Kite Runner Mini Essay 4
At the end of chapter 22, Sohrab saves Amir’s life. Explain the literary parallels and irony of this in view of things that happened earlier in the book. Why are they significant? Discuss.
In chapter 22, the powerful narrative that paralleled the earlier events that had happened was portrayed to us. As Amir goes to save Sohrab, he realizes that the guard is actually Assef and to his surprise, Assef gives Amir permission to take Sohrab. They make it as far as the door before Assef says he didn’t mean he could take Sohrab for free. To earn both his and Sohrab’s freedom, Amir must fight Assef. Assef reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pair of brass knuckles. The narrative does not go into a lot of detail about the fight, partly because Amir never fought anyone so he cannot put up much of a fight. What he remembers is being repeatedly hurled against the wall, feeling bones snapping and shattering, choking on his own teeth, and lying on the floor. Throughout Sohrab screams. At one point Amir starts laughing. The laughing hurts, especially since it angers Assef and makes him kick, punch, and scratch harder. Amir thinks that he will die at peace with himself. But then he hears a thin voice say, “Please, no more.” Blinking the blood away from his eyes Amir sees Sohrab pointing his slingshot at Assef’s face. When Assef lunges at Sohrab the slingshot releases a brass ball (taken from the base of a table) that lands in Assef’s eye. Sohrab grabs Amir’s hand, helps him to his feet, and leads the way out. Leaning on Sohrab, Amir stumbles to the car, where he passes out.
This chapter focuses on the most important turning point in Amir’s adult life; it both contrasts and redeems a similar turning point in Amir’s childhood. Even though Amir hesitates and wishes that Farid didn’t want to wait in the car and that Baba was standing next to him, he swallows his flight instinct and finally stands up to oppression. There are many connections between details here and those in the past. The most notable one surrounds the slingshot. Earlier in his life, Hassan protected Amir by pointing a slingshot at Assef’s eye; this threat was enough to convince Assef to back off temporarily, but it led to Assef getting him back later. Here, Hassan’s son Sohrab also points a slingshot at Assef, but only after Amir had already taken a beating for him. Since this threat causes Assef to lunge at him, this time, the missile is actually fired. Thus Sohrab shoots Assef in the eye to defend both his own and Amir’s lives. This maiming could be seen as Sohrab punishing Assef for his sins against his father and himself.
Link to Rough Draft: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1INbphkGykROBW-44aaUfFLzJMKvR9vvCNdJorg2hwpM/edit
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Jacob's College Writing Blog 
Throughout your essay, you were able to give a quick summary to the reader and also explain all the parallels and ironies you could find in those chapters. Your summary was able to inform and remind me of the contents of the chapter and would allow me to understand your analysis better later on. Although your piece was well written, personally I feel like adding a bit more detail and vivid vocabulary would help raise your writing to the next level. The way you organized your analysis was really well done, as one point flowed onto another, and as a reader, I am able to take away all the points you mentioned. Another way to improve your writing is to expand on some of your points on the analysis. Instead of just pointing it out, expanding, and perhaps expressing your own opinions would be a great way to inform the reader more and improve your writing. With all that said, you did a great job, and keep up the good work.
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