The Kite Runner

At a tea house, Amir stews about the various truths Rahim Khan has burdened him with. He considers the moments when Baba seemed to favor Hassan and the surgery to fix Hassan’s harelip. Amir reflects on the ways Baba’s secret had wounded so many: “[...] from me the right to know I had a brother, from Hassan his identity, and from Ali his honor” (197). Now, Baba’s legendary reputation—his nang and namoos, or honor and pride—are called into question. Realizing that Rahim Khan has given him a chance to redeem not only himself but Baba, too, Amir decides to go to Kabul to find Sohrab. He returns to Rahim and tells him he will bring the boy to the Caldwells. Rahim tells Amir that he will pray for him.

While traveling in a taxi with an Afghan native named Farid whom Rahim Khan put him in contact with, Amir struggles with his car sickness. He is disguised, dressed in a pakol—a traditional Afghan cap—and fake beard to protect himself from Taliban persecution. Farid and Amir quickly fall into an antagonistic relationship concerning Amir’s connection to Afghanistan.