CliffsNotes on Hosseini's The Kite Runner by Richard P. Wasowski

Author:Richard P. Wasowski
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HMH Books

Chapter Twelve

Summary

Amir is smitten with Soraya but unable to approach her. Baba counsels Amir, reminding him that the General has nang and namoos—honor and pride, respectively. One day, Amir is too bold, and after inquiring about the General and sending his regards, he asks Soraya a question. Inquiring about the book she is reading leads to a conversation. Conversing with her is shocking, outrageous, and the source of gossip.

Jamila, Soraya’s mother, returns while Amir and Soraya are still talking; however, she smiles instead of acting scandalized. Amir impresses Jamila by declining her invitation of sitting down and having a peach, and as she packs some fruit for him and his father, she invites him to visit again.

Amir begins to watch the stalls, and when the General leaves for a walk, Amir walks by his stand. When Khanum Taheri, the General’s wife, is present, she invites Amir to sit, chat, and share some tea.

One day, Soraya tells Amir that she wants to be a teacher and shares with him a story about the time she helped a servant learn to read, reminding Amir how he ridiculed Hassan. Amir shares with Soraya a story that he had written, but just as she is receiving it, the General returns, takes the story, and throws it in the trash.

Amir has no time to mourn his loss, however, for Baba becomes sick, which leads to weeks of impatience, waiting, and frustration. Baba refuses to be seen by a doctor with Russian ancestry, and also refuses chemotherapy. Amir starts to protest, but Baba reprimands him and later forbids him from mentioning his cancer to anyone. After months of gradual weight loss and declining activity, Baba has convulsions and is hospitalized. Baba then refuses radiation treatment. After Baba is released from the hospital, Amir asks his father to visit the General and ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage, and Baba agrees to do this. After the General accepts, Soraya shares with Amir that when she was younger and living in Virginia, she ran away with an Afghan man who was into drugs, and she lived with him for about a month.

Amir is tempted to admit his past but is unable to do so. He recognizes that he is in no position to “chastise someone for their past” and realizes that he is jealous of Soraya because her secret is no longer secret but out in the open.

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