1. CHAPTERS 9
What does Assef give Amir for his birthday? Why is this significant?
What does Amir put under Hassan’s mattress? Why does he do it? What is your reaction to Amir's betrayal?
When Baba confronts Hassan about this, what does Hassan say?
What does Baba then do that shocks Amir?
What happens to Hassan and Ali?
How is the end of chapter nine a turning point in the novel?

2. Why are Amir and his father fleeing Afghanistan?
Chapter 10
What “weakness” of Amir’s does Baba have to apologize for in Chapter 10?
Who is Karim?
Why are Amir and his father fleeing Afghanistan?
Why does Baba challenge the Russian officer who is obviously high on drugs?
In Chapter 10, several things happen that are ironic or foreshadowing. Label
each one of these and explain:
• The only way Amir can survive the long ride in the fume-filled tank is by
remembering flying kites with Hassan.
• Kamal…(he is one of the boys involved with Hassan’s attack).

3. Chapter 11
Where do Baba and Amir live in America?
How old is Amir when he graduates from high school?
What does Baba give Amir as a high school graduation gift?
What does Amir tell Baba he will major in in college?
What nickname does Amir give to the lady Soraya?

4. Chapter 12
What “bold” question does Amir ask Soraya one day ay the flea market?
What does Baba’s cough and sniffles turn out to be?
Why does Baba refuse Dr. Schneider’s care?
What secret do we learn about Soraya? How does this make her a better match with Amir? Explain.

5. Chapter 13
“But I think a big part of the reason I didn’t care about Soraya’s past was that I had one of my own. I knew all about regret” (180).
“Now if you were an American, it wouldn’t matter. People here marry for love, family name and ancestry never come into the equation. They adopt that way too. As long as the baby is healthy, everyone is happy. But we are Afghans, bachem” (188).
“Sometimes, Soraya Sleeping next to me, I lay in bed and listened to the screen door swinging open and shut with the breeze, to the crickets chirping in the yard. And I could almost feel the emptiness in Soraya's womb, like it was a living, breathing thing. It had seeped into our marriage, that emptiness, into our laughs, and our love-making. And late at night, in the darkness of our room, I'd feel it rising from Soraya and setting between us. Sleeping between us. Like a newborn child” (189).

6. Chapter 16
What does Rahim Khan have to do to convince Hassan and his wife to come and live with him back in Kabul?
Rahim Khan states, “Is there a more Afghan way to die?” To what type of death is he referring?
How does Ali (Hassan’s father) die?
True or False: Hassan and his wife move in to Amir’s old room in Baba’s old house in Kabul.
Who delivers Farzana and Hassan’s son?