Two things at the start of Chapter 21 that suggest the chaos experienced in Kabul are the state of the restaurant building and the dead body. Amir describes for us the restaurant that he and his father used to visit. The building has been padlocked but people have smashed the windows and parts of the sign have fallen off. This suggests it has been left in a hurry by its owners and that people have tried to break in. The body is that of a hanged man that has been left to rot. The body has been torn at by other people and so is covered in blood but the people going about there business on the day Amir sees it pay it no heed as if this has become a normal part of their lives.
Wazir Akbar Khan remains largely unscathed by the civil disruptions because this was one of the nicer suburbs of Kabul. As the country went through war and now civil unrest many of the houses had been appropriated by various leaders. The houses in Wazir Akbar Khan are now lived in by the more prominent Taliban members and so they remain largely untouched by the fighting.
The italicised description of Amir’s old house shows us a colourful and vibrant home. The garden is overflowing with plants, there are painted sections and the whole place dances with colour. This creates a sharp contrast with the house Amir now stands in, which has become derelict and sapped of colour.
The fact that Amir goes back to check on the carving tells us that he still thinks Hassan is important. This tree stands for their friendship and the carving shows that it still endures. “The carving had dulled, almost faded altogether, but it was still there”. Despite Hassan’s death and Amir’s forced ignorance of the situation, their friendship is still strong enough that Amir will go back into this war-torn country to save his nephew.
When Amir attends the football match we are introduced to a man referred to as John Lennon for his round sunglasses. The crowd treat this man with fear and contempt. He is clearly a bit of a bully and has done things to hurt people in the past.
It is later revealed that this character is actually Assef and that it is he who has taken Sohrab. This is important as it was Assef who assaulted Hassan, and if Amir had intervened during the assault there is a big possibility that the later events of the novel wouldn’t have had to happen.
Assef is a bully and the Taliban does nothing but bully people, hence Assef’s strong enjoyment as a member.
Amir states “My body was broken – just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later – but I felt healed. Healed at last. I laughed.” Amir feels healed because he has finally redeemed himself against Hassan. If he had stopped Assef from raping Hassan all those years ago then the result would have been Assef beating the two boys up. Amir laughs because he feels a huge sense of relief at realising this.
Sohrab stops the fight and saves Amir by firing a slingshot pellet into Assef’s face, blinding the man. This allows time for Amir and Sohrab to escape. This is significant as we remember Hassan using the same weapon to defend himself and Amir countless times as a child, and often against Assef and his gang of bullies.
