The later in the novel. At this
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is about a boy that grew up in Afghanistan that has a very troubling past, he’s seen and also witnessed some terrible things. Amir, our main character had a pretty challenging childhood, and had to go through more than the average person before finally settling down and finding peace.
This certain passage in the reading made a deep impression on me, ” That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty- six years.” It made a deep impression on me because what he means by this is when he watched Hassan get raped and didn’t do anything about it. Amir pretends he doesn’t know anything of what happened and shortly after the two “friends” drift apart.
He starts feeling guilty and he decides to get Hassan in trouble so one of the two families leave; Amir stashes his money and a watch under Hassan’s pillow and tells Baba (Amir’s father) , he stole it. Once that happens, Ali, Hassan’s father, and Hassan move away. This passage is located at the very beginning of the novel, page 1; but since he is foreshadowing what happened in the alley you don’t know exactly what the authors talking about till later in the novel. At this point, Amir was talking about what made him who he is today, talking about the incident in the alley 26 years ago. He’s looking back at his childhood in California, and a friend of his dad’s Rahim Khan calls him he starts thinking about Kabul, Baba, his “past unatoned sins,” and Hassan. The passage relates to the novel because throughout the whole book, little bits and pieces of information come out and you see how everything “connects” and ties itself together.
For example, fifteen years later, a family friend tells Amir that Hassan, now dead, and that Hassan’s son is orphaned. Amir goes to Afghanistan and attempts to rescue Sohrab. Then once Amir finally finds Sohrab after looking and asking multiple people where he would be, the official Amir has to go through to get to Sohrab, is Assef; the boy who raped Hassan in the alley. Assef recognizes Amir and wants to “settle some unfinished business” and beats Amir with brass knuckles, breaking his ribs. But with help from Sohrab he shoots him in the eye with a slingshot and they are able to escape the monstrous man. As Amir recovers in the hospital he has the idea of taking Sohrab to live with him in the United States, and eventually ends up adopting him. My reaction to this passage was mind blown, I was in shock of how true it was and how relatable it is. In just about anything in life, something you do, say, or hear someone say it will always eventually come out, and people will find out the truth or whatever the situation may be.
This has a special meaning for me because, when in school you realize there are some people that will lie, and try to hide things from others. In the end no matter if you’re a student or teacher you find out everything in the long run; whether it’s a secret, others concealing the truth, or just news in general everything comes out. This book surprised me, I didn’t know what to expect but as I started reading I actually started really liking the book. What I enjoyed about the novel was every chapter was a new story about his life, and you’re able to see how everything plays out and turns out the way it did. I would love to read about Hassan’s life, and see his perspectives of everything. Obviously that can’t be done, but if it were possible I think a novel about what he has to say, would be very interesting and an extremely good read.
