Halfway point

"I passed with flying colors" (pg 185).

This quote did not really strike me because of what it truly meant in context, but more of the pace of this novel, especially chapter 13. I have arrived at the halfway point and a lot has truly happened. Basically I've read through nearly a fourth of Amir's life from childhood in Afghanistan to marriage in the United States. What strikes me, as I peek to chapter 14, is the top reads June 2001. The book began in chapter one as December 2001. I'm assuming that eventually the book will arrive back at December 2001. Which inferring means, that the second half of this book is going to be about the next six months. Which is a lot of pages for only six months, but they must be important. Our narrator has been trying to get to this point, it must be the bulk of the book. It now makes since why he flew through the events of engaging his wife, his father's death, enrolling in college, publishing his first novel, and the inability to conceive all in one chapter. Calling this the climax of the novel would be incorrect, but as a hypothesis, I'd like to call it the base of the climax. From now, I believe the structure of chapters will focus more on a short period of time rather than months and years at a time.

4. Symbolism

"It was the look of the lamb" (pg 76).

Amir uses symbolism when he imagines his family sacrificing a lamb. This lamb compares to the look he sees on Hassan's face as he is raped. The ultimate symbolism lies in that it is a sacrifice, an unnecessary sacrifice. The reason Hassan was put in this situation was because Amir wanted the blue kite. Hassan was willing to do anything to please Amir. Amir ultimately feels guilty in that he only wanted the blue kite so he could become closer to his father, or ultimately so his father would recognize him. A lamb is often an innocent creature that is sacrificed religiously throughout history. In my faith, I know it dates back to the first passover in ancient Egypt in which the Israelites' firstborns were saved. The sacrifice, however, is something used, for a higher purpose. The creature does not deserve its death, but is used anyway. The same goes for Hassan. He was used by Amir for a higher purpose, to receive admiration from his father. However, his sacrifice will not only cost himself, but will cost Amir a lifetime of guilt, and an image that will never disappear.

3. Tone

"I couldn't tell if he was waving at me or Hassan" (pg 61). "And maybe, just maybe, I would finally be pardoned for killing my mother" (pg 56).

Throughout the novel, I sense from Amir a sense of jealousy, guilt, and a desire to be wanted. His jealousy arises from the idea that Baba and Amir have difficulty relating. Baba said it himself, he does not understand why Amir is so interested in books, and why he cannot play soccer. Not only that but Baba wants to include Hassan in many activities they do, leading to Amir to have to fight for his father's attention more. Also, the man is quite popular and busy in his business affairs. This jealousy, is ultimately rooted in guilt. Amir believes his father is upset that his mother died in childbirth, which he consider his fault. Which he believes is the reason the two are so distant from each other. Which ultimately leads to Amir wanting the blue kite, and Hassan retrieving it for him, which leads to the awful scene that still lives in Amir's mind. Which he ultimately feels guilty for and cannot leave in the past. It is ultimately an unending cycle of guilt for Amir.

2. Juxtaposition

"I went past the rosebushes to Baba's mansion, Hassan to the mud shack where he had been born...(pg 6).

This is one of the many juxtapositions used throughout the beginning of the novel. There are two words in each part of these sentence that really complete the opposite effect. Rosebushes to mud and mansion to shack. These opposites do not even begin to descrive the difference between Hassan and Amir. Throughout the beginning we learn of Pashtuns oppressing the Hazaras amd Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. However, these opposites or juxtapositions have a greater effect. It is fair to say that Baba is accepting of these people who are looked down upon in their society. It is even mentioned by Assef that they need less people who are like Baba. Regardless, Baba even though Hassan and his father work as the family's servant, is fair to them. Even though, Amir sometimes think he is superior over Hassan, he understands their "friendship", and he is able to appreciate what Hassan does for him. He has a personal concern for his well being, and does not believe the past to be right.

1. Flashback/Foreshadow

"Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years" (pg 1).

This concluding sentence of the first paragraph establishes where the book will go from here. The reader understands that there is an event from the past haunting our narrator, and it is going to become the basis of the novel. It seems proper that the next chapters flashback into our narrator's childhood and the events that still haunt him in the present. On first reading, this sentence seems to only hint at a flashback. However, it was not until I had read eight chapters in that I realized this sentence is also a foreshadowing. Kind of ironic, but is a foreshadowing from the past, but it is in the present for the reader. Anyway, the part of the sentence "Looking back now" establishes the upcoming flashback. However, the "deserted alley" is a grotesque image the reader will soon come upon in chapter 7. This chapter fully introduces why Amhir feels guilty to the present day.