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 Chapters #20-end. Examine what Amir finds when he returns to his childhood home.  Analyze the symbolism of the house, the pomegranate tree, and the carving.  Using information revealed in Rahim Khan’s letter, explain how Baba is partially responsible for the kind of boy/man that Amir became. Of what things is Sohrab ashamed? Why might Amir and Sohrab need each other? Do you think Rahim was justified in lying to Amir about Thomas and Betty Caldwell? Why does it not bother Amir to think that Baba may have considered Hassan his “true son”? How does Amir respond to General Taheri’s inquiry about Sohrab? What is significant about Amir’s statement? Why do you think Hosseini decided that Assef should grow up to be a high-ranking Talib? Of what things is Sohrab ashamed? Why might Amir and Sohrab need each other? Do you think Rahim was justified in lying to Amir about Thomas and Betty Caldwell? How does Amir show his loyalty to Sohrab in the novel’s final scene? What do Amir’s actions reveal a
 Questions for chapters 11-19 1. Compare/Contrast Babba’s expectation of America with the reality he faces when he arrives in California. Correlate his and Amir’s individual reactions to life in America with the following literary devices: “Baba was like the widower who remarries but can’t let go of his dead wife” (129); “...Kabul had become a city of ghosts for me. A city of harelipped ghosts” (136); “America was a river…” (136). 2. In what ways do you think Soraya and Amir are similar? How are they different? Why doesn’t Amir care about her past? 3. Discuss Rahim Khan’s phone call to Amir, and evaluate its effect on him. Note the significance of Rahim’s statement, “There is a way to be good again” (192). 4. How does Rahim convince Amir to help Sohrab? What is Amir’s response, and what do you think it indicates about him? Do you think Amir would have decided to help Sohrab if Rahim had not told him that Hassan was his half-brother? 5. While at Wahid’s home, what evidence is there

Opening Questions

Respond to ONE of the following topics. Don't forget to address the prompt in your topic sentence of your post. Discuss the origins of the ongoing conflict between Pashtuns and Hazaras. What effect might this have on Amir and Hassan’s relationship? Characterize Amir and Hassan before the kite tournament. What emotions does Amir experience before the kite tournament? What adjectives would you use to characterize him? What is Hassan’s response? What does this response show about Hassan? Refer to the simile, “I felt like a soldier trying to sleep in the trenches the night before a major battle” (50).  Why does Amir compare Hassan to the lamb he saw sacrificed on Eid Al-Adha? (If reading the graphic novel, pages 41-45 will help) Do you think Hassan knows that Amir witnessed the rape? Explain. Discuss Amir’s trip to Jalalabad with his father, contrasting his experience with reality. Why does Amir feel as “empty as [an] unkept pool” (85)? Assess what Assef’s interactions with his parent