Final Verdict

I did not know what to expect from “The Kite Runner” when I read the back cover.  I started reading hesitantly and before I knew it, I was “hooked”.   Khaled Hosseini’s novel is action packed and filled with violence, ongoing conflicts, and twisted relationships between family members and friends.   The reader has a chance to experience Afghan life through the eyes of two boys, one born wealthy and the other a servant.  Both characters are faced with challenges which they handle very differently resulting in an outcome that changes their lives forever.   This is a very timely novel given the war in Afghanistan and allows the reader to experience life through the eyes of these two best friends.  I will never forget this novel and will definitely re-read it in the future. This book is a must read for everyone.

Truth and Lies

The Kite Runner is a novel about two young boys growing up in Afghanistan.  One is rich, the other poor.  One is the son of a respected businessman, the other a servant.  One grows up in a home surrounded by luxuries and yet constantly struggles for self-worth and recognition.  The other has almost no valuables but is rich with inner strength and integrity.   Author Khaled Hosseini illustrates what happens to friends and family when the truth is hidden for the benefit of happiness.  The lies that develop create a life of their own and end up destroying happiness in the end.

“When you kill a man, you steal a life,” Baba said. “You steal his wife’s right to a husband; rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth. When you cheat you steal the right to fairness. You see?” (Hosseini 19)

This quote caught my attention when I read the first few chapters of the novel. Throughout the book these lines become even more significant as the reader learns that the main characters are living lies. Baba makes this ironic statement to his son Amir.  He is trying to teach him important values in life and the difference between right and wrong.  At this point in the novel, the readers think that Baba is a highly respected businessman and father.  His son Amir is constantly trying to impress him and live up to his high standards.   It later becomes know that Hassan is actually Baba’s secret son, whom he gave away at birth because he was born with a harelip.  In his own way, Baba is trying to help Amir so that he does not make the same mistakes that he did.  What he does not realize is that by allowing himself to be seen as perfect, results in Amir lying and perpetuating the cycle of deceit to build himself up in his father’s eyes. Baba is not the hero everyone thinks he is.  In reality he is a coward, just like his son Amir whom he always criticizes for not standing up for himself.  The person with the admirable qualities is the son he gave up.

Conflict

Author Khaled Hosseini uses conflict throughout his novel The Kite Runner to illustrate the power of truth and the damages that lies can cause.  The main character, Amir is a rich, insecure child who is trying to get approval from his father.  He struggles with his own imperfections and constantly compares himself to his best friend and servant Hassan.    Amir’s dream is to impress his father Baba and make him proud of whom he is as a person.  This is difficult to accomplish as Baba values physical strength and athleticism, not a son who likes to read and write.  Amir becomes jealous of Hassan’s abilities as the best kite runner in Kabul because he knows his father values this skill.   As the novel progresses, the reader discovers that Hassan is also Baba’s son, whom he gave away to his servant when he was born with a harelip.  It is ironic that the physical abilities that he so admires is an attribute of the son he gave away and not the one he kept.  Conflict arises again when Hassan is raped by Assef after fighting the bully to keep the winning kite for Amir.  Hidden so that others do not see him, Amir witnesses this violent act and does nothing to intervene.  Fear seems to immobilize him. The reader wonders if this is really the case or was Amir looking for a way to eliminate the competition for Baba’s affection?  The guilt of not coming to his friend’s aid creates further inner conflict for Amir.  He pushes Hassan away and tries to get him fired so he will not have to see him every day.   The invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union, results in Baba and Amir immigrating to the United States. This destroys any chance of redemption with Hassan as the two will never meet again.  Amir tries to forget about what happened but his guilt follows him everywhere and happiness seems to elude him.  It is only when he returns to Afghanistan to rescue Hassan’s son, that he is finally able to master his fears.  He agrees to fight Assef and saves Hassan’s son from a terrible life in war torn Afghanistan. He atones for the mistakes he has made in the past with Hassan by adopting his son Sohrab and giving him a new future.

Similarities

Author Khaled Hosseini uses recurrent themes throughout his novel to illustrate character development over time. 

Similarity	Childhood	Adulthood
Harelip Theme –  truth	-Hassan is born with a harelip and this is one of the reasons why Baba gives him away at birth.  Hassan does not seem bothered by this facial deformity which demonstrates the inner strengths of this character who never tells a lie.  Later in the novel, Baba pays for him to have plastic surgery as a birthday present and a way to reduce his own guilt.	-Amir is the perfect looking son that Baba keeps for his own. As an adult he gets into a fight with Assef and ends up with a harelip. Amir was not concerned about his facial injuries because he was finally able to redeem himself for concealing the truth for so many years.
Kite Running Theme –  Freedom	-Hassan runs a kite for Amir.  These two best friends are a difficult team to beat when they work together.   When Hassan and Amir are flying their kite, they are both free and not confined by social class and economic level.	-Amir runs a kite for Sohrab at the end of the novel.  Amir is trying to reach out to the traumatized son of his best friend and his real life nephew.  When flying the kite, Sohrab smiles for the first time leading the reader to believe that his future may be more hopeful.
Slingshot Theme - Courage	-Hassan threatens Assef with the slingshot to save Amir from being beaten.	-Sohrab in turn uses a slingshot to take out Assef’s eye when he fights to the death with Amir.  The bravery of the young boy is similar to how his father protected Amir as a child.
Assef the bully Theme - Power	-is the neighbourhood bully who rapes and brutalizes Hassan.  Amir hides and does not come to his friends aid. As a result, guilt and shame breaks up the friendship and  Amir is haunted by his inaction.	-this same bully grows up to become a high ranking Taliban. He ends up buying Sohrab when he becomes an orphan.  This motivates Amir to fight Assef to free his nephew.  Confronting the bully in spite of his own fears allows Amir to finally atone for past guilt.
Watch + Money Theme - Redemption	-Amir frames Hassan for taking his watch and money.  This results in Hassan and his father quitting as servants and moving out.	-Amir helps a needy family by giving them  his watch and money.
“For you a thousand times over” Theme - loyalty	-Hassan says this to Amir as an expression of loyalty and friendship.	-Amir uses this same phrase to Sohrab as an expression that he will always be there for him.

Symbolism- Pomegranate Tree

Amir and Hassan reading a book under the pomegranate tree.

The pomegranate tree is a symbol of Amir and Hassan’s friendship. During the summer months, the pair would sit under the tree reading stories in Baba’s backyard. Together they carved the phrase, “Amir and Hassan, the Sultans of Kabul” to represent how they would eventually rule over the land together.  During this period of time, the tree produced an abundance of the best quality fruit. When Hassan gets raped, Amir’s guilt over the situation builds to the point where it overwhelms him.  He picks ripe pomegranates and smashes them on Hassan in the hopes of pushing him to retaliate and getting the punishment he deserves.   Hassan does not go against his friend further emphasizing the difference between the integrity of these two characters.  As an adult, Amir revisits the tree after hearing of Hassan’s death. The carving can now barely be seen and the once marvellous tree that produced amazing fruit is now just dead wood.

Facts About the Pomegranate Tree

• Hardy
• Fruit bearing                                                        
• Small tree
• 5 – 8 metres tall
• Mostly native to the Iranean Plateau

Supporting Cast

Assef- is a bully who constantly taunts Amir and Hassan as they are growing up.  He is feared for his ruthless use of brass knuckles.   Assef is of mixed race, half German and Middle Eastern.  His hero is Hitler and he dreams of an Afghanistan where there are no Harzaras.  Assef rapes Hassan when they are kids and this violent act is the catalyst for the deterioration of the friendship between the two main characters. He later joins the Taliban and quickly climbs the ranks.  As an adult this man becomes even more ruthless, stoning people to death at soccer games and taking a major part in the Hazara genocide.  As the story line progresses, Assef’s role as a villain builds up when he purchases Hassan’s son Sohrab from an orphanage.   He agrees to fight Amir to the death for ownership of the boy.   

Ali- is Baba’s lifelong friend and servant.   He is of Harzara decent and has multiple disabilities that include a limp and a paralyzed face which does not allow him to smile. This causes the neighbourhood children to make fun of him.  Even though this character copes with many physical challenges, he is also a man with a strong values and personal integrity.  He keeps the secret that Hassan is Baba’s son and raises him as his own.  When Amir tries to get him fired with false accusations made at Hassan, Ali quits his job and stays loyal to his son.  Ali takes his friends secret to his death and is eventually killed in a landmine explosion.

Soraya- is Amir’s wife.  She is a high a school teacher with a passion for teaching.  She cannot have children for unknown reasons.

Sohrab- is Hassan’s son and looks exactly like his father.  He becomes an orphan at a young age when Hassan is killed by the Taliban. He is purchased by Assef, and saves Amir’s life with a slingshot when they agree to fight to the death.  Sohrab ‘s greatest fear is orphanages and when Amir tells him  he might have to go back to one he tries to kill himself.  Eventually Sohrab goes to live with Amir and his wife in America but he remains distrustful of everyone.  Building a relationship with this boy becomes a priority for Amir as he tries to make up for the mistakes he has made in the past.  

General Taheri- is Soraya’s father.  He lives in America and collects welfare. He does not want to work at a menial job and expects to resume the esteemed position of a general when he eventually returns to Afghanistan.

Father Figures

Baba- is Amir’s father and a rich business man in Afghanistan. He is popular in the community for his charity work and has married into the royal bloodline.  He is 6’5’’ and muscular. It is said that he fought bears in his younger days.  He wonders how Amir could be his son because he considers him to be both physically and mentally weak.  Baba strongly believes that the greatest sin is stealing, whether it is money, objects or the right to truth.  This becomes an important issue as later in the story the reader learns that Hassan is also his son and Baba has been living a lie all these years.  He immigrates with Amir to the United States where he works as a gas station attendant.  In America, Baba does not get the same respect or social status that he had in his own country and always longs to one day go home.  This never happens and eventually he dies of lung cancer shortly after Amir gets married.

 Rahim Khan- is Baba’s business partner. He is one of the only people to support Amir’s desire to become a writer. He stays in Afghanistan to watch over Baba’s home in the hopes that one day they will return.  Aging and a reoccurring illness, results in him asking Hassan to look after the house while he goes to Pakistan for medical care.  While there Hassan is killed by the Taliban trying to protect the home of his best friend.  Rahim then contacts Amir and asks him to come home. This character has kept the secret of Hassan’s real identity for all these years and he is the one who eventually informs Amir that Hassan was really his half- brother.  He also is the one who tells Amir to find his orphaned nephew before it is too late.

What does the Cover Mean?

Author Khaled Hosseinni has chosen the most significant event to take place in his novel as the cover for The Kite Runner.  From this picture, the reader can see that Amir is watching something that is happening around a corner.    The reader does not know what it is.   In actual fact Amir sees that his best friend Hassan is being raped by a bully and he does not intervene.  This is a pivotal event that shapes the outcome of the novel and impacts the relationship between these two best friends.  One wonders what would have happened if he summed up the courage to stand up for Hassan?  Guilt and self- hatred develop and true happiness seems to evade him.

A Look At The Two Main Characters

Hassan (left), Amir (right) pictured in The Kite Runner movie (2007)

Amir- is the main character in the novel The Kite Runner.   As the story begins, Amir is an adult living in California.  He flashes back to his childhood growing up in Afghanistan as the only son of a rich businessman.  Amir is passionate about reading and writing stories even though his father does not approve of these activities as he wishes his son were more athletic like Hassan, the son of his servant.   Hassan and Amir become best friends and spend most of their time together.  The relationship becomes estranged when Hassan is raped and Amir who is there hidden away without anyone seeing him, does not come to his rescue.  He feels guilty for not intervening and avoids his friend and eventually tries to get Hassan and his father fired so he would not have to see them.  At 18 Amir and his father flee to the United States after the Soviets invade Afghanistan. He graduates high school in California and later attends University specializing in English. He marries Soraya but the couple cannot have children.  He writes novels for a living and lives in an expensive neighbourhood.  He eventually returns to Afghanistan to find out that Hassan was his half- brother and sets out to find his nephew who is now an orphan, to atone from his past sins.

Hassan- is Amir’s best childhood friend and later the reader learns he is also his half-brother.  This character is born with a harelip, which results in his father Baba giving him away to his servant Ali because he does not want the embarrassment of a less than perfect son.  People think that Hassan is a Hazara (a Middle Eastern race) and he is tormented by the other children.   As the son of a servant he has a very different lifestyle then his half- brother Amir who benefits from social class and wealth.  Hassan also has to deal with an obvious facial deformity, but in actual fact he is a character with incredible integrity and strong physical abilities.  He never lies and is known for being the best kite runner in the city.   It is ironic that both these qualities are valued highly by his real father and are not qualities that Amir possesses.  The turning point in the story is when Hassan is raped by Assef with Amir watching which causes the friendship to fall apart.   Hassan wonders why Amir is distancing himself from him and tries to repair the relationship without success. The reader later learns that Hassan is killed by the Taliban while trying to defend Baba’s old house.  He also has a son Sohrab who is now an orphan.

Map of Setting

A large portion of The Kite Runner take place in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Amir and his father immigrate to California when he is 18.

Setting

The Kite Runner begins in Afghanistan where the reader learns about the childhood experiences of the main character Amir.  These memories shape him to become the adult he is today. The experiences he remembers range from when he was a baby in the early 60's to the time he was a teenager. The setting is very important in this novel as the plot revolves around the culture, principles, and social classes of the Afghan people. The Soviet invasion also occurs within this time frame and Amir and his father are forced to immigrate to the United States. The memories of the main character shift to those of a teenager becoming a man. The pair must start a new life in San Francisco with almost nothing at all, after having everything they could possibly need and more in Afghanistan. Amir is young which allows him to transition into a new society while his father struggles to adapt as he lived in the Middle East for over 40 years.  

3 Articles

“An Old, Familiar Face: Writer Khaled Hosseini, Lifting the Veil on Afghanistan”

Washington Post May 28, 2007 based on an interview with Khaled Hosseini and Tamara Jones

This article claims that Khaled  Hosseini did not receive enough credit for his first book The Kite Runner. This novel “lifts the veil of Afghanistan” by describing the events that have occurred as well as the author’s personal memories of the turmoil in his native land. He also incorporates parts of Afghanistan’s history to provide historicism.  Hosseini had completed two thirds of the manuscript when 911 occurred.  He considered abandoning the book because he wondered whether Americans would be interested in Afghan society now that they were considered the “bad guys”.  His wife Roya, a lawyer challenged him to show a different face of his homeland and her arguments convinced him to complete the novel. Developing interest in a sensitive  story of two childhood friends growing up in an unpopular country at a time where post 911 distrust and anger exists has been a slow, difficult process.  The article describes the author going to a book signing where 80 people were expected and having only 4 show up.  The success of The Kite Runner seems to have been by word of mouth with one person reading the book and passing it on to another. Interest in another perspective on war torn Afghanistan has  developed around this well written novel. Now over 4 million copies worldwide have been sold and the novel published in 34 countries.

Link- http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/GLD/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&o=DataType&n=10&l=d&c=3&locID=stc23378&secondary=false&u=CLC&t=KW&s=3&NA=Khaled+Hosseini

Wrenching Tale by an Afghan Immigrant Strikes a Chord

Author: Edward Wyatt

Khaled Hosseini’s novel is a success because readers can relate to the book which focuses on the friendship of two afghan boys Amir and Hassan.  One is the child of a wealthy rug exporter while the other is the son of their family servant.  Life in Afghanistan is described through the eyes of Amir and Hassan.  Ultimately betrayal occurs which has a lifelong impact on both boys as they grow up apart, one in war torn Kabul and the other in California. Edward Wyatt writes that the characters are believable and people find similarities with other historic periods of time.   Universal themes such as bullying, powerlessness and discrimination described in the novel are similar to what occurs in our society even today.  Also the violence of the Tailiban has been compared to Nazi Germany and South Africa.   To make the story believeable Hosseini’s rewrote the last 1/3 of the novel. Originally Amir married an American women and people found this to be unrealistic. The story was later changed so that the main character would marry an Afghan Immigrant. This book offers realism and the ability to relate to the readers which has resulted in The Kite Runner becoming a best seller with over 8 million copies sold worldwide.

Link-

http://find.galegroup.com/gps/retrieve.do?contentSet=GSRC&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&qrySerId=Locale(en,,):FQE%3D(ke,None,8)hosseini$&sgHitCountType=None&inPS=true&sort=Relevance&searchType=BasicSearchForm&tabID=T001&prodId=IPS&searchId=R1&currentPosition=3&userGroupName=ko_k12hs_d21&docId=EJ2181700647&docType=GSRC

Khaled Hosseini

Author: Laura Avery

Laura Avery writes a biographical essay on Khaled Hosseini .  She describes the author of The Kite Runner as being born on March 4, 1965 in Kabul Afghanistan.  Khaled was the first of five children, the son of an Afghan diplomat and his wife a high school teacher.   The family moved from Tehran Iraq to Kabul Afghanistan, and then Paris France as Khaled’s father was assigned to different locations as part of his job with his country’s foreign ministry.  In 1980, the family received political asylum in the United States , where Khaled eventually earns a medical degree from the University of California and becomes a practicing physician.  Laura Avery describes The Kite Runner as a tale of friendship and redemption. This atmosphere is created when Amir enters a kite fighting contest. He sends Hassan to run to get the last cut kite. Amir goes to look for him, and spies him crouching in an alley as he is taunted by other boys. Amir hides from the group, but witnesses the ringleader, a half-German neighbourhood bully Azef who rapes Hassan. Asef says that in time Afghanistan will eliminate the Hazara ethnic minority as Nazi Germany attempted to do with Europe's Jews.The novel is similar to the author’s life with the same timeline. Both immigrate to the US from Afghanistan and must rely on welfare to get by. The Kite Runner began as a short story and Hosseini was encouraged to make this into something great.

http://find.galegroup.com/gps/retrieve.do?contentSet=GBRC&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&qrySerId=Locale(en,,):FQE%3D(ke,None,15)khaled+hosseini$&sgHitCountType=None&inPS=true&sort=Relevance&searchType=BasicSearchForm&tabID=T001&prodId=IPS&searchId=R3&currentPosition=4&userGroupName=ko_k12hs_d21&docId=EK1618004721&docType=GBRC

About the Author

Author: Khaled Hosseini

Title: Kite Runner

2) I selected a book written by Khaled Hosseini because he seemed to have an interesting past living in the Middle East and many other countries. The Kite Runner is an international best seller with over 12 million copies sold worldwide.  This novel has been met with great critical acclaim and for this reason should be both interesting and suspenseful.  In addition, the class will be reading Hosseini’s second novel  A Thousand Splendid Suns later in the semester. I thought that by reading the Kite Runner first would give me an advantage.

3) Khaled Hosseini was born on March 4, 1965 in Kabul Afghanistan. He also lived in Iran and France for short periods of time as a child.  He later moved to the United States where he graduated from high school. The author then attended the University of California where he earned a degree in Biology. His first novel The Kite Runner was released in 2003 and became an international best seller.

4) In addition to the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini also wrote A Thousand Splendid Suns. This novel was published in 2007 and has since sold over 700,000 copies. The book follows a woman named Mariam who is the daughter of a rich man with three wives and many other children. Both of Hosseini’s novels take place in Afghanistan and around the same time period.

5) The author uses life experiences, history, and the culture of his home country to write The Kite Runner. Khaled Hosseini was born in Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion and his books take place in this same time period.  When Hosseini’s family lived in the Middle East he had a 30 year old servant.  In his novel The Kite Runner he seems to be basing the character Hassan on this man.   Both are servants and are of Hazara descent.  Khaled Hosseini taught his servant how to read and write which is significant because the poor cannot attend school to acquire these skills. In both relationships, the author and his servant and the two main characters in the Kite Runner share a passion for literature.

6) Khaled Hosseini has written only 2 novels. The setting of both books takes place in Afghanistan and the main characters are children of wealthy men. The author seems to be making statements about his country’s culture and the significant challenges faced by women and the poor.  Racism, class differences, sexism are some of the emerging themes.

7) The theme of most classic novels seem to involve an aspect of conflict, where the human condition is challenged in some way.  Authors use their characters, setting and plot to create suspense and drama.   For example the timeless book To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee is about racism and takes place in the United States during the early 1900’s. In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner the author also describes prejudice and betrayal as it occurs in Afghanistan in the 1970’s. Even though the settings and time frames are different, the reader experiences some of the conflict that existed as seen through the eyes of the main characters. This perspective on betrayal and racism as it exists in the Middle East is what will keep people reading this book for many years to come.

8) 3 Sources

"Khaled Hosseini Biography." BookBrowse.com

Web. 24 Feb. 2011.

<http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm/author_number/900/khaled-hosseini>.

"Khaled Hosseini." Web. <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/GLD/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&o=DataType&n=10&l=d&c=1&locID=stc23378&secondary=false&u=CLC&t=KW&s=3&NA=hosseini>.

Jones, Tamera. ""An Old, Familiar Face: Writer Khaled Hosseini, Lifting the Veil on Afghanistan"" Web. <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/GLD/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&o=DataType&n=10&l=d&c=3&locID=stc23378&secondary=false&u=CLC&t=KW&s=3&NA=hosseini>.

Blog Entry #2

Today, I read something that really stood out to me in the novel, The Kite Runner.   The main character Amir asks Hassan if he would eat dirt if he asked him to. Hassan says that he would and in turn asks if Amir would do the same.  He replies "Don't be stupid, Hassan. You know I wouldn't”(Hosseini 58).  Hassan already knew the answer  to this question and was testing Amir's integrity by seeing if his answer was truthful or not. This makes me question the relationship between these two characters.  Are they really friends or would Hassan eat the dirt because he is Amir's servant?  The differences between these two social classes both in behaviour and values are starting to emerge.

Blog Entry #1

1) Title: The Kite Runner

Author: Khaled Hosseini

Publication Date: 2003

Number of Pages: 391

2) I went online to find out more about the books recommended for the independent study. The Kite Runner stood out to me rather than any other novel on the list because of its plot. The book uses facts about Afghanistan's history mixed with fiction to create something that is very realistic and could have actually occurred. I felt that the book could teach me something about the culture of the Middle East and I could better understand what it would be like for a young boy growing up in a foreign country with very distinct culture and then moving to western civilization. I like adventure and action oriented story lines and felt that this book would meet those needs.

3) I like the book so far because conflict has already been uncovered in the main character's past. At twelve years of age, Amir emigrates from Afghanistan with his father to start a new life in San Francisco. He regrets leaving his home country and abandoning his best friend Hassan. There is a certain mystery about the novel due to the fact that the storyline has not yet been established. This makes me want to read more to figure out how the two best friends change over time with one moving away and the other staying in a war torn country.

4) I have read the first three chapters so far for a total of 23 pages. The chapters in the novel are short but the plot is already developing and hooks the reader. The conflict between the father and son and their thoughts on sin in the Muslim religion are two examples of emerging themes.

5) The book starts in San Francisco in the year 2001 when the main character Amir receives a phone call from his father’s old business partner Rahim.  He asks him to visit Pakistan.   Amir emigrated from Afghanistan in 1975 with his father when he was just 12 years of age.  He left behind his childhood friend Hassan.  Amir plans to return to the Middle East to atone for past sins. He seems to feel guilty about abandoning Hassan when the country was struggling with political tension.  The author uses past memories to display how the relationship between the two was damaged although the reader still does not know exactly what happened.

6) There are many themes that are developing as the novel begins. The main conflict that has appeared so far involves Amir’s relationships with his father Baba and best friend Hassan. Amir's father is a rich businessman, respected throughout the community. Baba feels disappointed in his son because he is not athletic and does not possess the ability to inherit the family business. Amir's dream is to get his father's approval and he sometimes neglects his best friend Hassan who is the son of his father's servant. Jealousy is developing between the two friends, as Hassan possesses the athletic abilities that would make Amir’s father proud of him.  Differing cultural, economic and social themes are all emerging.

7) I started my search for secondary sources by searching the Infotrac database. I found a couple of articles that criticized and compared The Kite Runner with A Thousand Splendid Suns (Hosseini’s second novel). There was a biography on the author Khaled Hosseini and the timeline of his life seems to be similar to that of Amir’s in the novel. I found the database to be confusing as most of the articles were about Hosseini’s second book A Thousand Splendid Suns even though The Kite Runner was searched.

8) “And under the same roof we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba. His was Amir. My name.”

These lines speak to me as an example of how the main conflict in the novel is emerging. Amir’s first word was his father’s name while Hassan’s was Amir. This demonstrates who the most important figure is in both of these character’s lives. Baba thinks Amir is weak due to the fact he is bullied and Hassan is forced to defend him. Amir tries to constantly impress his father but with no success.  In a similar way Amir neglects his best friend Hassan and ultimately abandons him when he moves to the US with his father.