The Kite Runner - Chapter 9

Whilst Chapter 9 is essentially a short chapter, it is also a pivotal one, in that it delineates Amir’s guilt and suffering in relation to the events that Hosseini shows in previous chapters and in how this guilt morphs into action. Notably it shows the, albeit incomplete, division of brotherly bonds both in Baba and Ali, and in Amir and Hassan.

Amir opens his birthday gifts, but is unable to draw any happiness from them; he equates them to “blood money”, reflected in his comparison of such a concept with his newly acquired bicycle “red, like a candy apple. Or blood.” This could be said to reinforce the violent image that the colour implies.

Amir receives two gifts which he values. One from Rahim Kahn; a leather note book, possibly symbolic of his innate ability to write; and a collection of stories from Ali and Hassan, this gift serves as a bitter reminder of the brother that he has mistreated in Hassan. The guilt generated in this prompts Amir to plant the “stolen” birthday gifts among Hassan’s belongings. Despite Hassan’s false admission to stealing the gifts, Baba offers forgiveness, once again demonstrating startling affection for Hassan. Yet Ali demands that himself and Hassan leave.

Hosseini presents the end of this chapter in a moment of pathetic fallacy, within the rain that accompanies their departure. Baba’s tears, it is implied, show correspondence with the “summer rain” in that they are “rare”. He also alludes to the happy moments in the relationship between Amir and Hassn; in his references to the "Hindi movies" they watched together and in the games of "marbles" they shared, this reinforces the image of brotherhood and further accentuates the woe inflicted by their, although self imposed, seperation. It could be said that Hosseini uses poetic imagery in the concluding lines of this chapter in order to highlight the tragedy of Ali and Hassan's leaving, evident in the comparison of the rain to "melting silver".