A symbol in the story is Hassan’s cleft lip. When Hassan was a child he was born with a cleft lip and was fixed by Baba, who paid for a surgeon to fix on his birthday, because he is secretly his biological father and has a secret fatherly love for him. The cleft lip signifies Hassan’s social status, which is being on the bottom of the social pyramid, because he’s a Hazara. Later in the story, Amir gets his lip split by Assef when he gets beat up, leaving him with a scar like Hassan’s. After that he becomes like Hassan, he stands up to what he cares about and takes in Hassan’s son, Sohrab. And taking him in is Amir’s redemption.…
Amir and Hassan had a very complicated relationship in which both boys felt at times they had been close like brothers and at other times it was just more of a servant-master relationship. Their relationship can be one way at times and another way at other times. Sometimes Amir didn't see Hassan as a friend because friends stand up for each other and support each other and help each other in times of trouble and come to each other's defense when needed, and Amir did not do any of those things for Hassan. Amir feels guilty for the choices he made in the situations that were brought towards him but obviously he didn't feel guilty enough because he never tried hard enough to fix things. A huge theme throughout the entire book in which Amir attempts…
After Amir wins the competition, Hassan goes to retrieve his kite, when he then gets into a brawl with Assef and his two other boys. When Amir goes to find Hassan, he sees how he is getting abused by Assef and decides not to do anything about. He thought to himself, “I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan- the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past- and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run” (Hosseini 77). In the end, Amir decided to run because he was a coward and only thought of the best for himself, not Hassan. Readers uncover irony within this section of the novel. In order for Hassan not to be raped, he had to give Assef Amir’s kite, which Hassan knew would help boost Amir and Baba’s relationship. So Hassan, being a great friend, sacrifices himself, just so that Baba can be proud of Amir for once. After the rape, Amir and Hassan become distant from one another. When the two are face-to-face, Amir wishes Hassan would punish him. For instance, he pelts Hassan with the pomegranates, because he wants Hassan to hit him back. Punishment, Amir feels, would at least begin to make up for the way he wronged Hassan. Hassan, however, will not retaliate, and that became the greatest torment for Amir. Since Amir is still filled with the guilt of leaving Hassan to be raped in the alleyway, he decided he has to put an end to this. Seeing Hassan everyday was a constant reminder of his wronged actions. So, Amir went into Hassan’s living quarters, lifted his “mattress and planted [his] new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it”, which made Baba believe Hassan stole all those items (Hosseini 104). Baba begs for Ali and Hassan to stay with them, but Ali makes the final decision that it would be best if they…
He felt like it was necessary to be mean to Hassan, because he was a Hazara. Amir continuously undermines Hassan throughout the first part of the book. However Amir's religious opinions about how to treat Hazara change at the end of the book. "{General Sahib said} 'They will want to know why there is a Hazara boy living with our daughter. What do I tell them?'.... 'And one more thing, General Sahib' I said. 'You will never again refer to him as 'Hazara boy' in my presence. He has a name and its Sohrab.'" (Hosseini, 2003, p315). Assef's influences Amir to judge Hassan unfairly, treating him as a mere servant. When Amir discovered that Sohrab was his nephew, he realised that he didn't want the religious boundary to exist anymore. In any relationship with someone with different ideas or opinions, a person will want to readjust their life, accordingly, and this is what Amir is doing. He was escaping the influence Assef gave him as a…
Unexpectedly they run into Assef, a school bully, who attacks Amir for the sheer fact of Amir standing by Hassan and calling him a friend. "I treated Hassan well,…
He is selfish, demanding, cowardly, disrespectful and jealous. He does not seem like the type of person that will do something for another out of the kindness of their heart. He always thinks about himself and what he wants. He has never sacrificed anything for the people he loves. Growing up with the memory of Hassan’s rape still fresh in his mind like a situation that has just unfolded has finally opened his eyes and makes him realize he needs to be brave for once in his life. So Amir acts. He goes back to Afghanistan to find Hassan’s son, Sohrab. Rahim Khan’s advice, “There is a way to be good again” (pg.2) helps Amir to put his feelings into action. Assef, now a Taliban officer, beats Amir up badly, but this, heals Amir of his wrong doings from the past and he takes Sohrab back to America with him to live a good life. Amir finally puts someone before himself after all the sacrifices Hassan has made for him in the past. This shows the love and sacrifice he makes for Hassan’s child knowing it is the only way he can ever repay Hassan for the years of mistreatment in their…
Babas lack of love and affection towards Amir has proven to change Amir into a boy that is constantly in search for his fathers love. Amirs best friend,” Hassan” is always there to protect him when he gets into fights because he is too timid to stand up for himself. Baba is reluctant to praise Amir because he feels as Amir lacks courage and is a coward in many situations. For example; when Assef was disturbing Amir, Hassan had to take out his slingshot and threaten Assef to leave at once because Amir was too scared to do anything about it in that situation. “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.”…
“The worst kind of hurt is betrayal, because it means someone was willing to hurt you just to…
Throughout this novel, there are several different events of betray depicted, mainly between Amir and Hassan. However, one of the most significant example is when Amir etches Hassan as he gets raped by Assef. Amir states, “I had final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan the way he stood up for me all those times in the past-and accept whatever would happen to me if I could run, In the end, I ran. It shows that Amir had a chance to save Hassan, however he ran out. (68)” It shows that Amir is a coward, and he runs always runs away from his problem. Furthermore, he backstabbed Hassan by not standing up, nor fighting Assef to help save him. Another example of betrayal is portrayed by Amir. After the rape incident that happened to Hassan, Amir did not speak up for him. As Amir thinks about the alleyways, and is constantly reminded about Hassan rather than speaking up for him, he wanted Baba to dismiss, both of them so they can move on with their own lives. Amir states, “I went downstairs, crosses the yard, and I entered Ali, and Hassan`s living quarters by the loquat tree. I lifted Hassan`s mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under” (9.21-22). Therefore, this shows now Amir lied and told Baba that Hassan stole the watch and money, when he was once betrayed, and deceived Amir. However, Hassan consistently stays loyal to Amir, and tells Bab that…
At the beginning of the novel, Amir is a young selfish child who cares about himself and only himself, which is evident by the choices he makes. His obsession to please Baba, his father, causes him to betray his best friend, later known to be his half-brother, Hassan. Hassan was raped by Assef, the novel’s antagonist, because he was protecting the kite Amir yearned for to satisfy Baba. Amir later confesses, “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (Hosseini 7). As a consequence, Amir lives with an abundant amount of guilt, in which he tries to avoid, but as the years crawl by, he is unable to find tranquility. His guilty conscious troubles…
After Amir finds out that Hassan has passed away, his first instinct is to go and save his son Sohrab. Amir returns back to Kabul and finds out that Sohrab is under the control of the Taliban. As Amir finally finds Sohrab he is faced with the leader of the Taliban which is the man who sexually assaulted Hassan as a child. Amir then sacrifices himself for Sohrab and takes a beating from the leader and escapes with Sohrab later on.(Hosseini 247).This is showing that Amir has figured out that he has to put others before himself sometimes in order to make them happy and do what is right. It is a major step for Amir because he has not done this before. After Amir rescues Sorhab from the Taliban he brings him to a hotel so they can stay together until he brings him back to America. The morning after they settle at the hotel, Sohrab runs away to a Mosque and Amir had no idea where he went. Amir then started to panic because he knew that Sohrab was now his responsibility. Amir then asks the man at the front desk several questions until he mentions the Mosque and Amir immediately ran there hoping to find Sohrab. He finds Sohrab there and has a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders because he has found him, and knows that he is okay.(Hosseini 271). As Amir stays with Sohrab he is trying to get the papers which allows…
Amir resembles Baba because he too takes up redemption for the awful things he did. He understands the great danger Sohrab is in. He risks his life to help Sohrab; this shows loyalty to Hassan. Even though Sohrab is not Hassan sa his son shows that Amir is loyal to him. He would do anything for Hassan to make up for his childhood. After finding Sohrab, Amir comes face to face with Assef, Hassan's rapist. “Another rib snapped, this time lower. What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace. I laughed because I saw that, in some hidden nook in the corner of my mind, I’d even been looking forward to this… My body was broken – just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later – but I felt healed” (Hosseini 289) This scene depicts the acceptance that Amir finally faces. He starts coming to terms with his past because he feels at peace over the fact that he is finally getting justice for Hassan. That he is brave enough not to run away just as Hassan would stay to fight. Amir sacrifices everything for Sohrab just as Hassan did for him once. Amir finally shows the love for Hassan that was given to…
Firstly, throughout the whole novel, the story is always linked with the relationship between Amir and Hassan who is the servant of Amir. Hassan is a person who has brave and positive character, but Amir’s character stand on the opposite side of Hassan, which is cowardice. Amir shows the feeling that he is jealous of Hassan…
After Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan informing him that Hassan has a son named Sohrab, Amir takes this as a possible chance to redeem his childhood mistakes. Amir goes back to his jarring homeland of Afghanistan to search for Sohrab and eventually is lead to a Taliban official. This officer happens to be Assef, the bully of Hassan who raped him in his childhood. Amir tentatively and bravely approaches him in hopes to make a deal and bring Sohrab to safety. Assef starts brutally beating Amir and releases a feeling Amir has not felt in a while. The feeling uncomfortably excites Amir as he “doesn’t know when [Amir] starts laughing, but [Amir] did...The harder [Amir] laughs, the harder [Assef] kicks, punches, and scratches. ‘WHAT’S SO FUNNY?’…
Jealousy is an evil thing. One of the seven deadly sins, it is notorious for what it can make people do. Even Shakespeare referred to it as the “green-eyed monster”. I was fairly close with this creature, but calling it a monster gives it too much credit. No, a monster is too crude, too overbearing. Jealousy, for me, is something much smaller. It was like an underlying thought stuck in the back of my head. A minute itch that never ceased its irritation. My fingers would scramble frantically, digging into my skin, releasing a burning sensation that provided an impermanent satisfaction. Much like a mosquito bite, every time I entertained Jealousy, the sensation intensified. And, like a mosquito bite, the only cure was abstinence. It came with every friendship, with every interaction.…