Chapter 20 Flashcards
When Amir goes to Kabul, what does he see Afghanistan has been reduced to?
to “rubble and beggars” and broken down Soviet tanks and destroyed villages
Why were trees cut down in Kabul?
1_to provide fuel for the winter
2_to prevent snipers from hiding in them
Amir gives a beggar some money who quotes a line of poetry from Hafez, what does he tell Amir?
that he was a professor who taught his mother; telling amir that his mother liked almond cake with honey
Who runs the orphanage?
Zaman
What does Amir and Farid find out about the orphanage run by Zaman?
that every month or two, a Taliban official arrives with money and takes a child, usually a girl but sometimes a boy
What does beggar who taught Amir’s mother demonstrate?
that many had fallen and suffered under Taliban rule
Why is it necessary that Amir becomes more connected to his mother through the beggar?
as this completes the symmetry with Hassan whose mother physically returned
What had the orphanage been?
a storage warehouse for a carpet manufacturer
What happened to one child at the orphanage in winter?
they froze to death
Why does Zaman allow the Taliban officials to take a child?
in order to provide food and clothing for the children
without the trees, what has happened to the landscape?
it remains oddly desolate
Why must Amir have a fake beard?
as according to Islam’s holy texts, men are instructed to let their beards grow to distinguish them from followers of other religions, those who cut their beard is committing a sin.
Why does Zaman say there are so many orphanages?
as the Taliban prohibited women from working, they could no longer afford children.
What brings Amir closer to his Afghani heritage?
By revisiting the city and re-educating himself “through Farid’s eyes,” the city which is the backdrop to his childhood memories becomes reshaped by the reality of the Afghanistan that had always existed.
Amir uses rich imagery to describe this new image of Kabul in order to evolve the pain and sadness he feels in what he sees. He describes the children playing amongst “______ _____ __ ___ ____ _____” recalling the time when he used to play in the city, referring to it as if it was an old friend who is now “_______ ___ ________”
jagged stumps of brick and stone
homeless and destitute
