82 pages • 2 hours read
Shooting Kabul
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Chapters 8-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 8 Summary: “Spotted”
Upon coming home from school, Fadi finds his relatives talking about a sighting of Mariam. One of the families that could not get on the truck took Mariam with them when the Taliban arrived. Zafoona is relieved but blames Habib for taking the family to the United States when they should have stayed in Pakistan at the border. She insults his ghayrat—his honor as a Pukhtun man, who is charged with protecting the female members of his family. This is a serious accusation, and after realizing what she has said, Zafoona recants. Fadi reveals that he told Mariam that the Nurzais have family members in Peshawar, Pakistan, who run a clinic for refugees, so she would likely know to go there. The family praises Fadi for this important information and wishes he had told them sooner.
To get away from the family drama, Fadi goes to the park with his camera. Bullies Ike and Felix nearly spot him, but he manages to evade them. There is no film in the camera, but Fadi pretends he is shooting scenes of children in the park. He thinks of his father giving him the camera even though the Taliban had outlawed photography, which makes the camera precious to him.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Colors”
Fadi’s first day of art class gives him a jolt of enthusiasm. He recognizes Anh Hong, who asks him to be in her group, along with another student, Jon, and they talk about their favorite movies. Fadi realizes a friendly woman he met in the park is his art teacher, Ms. Bethune. She announces that there is a photography club, information that catches Fadi’s attention, but he is disheartened when he realizes the fee to join is $50.
On his way home, he sees Noor outside the McDonald’s where she works talking to a boy with tattoos. Noor spots him, and he is worried that she will “pound him for sure” (969). At home, he tells his father about the photo club. When his father hears about the fee, Fadi demurs. His mother scolds Noor for having bought a new pair of earrings, which she sees as something frivolous they cannot afford.
Chapter 10 Summary: “Stowaway”
In art class, Fadi learns that the members of the photo club can participate in a competition sponsored by the Société Géographique. The grand prize is a trip to China, Kenya, or India. When Fadi learns this, he realizes that he could travel from India to Pakistan and find Mariam, and he feels even worse that he cannot afford to join the club.
Inspired by the protagonist from From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Fadi devises a plan to find Mariam on his own. He hides in the trunk of his father’s taxi before Habib leaves for his route to the airport, thinking he can sneak onto a plane to Pakistan. To Fadi’s dismay, Habib discovers him when he opens the trunk to stow his first fare’s luggage.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Failure”
Fadi sits in the front seat while his father drives his passenger to San Francisco. The man admonishes Fadi to study so that he does not end up becoming a taxi driver like his father. Fadi takes offense, knowing that his father has a PhD.
After dropping off the passenger, Habib takes Fadi to a diner and explains that his plan was bound to fail. Fadi would need a visa from the embassy to enter India. When Fadi protests, Habib reveals that he and his former professor in Kabul have hired a private investigator to look for Mariam. Fadi is surprised that his father is not mad at him but is not satisfied with his advice to have patience while others search for his sister.
Chapters 8-11 Analysis
These chapters develop Fadi’s love of photography, his growing social adjustment at school, his escalating motivation to find Mariam, and his coming of age. Even though Fadi wants to join the photography club for his own enjoyment, he is doubly motivated when he discovers that winning the contest would give him an opportunity to find his sister. Shooting Kabul is Fadi’s coming-of-age story, and Chapter 11 shows Fadi’s first moment of maturation when his father explains the reality of what is involved in traveling overseas. Fadi realizes that life is not like an adventure novel, and his willingness to take risks alone will not bring his sister back.
In Chapter 9, Fadi’s art class gives him an opportunity to bond with his classmates and develop his personality and interests. The transformation he undergoes in art class is a metaphor for his growth as an individual. Fadi began the school year attempting to hide. He spends his time trying to evade bullies and avoid interactions with other students. In Chapter 7, when he arrives at Brookhaven, he observes: “It’s as if I don’t exist” (752), and, “He felt as though he were hidden behind a camera lens, watching another world whirl past in shattered fragments” (782). The “shattered fragments” do not only apply to his life at school. His guilt has shattered his home life and emotional world. Just as at school, at home Fadi tries to make himself scarce. In Chapter 8, when he discovers the adults talking about Mariam, “he retreated around the corner into the hall” (796). When Fadi finally gathers the courage to speak directly to his family about Mariam, he contributes valuable information. His decision to speak up represents another moment of maturation.
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