How does Hosseini tell the story in Chapter 10?

Chapter 10 is, foremost, a chapter that focuses on transition as Amir and Baba flee Afghanistan, in language, country, and – for the main protagonist (Amir) – age. Hosseini uses a number of techniques to reinforce this, and demonstrate the alterations in chronology.

The changing setting of the chapter, starting in Afghanistan but travelling through to Pakistan, allows Hosseini to mirror the beginnings of the emotional journey of escapism that Amir is undertaking. By describing the back of the truck and the “young woman sat across from us”, Hosseini adds a sense of immediacy to the opening of the chapter.

When the setting shifts to the inside of the petrol tanker, the writer builds a sense of panic and claustrophobia for the reader; by using short, fragmented sentences he creates tension and conveys the breathless panic felt by the narrator. The lack of descriptive detail of the setting also helps to portray the sensory deprivation of being trapped in the dark.

Primarily, the chapter (and the majority of the novel) is written in a first person, retrospective narrative. However, in this section, the writer uses present tense and imperatives coupled with the second person in order to try to get the reader to empathise by involving the reader directly. The narrator tells us “you need air, need it NOW,” the capitalisation adding to the terror felt by Amir.

Hosseini uses dates and time in order to narrate the chapter, showing us that by “March 1981”, the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated. The chapter is largely linear in chronology, though Hosseini utilises a flash back to a “Friday afternoon in Paghman” to juxtapose a positive, calm memory with the present fear. As well as flashbacks, the writer foreshadows Amir’s much later wedding with the wedding song, drunkenly sung by the Russian soldier, however in this context, its presence is threatening.

Within chapter 10, the writer also depicts the sense of alienation felt by both Amir and the reader, through the use of Farsi and Russian language. By requiring Karim to translate for the Russian soldier, it prolongs the tension, slowing the pace and highlighting the danger for Baba.

Structurally, the chapter has two moments of climax: the first when Baba stands up to the soldier, declaring he will not “let this indecency take place”; Hosseini heightens tension by switching to an internal, italicised monologue where Amir resigns himself to the fact that “It’s done, then”, forestalling the revelation that Baba is, in fact, still alive. The second, however, is sudden and unexpected, where Kamal’s father commits suicide at the end of the chapter. This provides a somewhat cathartic release for the reader after the tension of the chapter.

The chapter takes on the feel of an action/thriller, due to the intensity of pace, multiple climaxes and constant conflicts. As with the entire novel, we see Amir grow in this chapter, contributing to the idea of the text being a Bildungsroman – however, his journeying in this chapter is more physical, from place to place, rather than the moral journey he later undertakes.