The Kite Runner Chapter 10 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
"Think of something good," Baba said in my ear. "Something happy."
Something good. Something happy. I let my mind wander. I let it come:
Friday afternoon in Paghman. An open field of grass speckled with mulberry trees in blossom. Hassan and I stand ankle-deep in untamed grass, I am tugging on the line, the spool spinning in Hassan's calloused hands, our eyes turned up to the kite in the sky. Not a word passes between us, not because we have nothing to say, but because we don't have to say anything – that's how it is between people who are each other's first memories, people who have fed from the same breast. A breeze stirs the grass and Hassan lets the spool roll. The kite spins, dips, steadies. Our twin shadows dance on the rippling grass. From somewhere over the low brick wall at the other end of the field, we hear chatter and laughter and the chirping of a water fountain. And music, some thing old and familiar, I think it's Ya Mowlah on rubab strings. Someone calls our names over the wall, says it's time for tea and cake. (10.73-75)
You need some context for this quote. Baba and Amir are on their way to Pakistan, but they're not traveling by taxi or bus. They're in the belly of an oil tanker along with dozens of other Afghans. Baba tells Amir to think of something "good," something "happy." So what does Amir think of? His childhood with Hassan. We believe this passage proves Amir's (brotherly) love for Hassan. Notice that Amir doesn't recall a special moment with Baba, or even his books or poetry. He thinks of Hassan.
Quote 2
You couldn't trust anyone in Kabul any more – for a fee or under threat, people told on each other, neighbor on neighbor, child on parent, brother on brother, servant on master, friend on friend. [...]. The rafiqs, the comrades, were everywhere and they'd split Kabul into two groups: those who eavesdropped and those who didn't. The tricky part was that no one knew who belonged to which. A casual remark to the tailor while getting fitted for a suit might land you in the dungeons of Poleh-charkhi. Complain about the curfew to the butcher and next thing you knew, you were behind bars staring at the muzzle end of a Kalashnikov. Even at the dinner table, in the privacy of their home, people had to speak in a calculated manner – the rafiqs were in the classrooms too; they'd taught children to spy on their parents, what to listen for, whom to tell. (10.8)
Of course, war changes everything. But it's still surprising, somehow, that the home itself could become a charged and dangerous environment. Isn't the home supposed to be a place where you can relax a little? Where you can count on the loyalty of your family? Apparently, that's not the case in Shorawi-occupied (Soviet-occupied) Afghanistan. Hosseini is describing, here, the dangers of occupied Afghanistan, but he's also referencing other betrayals. Later in the book, we learn Hassan is Amir's half-brother, though no one tells Amir this until he's 38. Later in the book, we learn Baba, Amir's father, knew all along Hassan was Amir's half-brother. Count 'em up. Brother betrays brother. Father betrays son. So is Hosseini only talking about Shorawi-occupied Afghanistan here? Unlikely.
Quote 3
I overheard him telling Baba how he and his brother knew the Russian and Afghan soldiers who worked the checkpoints, how they had set up a "mutually profitable" arrangement. This was no dream. As if on cue, a MiG suddenly screamed past overhead. Karim tossed his cigarette and produced a handgun from his waist. Pointing it to the sky and making shooting gestures, he spat and cursed at the MiG. (10.9)
Well, there are plenty of David and Goliath references in this book. Although this passage probably isn't actually a reference to that Biblical story, it's in the same spirit. Here's an Afghani smuggler pretending to fire a handgun at a Russian fighter jet. Could Karim be any more powerless? Could his curses and spittle mean less? Wait a second. Don't forget that the Russians actually give up and leave Afghanistan. David: 1. Goliath: O.
Quote 4
That was when Baba stood up. It was my turn to clamp a hand on his thigh, but Baba pried it loose, snatched his leg away. When he stood, he eclipsed the moonlight. "I want you to ask this man something," Baba said. He said it to Karim, but looked directly at the Russian officer. "Ask him where his shame is."
They spoke. "He says this is war. There is no shame in war."
"Tell him he's wrong. War doesn't negate decency. It demands it, even more than in times of peace." (10.18-20)
Well, when a man eclipses the moonlight, you should listen. Notice how Amir doesn't listen, though. An Afghan woman is about to be raped and Amir tries to stop Baba from standing up to the Russian officer. Remind you of something Amir does (or doesn't do) in an earlier chapter? Baba's actions, honorable as they are, must compound Amir's guilt. His father does exactly what Amir failed to do. Amir even tries to stop his father – as if some unconscious part of him wants his father, and the others in the truck, to share his guilt instead of magnifying it.
Quote 5
The Russian soldier thrust his face into the rear of the truck. He was humming the wedding song and drumming his finger on the edge of the tailgate. Even in the dim light of the moon, I saw the glazed look in his eyes as they skipped from passenger to passenger. Despite the cold, sweat streamed from his brow. His eyes settled on the young woman wearing the black shawl. He spoke in Russian to Karim without taking his eyes off her. Karim gave a curt reply in Russian, which the soldier returned with an even curter retort. The Afghan soldier said some thing too, in a low, reasoning voice. But the Russian soldier shouted something that made the other two flinch. I could feel Baba tightening up next to me. Karim cleared his throat, dropped his head. Said the soldier wanted a half hour with the lady in the back of the truck. (10.13)
Eek. The Russian soldier sings a wedding song while he chooses a woman to rape – that's really creepy. Baba, unlike Amir, defends the possible victim and confronts the Russian soldier to prevent a horrific event. We wonder, then, if redemptive acts, like this one from Baba, can return a character to innocence. Don't forget that Baba betrayed Ali by sleeping with Sanaubar. So we wonder if Baba redeems himself, his honor, and something like innocence by standing up to the Russian soldier. Likewise, does Amir regain some measure of innocence? Or does one never regain lost innocence?
Quote 6
He had withered – there was simply no other word for it. His eyes gave me a hollow look and no recognition at all registered in them. His shoulders hunched and his cheeks sagged like they were too tired to cling to the bone beneath. His father, who'd owned a movie theater in Kabul, was telling Baba how, three months before, a stray bullet had struck his wife in the temple and killed her. Then he told Baba about Kamal. I caught only snippets of it: Should have never let him go alone...always so handsome, you know...four of them...tried to fight...God...took him...bleeding down there...his pants...doesn't talk any more...just stares... (10.62)
On their way to Pakistan, Amir and Baba discover that Kamal, one of the boys who stood by as Assef raped Hassan, was raped in wartime Kabul. Kamal's experience mirrors both Hassan's and Sohrab's. Four people are involved in the rape (Amir, Wali, Kamal as bystanders and Assef as the perpetrator). Like Sohrab, Kamal refuses to speak. And, like Hassan, Kamal appears hollow and withdrawn. On a larger scale, though, Hosseini comments on Afghanistan's loss of innocence. War brings about Kamal's tragedy and the tragic loss of Kamal's mother. Often (but not always), the events in the lives of individuals in The Kite Runner can be mapped onto the nation of Afghanistan.