The Kite Runner Chapter 10 Quotes
The Kite Runner Chapter 10 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
"Think of something good," Baba said in my ear. "Something happy."
Something good. Something happy. I let my mind wander. I let it come:
Friday afternoon in Paghman. An open field of grass speckled with mulberry trees in blossom. Hassan and I stand ankle-deep in untamed grass, I am tugging on the line, the spool spinning in Hassan's calloused hands, our eyes turned up to the kite in the sky. Not a word passes between us, not because we have nothing to say, but because we don't have to say anything – that's how it is between people who are each other's first memories, people who have fed from the same breast. A breeze stirs the grass and Hassan lets the spool roll. The kite spins, dips, steadies. Our twin shadows dance on the rippling grass. From somewhere over the low brick wall at the other end of the field, we hear chatter and laughter and the chirping of a water fountain. And music, some thing old and familiar, I think it's Ya Mowlah on rubab strings. Someone calls our names over the wall, says it's time for tea and cake. (10.73-75)
You need some context for this quote. Baba and Amir are on their way to Pakistan, but they're not traveling by taxi or bus. They're in the belly of an oil tanker along with dozens of other Afghans. Baba tells Amir to think of something "good," something "happy." So what does Amir think of? His childhood with Hassan. We believe this passage proves Amir's (brotherly) love for Hassan. Notice that Amir doesn't recall a special moment with Baba, or even his books or poetry. He thinks of Hassan.
Quote 2
You couldn't trust anyone in Kabul any more – for a fee or under threat, people told on each other, neighbor on neighbor, child on parent, brother on brother, servant on master, friend on friend. [...]. The rafiqs, the comrades, were everywhere and they'd split Kabul into two groups: those who eavesdropped and those who didn't. The tricky part was that no one knew who belonged to which. A casual remark to the tailor while getting fitted for a suit might land you in the dungeons of Poleh-charkhi. Complain about the curfew to the butcher and next thing you knew, you were behind bars staring at the muzzle end of a Kalashnikov. Even at the dinner table, in the privacy of their home, people had to speak in a calculated manner – the rafiqs were in the classrooms too; they'd taught children to spy on their parents, what to listen for, whom to tell. (10.8)
Of course, war changes everything. But it's still surprising, somehow, that the home itself could become a charged and dangerous environment. Isn't the home supposed to be a place where you can relax a little? Where you can count on the loyalty of your family? Apparently, that's not the case in Shorawi-occupied (Soviet-occupied) Afghanistan. Hosseini is describing, here, the dangers of occupied Afghanistan, but he's also referencing other betrayals. Later in the book, we learn Hassan is Amir's half-brother, though no one tells Amir this until he's 38. Later in the book, we learn Baba, Amir's father, knew all along Hassan was Amir's half-brother. Count 'em up. Brother betrays brother. Father betrays son. So is Hosseini only talking about Shorawi-occupied Afghanistan here? Unlikely.
Quote 3
I overheard him telling Baba how he and his brother knew the Russian and Afghan soldiers who worked the checkpoints, how they had set up a "mutually profitable" arrangement. This was no dream. As if on cue, a MiG suddenly screamed past overhead. Karim tossed his cigarette and produced a handgun from his waist. Pointing it to the sky and making shooting gestures, he spat and cursed at the MiG. (10.9)
Well, there are plenty of David and Goliath references in this book. Although this passage probably isn't actually a reference to that Biblical story, it's in the same spirit. Here's an Afghani smuggler pretending to fire a handgun at a Russian fighter jet. Could Karim be any more powerless? Could his curses and spittle mean less? Wait a second. Don't forget that the Russians actually give up and leave Afghanistan. David: 1. Goliath: O.