The Kite Runner Chapters 6-9: Summary, Literary Devices, Analysis

Summary

Chapter 6

• The chapter starts when Amir talks about winter and how every kid in Kabul loved winter.
• He said that every school in Kabul were closed for the whole winter and how Ahmad would always get bullied by Assef because he wore a wool vest
• He then talks about how there was a kite tournament that happened every year and how Hassan and him would work together and make a kite
• He also talks about there weren’t any rules in the kite tournament and the main object was to cut the opponents kites
• Amir also talked about how Hassan is an amazing kite runner
• He reflected back at a time when Hassan was running with a kite and he couldn’t catch up to him
• He then talks about how 1975 was when Hassan last ran a kite
• Later in the chapter, Amir and Baba are both talking to each other in Baba’s study and Baba encourages him and says that he is going to win the kite tournament.
• The chapter ends when Amir and Hassan both get ready for the tournament

Chapter 7-8

• While Hassan is serving the breakfast to Amir, Hassan talks about the dream he had
• Hassan says that they were all at the Gharge lake and how everyone starts thinking that there was a monster in the lake. He then said how Amir showed everyone that there wasn’t any monster
• Amir started to get second thoughts but Hassan encouraged him and told him that he was going to win
• He then reminded how there wasn’t any monster, just a beautiful day
• Amir agreed and they started to fly the kite
• Baba started to chant “cut it “and in the end Amir cut the last kite and won the tournament
• Amir and Hassan started to celebrate and soon after Hassan runs to get the kite
• Amir notices that Hassan hasn’t come back and goes to find him
• On his way, he asks Omar (the son of an engineer) who was a friend of Baba if he saw Hassan
• Omar makes fun of Hassan’s eyes, but Amir ignores and then finally points in the direction he ran to
• Amir reaches to the marketplace but does not see Hassan anywhere. He then asks an old merchant he replies that he saw him running in that direction
• Assef bullies Hassan and tells him to give him the kite, but Hassan refuses and tells Assef that it is Amir’s present.
• Assef gets mad and rapes Hassan, while Amir watches this
• Amir gets scared and runs away
• After Amir hears Assef and his friends run while laughing, he sees Hassan walking slowly with a ripped shirt and muddy clothes
• Amir asks where he was. And Hassan does not respond
• Hassan tells Amir that they should be going home now or their parents will start to worry

Chapter 9

• Aftermath of the rape
• EXTREME guilt causes that even though Baba is still proud of Amir, he can’t enjoy it
• Baba= proud, Amir = guilt
• One man’s fortune is another’s misfortune
• After receiving compliments and praise about the tournament Amir said ‘i felt like sticking a knife in my eye”
• Needs to inflict pain upon himself to feel less guilt
• Reference to Macbeth, sleepless nights, sleep no more etc.
• This characterizes him: he is unwilling to take initiative
• He is naive and hopes everything will fall into place for him
• He says he believes he is the monster in the lake, this shows how he thinks of himself
• A monster: inhumane, detested, and horrible
• Hassan tries to talk to Amir several times is shot down every time but at last, Hassan finally gets Amir to go to the pomegranate tree at the top of the hill
• Hassan made no conversation which is unusual for his character
• Possible that Hassan knows that Amir saw the rap at this point because this is the only time where Hassan  does something different to his character
• The relationship between Baba and Amir seems fake at this point, but desirable from the outside
• “We fooled ourselves into thinking….”
• Hassan makes more attempts to get the friendship back together
• Amir disrespects Hassan again
• Amir hopes for a negative reaction so that he can lessen his guilt
• He is hoping that if he feels pain from Hassan that he can somehow rationalize his actions
• Amir makes a comment that shows how he wants to be separated from Hassan “Have u ever thought about getting new servants?”
• Baba knows that Amir says this because he wants to be apart from Hassan
• showing that the tension between them is not subtle
• important character development for Amir: when he rolls up to school in a MUSTANG
• he no longer feels pride so he lost the feeling for materialistic objects
• most adults do not lose that materialism, for a 13-year-old too is very important
• When Hassan and Amir go to the pomegranate tree, think of Hassan in this situation as a mirror, what Amir is really doing is trying to hurt himself and call himself a coward
• now it’s his 13 birthday day party
• more evidence of Assef’s sociopathic behavior and hints that his parents are scared of him
• Amir hates all the gifts, more emphasis on how he lost his care for materialistic things.

Analysis

The kite is an important image in this novel. Comment on its symbolic features in this section. Include in your discussion the relevancy of this quote “Afghans are an independent people. Afghans cherish custom but abhor rules.  And so it is with kite fighting.  The rules were simple: No rules. Fly your kite. Cut the opponents. Good luck.” (55)

The kite symbolizes many things in this portion of the story. The three main ones we came up with were the kites symbolizing freedom, power, and Amir’s relationships. This goes with kites symbolizing freedom. This shows us that Afghanistan is free and the story said that Russia would soon learn just as Britain learned that Afghanistan is in fact free.

So this foreshadows the events that are about to take place in Afghanistan and how Russia would try to take over Afghanistan. When it comes to their kite-flying they don’t have any rules they just play the way they have been playing for a long time. They have their festivals and traditions that they will continue unlike being confined by any rules or being controlled.

Comment on the boys’ relationship before the kite contest?

They had a good relationship because they used to play with each other and have a great time with each other, but Amir never officially called him a friend. Amir wouldn’t let him play with him when his school friends were with him. He was also jealous because Baba would admire Hassan more because he was more manly than Amir.

Amir also wanted Baba to pay less attention to Hassan than he did. The quote that describes this is when he says” Baba asked me to fetch Hassan too, but I lied and told him he had the runs, I just wanted Baba all to myself” (kite runner, 14). Therefore the relation between the two is more servant to person relationship than friendship relationship.

What are the qualities of a kite runner and what makes Hassan such a good one? How does this correspond to his character? Does it fit Amir?

The qualities of being a kite runner are you should be athletic, spirited, and be hard work, Hassan is such a good kite flyer because he has his heart in it his heart has his own GPS. He uses his head and his masculinity to his advantage. It corresponds greatly with his Character because naturally, Hassan fits the role of a “real boy” whereas Amir doesn’t fit the character because of his scared and refined personality and his depression for love.

Amir witnesses what happens to Hassan and sees “the look of the lamb” (81) in his eyes.  How do you explain Hassan’s refusal to struggle, to fight back? Is he thus contributing to his own fate? Does he have any choice, or is he scripted to be the sacrificial lamb?

I explain it as a submission of the faith that he has in god. When Hassan said early in chapter 7 “For you a thousand times over”. I believe Hassan knew he couldn’t win and if he let it happen no one would bully Amir or him again. In a way, I believe that the author was trying to show that Hassan is one of the most God-believing children in this novel and also that Hassan would give up anything for Amir because he was his friend.

Discuss the significance of Amir’s comment, “We actually deceived ourselves into thinking that a toy made of tissue paper, glue, and bamboo could close the chasm between us.” (92-93)

Amir is referring to the kite as he explains that he and his father were too different to ever truly be father and son. The quote is foreshadowing that he and his father never get that close relationship that he was hoping for however, Amir’s guilt is a huge reason WHY he can’t have the relationship that he wants because he is guilty about watching Hassan get raped, he’s reacting differently to Baba’s treatment this is shown when Baba offers to take a bike ride with Amir, but Amir declines this is noteworthy because Baba made the attempt to engage in activity with his son which he had not done before.

Amir declines in a depressive tone so Baba associates that negatively and I am sure later on we see Baba and Amir’s relationship decline further. At the present Amir continues to ruin his relationship with his father by hinting that he wanted new servants. Another very negative experience as we then get to see the early results of Amir’s actions. Baba takes Amir to school but does not bother to even say goodbye that is cold even for Baba.

Literary Devices

Irony/Foreshadowing: “And maybe, just maybe, I would finally be pardoned for killing my mother” (Hosseini, 60)

Foreshadowing/Imagery: “I remember you had to crouch to enter the prison-cell sized door and then had to lift a trap door to creep down a set  of wooden steps to the dank basement where Saifos stored his coveted kites” (Hosseini, 54)

Simile: “And that wasn’t so far off. In Kabul, fighting kites was a little like going to war” (Hosseini, 53)

Symbolism: “He lifted our kite…marked with Saifo’s unmistakable signature” (Hosseini, 66)

Imagery: Ahmad had epilepsy…wore a wool vest…thick-rimmed glasses…in his wool vest and winter coat…his school bag filled with books and pencils” (Hosseini, 52)

Symbolism/Imagery: “I find the driveways, my father’s car, the walls, the trees, the rooftops, and the hills buried under a foot of snow” (Hosseini, 51)

Metaphor: “But mostly because, as the trees froze and ice sheathed the roads, the chill between Baba and me thawed a little.”