The Kite Runner Chapter 7 Quotes
The Kite Runner Chapter 7 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 4
Tomorrow is the tenth day of Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the Muslim calendar, and the first of three days of Eid Al-Adha, or Eid-e-Qorban, as Afghans call it – a day to celebrate how the prophet Ibrahim almost sacrificed his own son for God. Baba has handpicked the sheep again this year, a powder white one with crooked black ears. (7.134)
Hassan certainly meets the Hebrew's requirement of the sacrificial animal: purity. Does Baba in some way play the Ibrahim role and sacrifice Hassan because Hassan is a Hazara? Or does Amir sacrifice Hassan? Do Amir and Baba play the same role – are they both Ibrahim? Does Baba – by refusing to love Amir unconditionally – end up sacrificing Amir? Who is the victim here? If this were a multiple choice test, we might choose "D. All of the above." We can't take the test for you, though.
Quote 5
I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt. That's what I told myself as I turned my back to the alley, to Hassan. That's what I made myself believe. I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba. Was it a fair price? The answer floated to my conscious mind before I could thwart it: He was just a Hazara, wasn't he? (7.140)
In this passage, Amir watches as Assef rapes Hassan. It's horrific and cruel. Somehow, Amir believes he can win his father's love if he brings back the blue kite Hassan ran down. And he's right, to an extent. Following his victory in the kite tournament, Amir and his father become closer than ever before. But Amir is also tragically wrong. Amir ignores – by not defending Hassan – some of his father's most cherished principles: honor, pride, and bravery. In order to seem like a man in his father's eyes, Amir actually does the most shameful thing he could do: abandon (and later betray) Hassan.
Quote 6
"We won! We won!" was all I could say. This wasn't happening. In a moment, I'd blink and rouse from this beautiful dream, get out of bed, march down to the kitchen to eat breakfast with no one to talk to but Hassan. Get dressed. Wait for Baba. Give up. Back to my old life. Then I saw Baba on our roof. He was standing on the edge, pumping both of his fists. Hollering and clapping. And that right there was the single greatest moment of my twelve years of life, seeing Baba on that roof, proud of me at last. (7.50)
Although we're happy for Amir, Shmoop's Department of Child Psychology firmly believes it's not a good thing if the child has to win his father's affection. Amir wins the kite tournament and returns to Baba's study with the infamous blue kite. He does gain his father's affection – for a little while. Amir's newfound closeness with Baba will last only a brief time. The sacrifices Amir makes (or has Hassan makes) will haunt him for much of his life.