The Kite Runner - Chapter Context Flashcards
What context (A04) is there for chapter 1?
Novel opens by placing Amir’s memories of Afghanistan alongside his current life in the USA. Reinforces by the iconic image of San Fransico’s Golden Gate Bridge. The bridge was built between 1933 and 1937 and has since become internationally recognised symbol of San Fransico
Kite fighting had always been a traditional sport in Afghanistan until it was banned by the Taliban in 1966. Following the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 Afghans have returned to kite fighting
What context (A04) is there for chapter 2?
Poli is an acute viral infectious disease. It affects the CNS and causes muscle weakness and paralysis. Since the first vaccine was developed in 1952 there has been a radical drop in the number of polio cases. One of the countries where infection is still active is Afghanistan
Amir refers to Hassan as having ‘a face like a Chinese doll’. This is Hosseini’s way of referring to Hassan’s different ethnicity. Being Hazara, Hassan would have had distinctive facial features compared to Pashtuns
Ali sings to Amir and Hassan a song about his namesake Ali who was a cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad, and the cause of the split between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims.
What context (A04) is there for chapter 3?
Buzkashi (pg 18) is a very popular sport in all of central Asia. The players spend many years learning to master the sport and the specially trained horses are traded for substantial amounts of money
The principal of zakat (pg 14) a custom whereby Muslims are expected to give a specified percentage of their yearly income to charity is the method by which the poor receive welfare in Afghanistan
What context (A04) is there for chapter 4?
John Wayne (1907-79) was a Hollywood actor who became famous for playing cowboys and soldiers. Whatever role he played he was always on the side of justice and right
Mullah Nasruddin (pg 24) supposedly lived in Turkey in the thirteenth century. Stories of his actions have passed into folklore in a number of countries including Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan. He is known as a ‘wise fool’
What context (A04) is there for chapter 5?
The coup which Amir describes occurred on 17 July 1973 when forces led by Prime Minister Mohammed Daoud Khan overthrew the rule of King Zahir Shah. This saw the end of monarchy in Afghanistan
Hitler and the Nazi regime aimed to rid the world of the Jewish people in what was known as the Final Solution. Similar acts of ethnic cleansing were carried out in Bosnia between 1992 and 1995 and in Rwanda in 1994
What context (A04) is there for chapter 7?
The reporting of dreams is a common technique in literature. It can be used as a way of revealing hidden knowledge that characters themselves cannot see. This idea was examined by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung in his work on dream interpretation
One of Amir’s memories is of the slaughter of a sheep during the festival of Eid-Al-Adha which means the ‘festival of sacrifice’
What context (A04) is there for chapter 8?
According to the Koran, pomegranates are one of the fruits that Muslims will find in the garden of paradise; they are supposed to be a cure for envy and hatred
Hassan’s refusal to fight back when Amir attacks him is similar to the Christian idea of ‘turning the other cheek’ (Matthew 5.38-41) This theme also exists in Islam in the thirty-second of the Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi: ‘There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm’
What context (A04) is there for chapter 10?
The Soviet army entered Afghanistan in 1979 to oppose groups of Afghan Mujahedin rebels and started a war which lasted until 1989. Many Afghans fled the country and found sanctuary in places like Pakistan and, due to the anti-soviet sentiments of the Cold War, the USA
‘Ahesta Bero’ the song which the Russian soldier sings, is often sung at Afghan, Iranian and Tajik weddings to accompany the entrance of the bride and groom, much as Richard Wagner’s ‘Bridal Chorus’ (often called ‘The Wedding March’ is used in Christian ceremonies
What context (A04) is there for chapter 11?
Part of the novel set in and around San Jose and San Fransisco reflect Khaled Hosseini’s own life. Having left Afghanistan, his family settled in San Jose in 1980, and it was there that Hosseini attended high school, college and medical school
Soraya is one of the few female characters in the novel, and certainly the most prominent. She shares her name with a former queen of Afghanistan, the wife of King Amanullah Khan and an early and powerful champion of women’s rights in Afghanistan
Baba’s graduation present to Amir is a Ford Gran Torino. This was the car used in the TV series Starsky and Hutch. It’s a reminder of the Ford Mustang Baba owned in Kabul, which was the car driven by Steve McQueen in the 1968 film Bullitt. This ties in with Amir’s love of American films and culture
What context (A04) is there for chapter 12?
Khastegari (pg 141) is the formal ceremony for proposing marriage in Afghan and Iranian culture. Usually, the suitor himself approaches the other family, accompanied by his parents and asks for permission to marry their daughter. The fact Amir sends Baba on his own shows both respect for his father and another side to his timidity
The San Jose flea market claims to be not only the largest such market in the USA but also in the world. In existence since 1960 the market covers 120 acres and is sited in the middle of Silicon Valley
What context (A04) is there for chapter 13?
A migraine often involves a combination of headaches and nausea and, very often, a sensitivity to light. There are thought to be a number of different causes, although it’s been found that genes can play a part in a person’s likelihood of suffering from migraines
As Amir publishes his first book, the Soviet armies pull out of Afghanistan. This occurred in response to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. However, rather than allowing Afghans to re-establish peace, leaders of militias established themselves as warlords and their own areas of control and the civil war continued
What context (A04) is there for chapter 14?
Significant that the call Amir receives to return to Afghanistan comes before the events of 9/11 and the subsequent war in Afghanistan. In this way, the novel takes place in a time before the average reader would have been aware of events in the country
What context (A04) is there for chapter 15?
Peshawar is a large city in Pakistan, close to the border with Afghanistan. At times in its history, it was part of the Afghan empire and still has a large Afghan population. It was the first destination of most Afghans fleeing the Soviet invasion
What context (A04) is there for chapter 16?
Bamiyan is the largest town in Hazarajat. It was made famous by the ancient giant statues known as the Buddhas of Bamiyan which were carved into a mountainside there. There were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001
Landmines were the favoured weapon of the Mujahedin during their conflict with the Soviets and were often planted on their behalf by children
In the summer of 1997, the Taliban attempted to occupy the town of Mazar-j-Sharif, a Shi’a stronghold but failed. They returned in August 1998 and massacred many Hazaras and local people
What context (A04) is there for chapter 17?
The decades of war in Afghanistan and the brutal regime of the Taliban left a large number of orphans who have become the focus of aid organisations from all over the world. Providing food and shelter for them all is a huge problem
