Aliyah's AP Blog

   In chapter 20, Amir and Farid are on their way to Kabul. Amir experiences his first encounter with the Taliban. Farid tells Amir not to look at their eyes. This kind of paralleled to the Afghan culture with women. Soon after, a beggar walks up. Of course, he asked for money. What he had in exchange was priceless. It turns out he taught at the same school as Amir's mother. He could not remember much, he mentioned the food they shared and what she was afraid of. That was enough for Amir. Finally, they reached the orphanage. They asked for Sohrab, but the man at the door hesistated. When Amir reassured the man, known as Zaman, who he was he let them in. They found out a dark secret about the orphange when looking for Sohrab. Every once in the while, children would be sold. This made Farid unhappy, he nearly killed Zaman. At the end, both Amir and Farid set out, once again, to find Sohrab.

Chapter 19 was a very detailed chapter. It illustrated the true life of Afghanistan while the Taliban had taken over. Amir explains he felt like a tourist because of how much his home land evolved. Farid had mistaken Amir's reason for coming back. All the while, Amir really took in his surroundings. He noticed how Farid's brother lived. While asleep, Amir dreamed of being the killer who killed Hassan. Note that in his dream, he alludes to the man being Hassan by the kneeled man saying "for you a thousand times over." At the end of the chapter, Farid apoligizes for mistaking Amir's motive for coming back to Afghanistan. He agrees to help Amir find Sohrab.

Chapter 10 was a rollercoaster. Amir and Baba are traveling to Pakistan, a character named Karim is the driver. They travel through many cities, in order to reach their destination. One of the Russian soldiers had their eye set on a man's wife. He wanted to have some alone time with her as an exchange for the price of giving the family a ride. The husband responded with saying they paid him enough. Baba ended up interfering with the situation, trying to be the hero. Amir also felt embarrased while on the ride because of his motion sickness. There was conflict between Baba and Karim. Baba tried to kill Karim because of the predicament they were in. Towards the end of the chapter there was a mass of chaos. Kamal's father was crying for his son to come back to life. As a result Kamal killed Karim.

Chapter 9 is probably the most sorrowful yet. In this chapter, Amir recieved gifts from Baba. He had nonchalent attititude towards them, but he did recieve one of the best bycicles out there. The best gift Amir seemed to recieve was a gift Ali and Hassan had got him. It was a rendition of a book he previously had that was tattered and worn. Later on in the chapter, Amir got money from his stack of gifts as well as some of the gifts in the stack. He put them in the shack where Hassan lived. No too long afterwards, a meeting was held in Baba's office. Baba asked if Hassan had stolen the items that once belonged to Amir. Hassan replied with a simple yes. This lie soon ended the life that Amir had lived all of his years of living. We find that Hassan new the while time and told Ali. Ali made the decision to leave. He decided they were going to move to Hazarajat with his cousin. This devestated Baba, knowing he was losing his life long friend. Amir finally had seen the pain he had cause...

   Chapter 8 begans sort of slow. Amir is explaining how his father and two dozens of others traveled to Jalalabad. Amir gets motion sickness and ruins his cousin's dress. Later on in the chapter, the corruption of Amir's secret begins to settle in. Some time has passed after the rape of Hassan that Amir witnessed. He still has yet to tell anyone. On the trip, when everyone else is sleeping, Amir whispers that he watched Hassan get raped. He explained he wished someone heard him so he could feel free. This event helped me to see the vunerable side of Amir. The only reason he feel the way he does it because he is trapped by the truth. If I was there, I would tell Amir it is okay to feel gulity, bur the truth will come out somehow. Another thing that is displayed in this chapter is the continuation of Amir and Hassan's complex relationship. It is said that Hassan tried multiple times to regain the original spark they had, but in anger and fear, Amir responded negatively. Here...

Chapter 6 is by far one of my favorite chapters. Amir discusses what winter break is like in Afghanistan. One of the biggest similarities between the U.S's winter break and Afghaistan's is how excited all the students are when it finally comes. A major difference is how some students stay back to take voluntary winter-courses. I'm assuming it is something like summer school here without the volunteering. Further along in this chapter, Amir discusses the kite flying competitions that would go on. There was a contrast shown between Amir and his father when Baba asked Amir if he was going to win the tournament. This obviously ignites something in Amir to want to win, yet it suggest that the fire was not in him prior to this conversation. Now, we reach the part where we find out why Amir really wants to win. It is not to live up to his father's past accomplishments, but to gain that fatherly attention he longs for. The chapter ends with a meeting being held in Baba's of...

Chapter 4 really interesting me. I made multiple connections with Amir. I made a connection with him when he completed his first story. It reminded me of the times in elementary and middle school where we had to write our own fictional stories. I would be proud when teachers said my writings were outstanding. I was also intrigued at how Baba never called Ali his friend and how it connected to Hassan's and Amir's relationship. The way of living for the character's was introduced as well. I was amazed at how Ali and Hassan have to  care for Baba and Amir. In chapter 5,