Code of Honor

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2015

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Chapters 7-10 Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 7 Summary

At football practice that afternoon, Kamran is distracted by the day's events. Only Adam has spoken to him—everyone else ignores him and stares. He is still haunted by Julia's face and her look of terror as she gazed at him. The play starts and Kamran falls flat on his back, knocked over by Omar, a linebacker. After a warning from the coach about reducing distractions, Kamran re-calibrates and thinks about the football games he played with Darius and the neighborhood boys when he was younger. Darius was eight years older than Kamran, and “a giant” by comparison (27). Darius demanded that Kamran suck it up and deal with any scuffles in order to play, and Kamran did, eventually proving himself to Darius and all the other kids too: “Those games had made me better, tougher, and I was going to need that toughness now” (29).

Practice continues; on the next down, Kamran blocks Omar. This time, Omar seems like he is throwing elbows just to hurt Kamran. The whistle blows and Kamran gets in Omar's face, ready to fight him.

Chapter 8 Summary

Kamran shouts in Omar's face, and the two begin to brawl. Coach Reynolds runs over, demanding an explanation. Kamran believes he has been attacked; Omar denies it and shakes it off. Coach Reynolds tells Kamran to cool down, and Adam pulls Kamran back as he lunges at Omar. Adam explains to Kamran that Omar was just doing what he always does, but Kamran rejects that, bringing up the unspoken topic between them, saying, “everybody treated me today [...] like I had a bomb strapped to my chest” (31).

Adam reveals that he believes Darius is guilty, too, and asks Kamran if he is trying to convince everyone else of his brother's guilt, or just himself. Kamran is devastated, and wants to fight; instead, he tells Adam to keep his Super Bowl ticket and to take his girlfriend, too, while he’s at it. He walks back to the locker room to go home, devastated at the loss of his girlfriend, best friend, and his football legacy all in one day.

At home, Kamran sees news vans, as he anticipated. A squad of Homeland Security vehicles have also arrived.

Chapter 9 Summary

Kamran is finally let inside after being held outside his home and having his book bag and gym bag searched. He comes inside to see agents everywhere, going through his house. They go through the drawers in his room. Kamran becomes enraged, arguing with the agents about his brother's guilt: “‘Darius isn't a terrorist’ I yelled. All the hazmat people stopped and turned to look at me, but nobody said a word” (34). Kamran refuses to sit down and be quiet until his mother approaches and coaxes him to the couch, where the pair sit together and wait to be interviewed.

The agents eventually interview the entire family about Darius’s past behavior, interest in Islam and Sharia law, and other pertinent information. Afterward, they leave, and Kamran goes to inspect the damage done to his bedroom.

Chapter 10 Summary

Kamran finds his bedroom in complete disarray, with his clothes taken out of drawers and his CDs and DVDs opened and left on the floor. He feels as if nothing belongs to him anymore: strangers have touched everything he loves, and they could come back at any time and do so again. He wishes Darius were around to help him, and knocks on the wall between his room and his brother's old bedroom, the way he did as a kid, after their parents had gone to sleep.

Kamran goes to Darius's room, which has also been searched, though Darius hasn’t left much behind since leaving for West Point. Kamran finds the “Code of Honor” under Darius’s bed, and reflects on the agreement he and his brother had with each other. The code reads:

“1. Be the strongest of the strong.

Be the bravest of the brave.

Help the helpless

Always tell the truth

Be loyal

Never give up

Kill all monsters” (38).

Kamran recalls the games he and Darius played, where they pretended to be the heroes Siyavash and Rostam, from a Persian myth. Recalling these memories, Kamran realizes his brother couldn't be a traitor, and he needs someone to believe in him: “He needed at least one ally in all this, one person who still believed in his innocence, and that had to be me” (40). Kamran resolves to clear Darius’s name.

Chapters 7-10 Analysis

In this section, Kamran introduces a significant motif—the Siyavash and Rostam myth, which he and his brother read together and reenacted during their games as boys. He also reads aloud the Code of Honor, which he and Darius made as boys. He recalls, from these memories and recollection of their shared code, that Darius is a hero—that despite his appearance of guilt, and what other people are saying, he has a strong moral center and must remain a hero in Kamran’s head until Darius is proven guilty. Their shared code and Persian myths bond the brothers, despite the anger that Kamran experiences when Homeland Security officers are wrecking his home and invading his privacy. Though he is alienated further by these experiences, Kamran’s dedication to their shared code reminds him to stay loyal to his brother; he follows their code in his actions, choosing to “Be loyal” and “Never give up” (38).

Kamran announces his decision to be an ally to his brother, despite all doubt, not because he necessarily wants to, but rather because he feels like he has to. Familial obligation aside, Kamran views himself as a patriotic, teenaged American, and is far more interested in a life common to American teenagers: socializing, sports, and his partner. However, his bond to his brother precedes these desires and ambitions, all of which have been hindered, as those around him at school assume Darius’s guilt.