The Kite Runner- Chapter 20

What Happens:

• Amir and Farid travel from Jalalabad to Kabul
• There they encounter a beggar who claims to have known Amir's mother
• Amir encounters the Taliban for the first time
• They reach the orphanage and meet Zaman, its director
• Zaman reveals that he allows the Taliban to take children from the orphanage in order to minimise the danger for those that are not taken

Analysis:

The chapter can be divided into two distinct parts: the beginning, up until page 221, explores Kabul both as it was, as shown by Amir's memories, and as it is, directly, through description. The horrors that Amir witnesses in Kabul are highlighted, not by any in-depth description, but rather by contrasting it with how he remembers Kabul, "in the old days," a phrase that is repeated when describing the city. Amir is introduced to a changed city, one where the smell of Kabob in the, "old days" is replaced by diesel from people trying t heat their homes, page 216.

When Amir meets the Taliban, the entire episode is dealt with in a single paragraph, and the complex use of contrast is ditched here for a more straightforward adjectival approach to description: "black," "dark-skinned," "thick, knitted," "tobacco-stained," page 217. This relatively simple and short paragraph mirrors the Taliban's approach to governing; they are simple, and they only stay for a short time.

The encounter with the beggar serves to deepen the tragedy of the fallen city, showing that, "the desert weed lives on, but the flower of spring blooms and wilts," page 218. He also lends a glimmer of hope to Amir that he may learn more of his mother, a glimmer that is never followed up.

The second part of the chapter, starting at 221, is the conversation between Amir, Farid and Zaman about the orphanage. Farid and Zaman fight, which shows a depth and a ferocity to his character, and at the end, Zaman has, "put on his broken glasses," page 225, which shows the he tries to remain looking strong despite his broken life. However, this part mainly serves to move the plot along, and it is revealed that Zaman sells children to a Talib official so that he doesn't take more than one. He also tells Amir where he can find this official, at the Ghazi Stadium, page 225.