Language and Imagery

As I am diving deeper into the plot lines and indulging story I have been finding more and more imagery and have noticed a very intelligent form of expression through language. Author Khaled Hosseini adds a lot of flavor to the story line as he carefully places tragedy and jealousy in order for the reader to feel and grasp the story more clearly. 

First of all, Khaled Hosseini uses imagery and expression in order to show tragedy when Amir let Hassan be sexually assaulted by the local bully Assef.. Amir allowed this to happen because he was a selfish person. The reason that Hassan was raped by Assef was because he was kite running for Amir at the tournament. Amir had finally cut the last kite to win the contest and all that had to happen was for Hassan to run and go catch it. When Hassan finally made it to the kite , the local bully Assef and his friends demanded the kite from him or else there was going to be some sort of punishment. Hassan refused to give Assef the kite because he knew how much it meant to Amir, and unforgettably his punishment was rape. Little did Hassan know, Amir watched this entire event unravel. Amir watched Assef and his friends gang around saying "Your father won't find out," Assef said. "And there's nothing sinful about teaching a lesson to a disrespectful donkey.""I don't know," Wali muttered. "Suit yourself," Assef said. He turned to Kamal. "What about you?" "I... well..." "It's just a Hazara," Assef said. But Kamal kept looking away. "Fine," Assef snapped. "All I want you weaklings to do is hold him down. Can you manage that?" And didn't do a single thing about it. Amir didn't do anything about it for one reason only, he was looking for the compassion of his father. This symbolizes how desperate Amir is becoming to gain the attention of his father. He gave away Hassan's freedom in order to gain a kite to impress Baba. I believe that the author put this quotation in the story in order to show the reader that Amir has made a terrible mistake for not intervening. This image will haunt Amir for the rest of his life, why did he let Hassan do this for him? why was he such a coward. This completely contrasts the scene where Hassan saved Amir "I turned and came face to face with Hassan's slingshot. Hassan had pulled the wide elastic band all the way back. In the cup was a rock the size of a walnut. Hassan held the slingshot pointed directly at Assef's face. His hand trembled with the strain of the pulled elastic band and beads of sweat had erupted on his brow."(34) I predict that Amir will soon learn to hate himself for letting this happen to Hassan, he will realize that his father's compassion isn't worth what he has done.

Next, Khaled Hosseni used imagery and expression to enhance the jealousy that Amir has to everyone that has a close relationship with Baba. Amir for years has blamed himself for the death of his mother. Amir believes that Baba also blames him for her death. Throughout his entire life, Amir has been vigorously jealous of those that could maintain a close relationship with his father. Amir said "Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard. And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba. His was Amir. My name." about Hassan. This quotation shows how afraid Amir was to lose his father's admiration to some Hazara boy who was supposed to be of lower class to him. The author put this quotation in the story to indulge the reader into Amir's mind, the author wanted the reader to imagine what it must be like to be unloved by a family member. This incident creates emotional response as it provokes the reader to try and connect themselves into Amir's position. I wonder if this idea in Amir's mind will drive him crazy, how is he supposed to achieve such high goals for himself? How will Amir ever make up killing his mother to himself?
Finally, in conclusion Khaled Hosseini uses imagery and symbolism to enhance the story of jealousy and tragedy. I wonder where this roller coaster ride of Amir's life will end, will he make up for what has happened to Hassan?

First Impressions

“I never thought of Hassan and me as friends either…Never mind that we spent entire winters flying kites… History isn't easy to overcome. Neither is religion. In the end I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara.” (25) Spoke the main character of the novel "The Kite Runner" named Amir. He was speaking about his best friend Hassan. Questions rushed through my head; why does Amir not think of Hassan as his brother? What did Hassan do to be treated as the "lesser" culture between the Pashtun and the Hazara?

To start off, Hassan and Amir were the best of friends. They would go on adventures, climb trees and sometimes Amir would even read Hassan a book. The boys were raised as brother together by Amir's father Baba after the death of Hassan's father. Baba has been treating them as equals throughout their lives. Hassan unlike Baba or Amir, was a Hazara. Unfortunately, the Hazara were treated like slaves to the Pashtuns. In fact, Hassan's very own father was Baba's servant himself. This feel of inequality really started to have an affect of the way that Hassan thinks of himself as a person. Hassan began to treat himself like a slave. A slave to the way that society viewed upon him and his people. Throughout the story it is become more clear that Amir believes that Hassan and the Hazara's are the lesser race of Kabul, despite how Amir was raised. This reminds me of the Rwandan Genocide in a way. The Genocide was caused due to the discrimination against the Tutsi's during this time period. This leaves me to believe that something similar to a genocide may happen to the Hazara in this story. I believe that the author put this into the story in order to show the reader's how tough it must be to be a Hazara living in a culture that does not want to accept you. 

Besides that, Amir also has his own problems. When Amir was born his mother unfortunately died during child birth. Amir believes that his father blames this on him. This causes Amir to constantly struggle for the attention of Baba. At one point in the third chapter Hassan was given admiration by Baba, this angered Amir into saying “It’s an unusual present I know, Baba said… Hassan hadn't done anything to earn Baba’s affection” (46). Why was Baba's affection so important to Amir, why would it matter is Hassan had more affection then Amir?  Baba even said at one point states that he enjoys soccer, Amir quickly to retaliate admits that he also likes soccer. This was a lie, Amir's real hobbies include reading and writing but he is too afraid that Baba will see this as not very "manly" pursuits.  I believe that this is hinting at how Amir will do something very drastic in order to gain the respect of Baba. This seems to be Amir's main focus during these early chapters and it wouldn't surprise me if it closely relates to the incident that happened in my life where I throughout the years attempted to impress my Grandpa in order to gain his respect. I eventually found out that he did respect me despite how I acted, and I believe that Amir will eventually find this out for himself. 

In conclusion, during the beginning of the book I am left with very many questions and assumptions of what is about to come. I believe that something terrible may happen to the Hazara's due to the way that they are treated in Kabul, I believe that Amir will do something very drastic in order to gain his Father's admiration and I believe overall that Amir will eventually find himself through some realization. I assume that this realization will in turn help Hassan and the Pashtun (maybe a rebellion).