Chapter 15 Flashcards
How does Amir describe Rahim Khan?
as a “thing made of skin and bones pretending to be Rahim Khan
Rahim Khan talks about how the Taliban were treated after the rule under the different factions of the Northern Alliance, how were they?
they were greeted as heros to war torn Kabul when they kicked the alliance out
What does the taxi driver, who took Amir to Rahim Khan act as?
an impartial observer who tells Amir how poor most of the Afghani’s are in Peshawar
What does Rahim Khan’s story about how he received the scar above his eye demonstrate?
that the attacks of the Taliban were indiscriminative
When was the last time Amir had spoken to Rahim Khan?
since just after Baba’s death
Why can it be suggested that Amir had not spoken to Rahim Khan since just after his father died?
the death of Baba was the last connection Amir had to his past life and to Hassan, cutting off communication with Rahim Khan was therefore essential to complete this in an attempt to move forward
“America is a river”
When driving through “Afghan Town” what does Amir see?
children covered in dirt, selling cigarettes along the road
How does Amir describe the smell of “Afghan Town”
as an aroma of a food called pakora mixed with a stench of “rot, garbage and feces”
Although the Taliban ended the conflict from the divisions of the Northern Alliance, what did they quickly do?
they implemented a rigid code of Islamic law and maintained order through brute force
Who did the Taliban take over from?
from the Northern Alliance
Why is the temporal setting of Penshawar important, a place where there is “carpet vendors, kebab stalls’?
as this is both reminiscent of Amir’s earlier descriptions of the Kabul of his childhood but stands in stark contrast to the descriptions of that city in the chapters that follow
What is symbolic of the destroyed orphanage?
as the orphanage stood as a symbol of Baba’s philanthropy, its destruction and the death of the children inside of it make it as though that aspect of Baba and his Afghanistan has also been destroyed. This recurrent motif does much to reflect the breakdown of culture and family in Afghanistan.
