play, his feet kicking up plumes of dust. As far as I know, he never asked where she had been or why she had left and she never told. I guess some stories do not need telling. It had not started snowing yet, but the winter winds were blowing through the yards, bending the flowerbeds and rustling the leaves. I remember Sanaubar came out of the hut holding her grandson, had him wrapped in a wool blanket.
She stood beaming under a dull gray sky tears streaming down her cheeks, the needle-cold wind blowing her hair, and clutching that baby in her arms like she never wanted to let go.
He was a beautiful little boy, sweet as sugar, and had the same temperament as his father. By the time Sohrab was two, he was calling her Sasa. Hassan asks about Amir and learns about Baba's death. Even though there's plenty of room in the main house, Hassan and Farzana take up residence in the old servants' quarters.
Farzana gives birth to a stillborn girl, but soon Farzana gets pregnant again. Sanaubar, Hassan's mother who ditched him and Ali years ago, suddenly shows up at the gate. She's a wreck — weak, covered in sores, and slashed by a knife. Sanaubar delivers Hassan's child.
Farzana, and Hassan name the child after Sohrab, Hassan's favorite character in the Shahnamah. The Kite Runner. Plot Summary. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of every Shakespeare play. Sign Up. Already have an account? Sign in.
From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Literature Poetry Lit Terms Shakescleare. His character arc takes him from being a normal little boy to the traumatized victim of sexual and physical abuse, and he goes from speaking very little to not at all.
Assef represents all things wrong in Afghanistan. A racist who wishes to rid Afghanistan of Hazaras, he is incapable of remorse and enjoys inflicting violence and sexual abuse on those who are powerless.
He even claims Hitler as a role model. Friend of Baba and Amir. A former mujahedin fighter, Farid is at first gruff and unfriendly. He is missing toes and fingers from a landmine explosion and represents the difficulties that many Afghans faced in the years of warfare that ravaged the country. Though Sanaubar is infamously immoral in her youth and abandons Hassan just after he is born, she proves herself a caring grandmother to Sohrab when she reappears later in the novel. Soraya is steady, intelligent, and always there for Amir when he needs her.
She can be strong-willed like her father, General Taheri, and deplores the way women are often treated in Afghan culture. General Taheri is proud to the point of arrogance at times, and he places great value on upholding Afghan traditions.
He is in many ways the stereotypical Afghan male, both in his roles as a father and husband. Jamila plays the part of the typical Afghan wife and mother. She obeys her husband without question and wants nothing more than to see her daughter married.
Cowardly and conformist, Kamal helps Assef rape Hassan. After he is raped himself, he becomes a symbol of the brutality that destroys Afghanistan. Later, however, he becomes instrumental in helping to get Sohrab into the United States.
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