Something you may have noticed is that I haven't written much about what's happened in the book. Therefore I thought it may be clever to write about what I have been reading, and not only my opinions. I finished the book today and as I have written all along, it is a good book.
Summary of The Kite Runner - from start to finish:
NB: Contains spoilers
In the first chapter we are in Kabul, the place Amir grew up. Amir has one wish in his life, and that is to be acknowledged by his father, Baba. As I have written before, Amir doesn't get enough attention by his father and therefore finds support in their servant's son, Hassan. He and his father, Ali, are descended from the Hazara people. In the 1970's, where this story takes place, it wasn't normal to treat the Hazara's like your equal, but both Amir and Baba treats Ali and Hassan with respect. One thing that annoys Amir with having Ali and Hassan around is that Baba treats Hassan as if he were to be his own son. Might Amir be jealous?
The winter of 1975 Amir wins the Kite Fight tournament. The Kite Fight is an annual tournament held in the winter for children of Afghanistan. Winning the tournament made Baba very proud of his son. One part of the tournament is to run for the fallen kites, and it appears that Hassan is the best of these Kite Runners. He therefore runs for the last kite for Amir. As he runs he turns his head towards Amir and say "For you, a thousand times over".
I would say that Hassan is much more devoted to Amir then Amir is to Hassan. Amir never stands up for him, not even when Assef rapes Hassan in an alley after telling him that the kite is for Amir. As Assef tries to force Hassan to give him the kite he eventually gives up, but rapes him instead. While all this is happening our dearest Amir is watching it all, and instead of trying to do something, he runs away.
The sentence above shows us who Hassan is, a brave and loyal little boy. The action of Amir shows us who he is, a coward. Nicholas Sparks has a quote that I think fits into this situation: "You're going to come across people in your life who will say all the right words at all the right times. But in the end, it's always their actions you should judge them by. It's actions, not words, that matter."
Hassan tells Amir that he would do anything for him, and he does too. You ever heard the saying "just talk, no action" before? Well, this doesn't describe Hassan. When Hassan says he will do anything for Amir, he really means it. He shows it as well. If Amir would have said something like that, he wouldn't do anything to prove that he meant it. Since Amir ran away, his action defines a part of who he is. It’s actions that matter.
But now I’m really drifting away from the whole story, so let's get back on track. After this incident, Amir regrets for not interfering, and the guilt is slowly eating him alive. Amir and Hassan's relationship has gotten pretty bad and Amir still lives with guilt while Hassan still wonders what he has done. After a while Amir can't handle the guilt and plants a wristwatch and some money under Hassan's bed. Then Amir asks Baba where his watch is in hope of Ali and Hassan leaving, and so they do..
To be continued.
Summary of The Kite Runner - from start to finish:
NB: Contains spoilers
In the first chapter we are in Kabul, the place Amir grew up. Amir has one wish in his life, and that is to be acknowledged by his father, Baba. As I have written before, Amir doesn't get enough attention by his father and therefore finds support in their servant's son, Hassan. He and his father, Ali, are descended from the Hazara people. In the 1970's, where this story takes place, it wasn't normal to treat the Hazara's like your equal, but both Amir and Baba treats Ali and Hassan with respect. One thing that annoys Amir with having Ali and Hassan around is that Baba treats Hassan as if he were to be his own son. Might Amir be jealous?
The winter of 1975 Amir wins the Kite Fight tournament. The Kite Fight is an annual tournament held in the winter for children of Afghanistan. Winning the tournament made Baba very proud of his son. One part of the tournament is to run for the fallen kites, and it appears that Hassan is the best of these Kite Runners. He therefore runs for the last kite for Amir. As he runs he turns his head towards Amir and say "For you, a thousand times over".
I would say that Hassan is much more devoted to Amir then Amir is to Hassan. Amir never stands up for him, not even when Assef rapes Hassan in an alley after telling him that the kite is for Amir. As Assef tries to force Hassan to give him the kite he eventually gives up, but rapes him instead. While all this is happening our dearest Amir is watching it all, and instead of trying to do something, he runs away.
The sentence above shows us who Hassan is, a brave and loyal little boy. The action of Amir shows us who he is, a coward. Nicholas Sparks has a quote that I think fits into this situation: "You're going to come across people in your life who will say all the right words at all the right times. But in the end, it's always their actions you should judge them by. It's actions, not words, that matter."
Hassan tells Amir that he would do anything for him, and he does too. You ever heard the saying "just talk, no action" before? Well, this doesn't describe Hassan. When Hassan says he will do anything for Amir, he really means it. He shows it as well. If Amir would have said something like that, he wouldn't do anything to prove that he meant it. Since Amir ran away, his action defines a part of who he is. It’s actions that matter.
But now I’m really drifting away from the whole story, so let's get back on track. After this incident, Amir regrets for not interfering, and the guilt is slowly eating him alive. Amir and Hassan's relationship has gotten pretty bad and Amir still lives with guilt while Hassan still wonders what he has done. After a while Amir can't handle the guilt and plants a wristwatch and some money under Hassan's bed. Then Amir asks Baba where his watch is in hope of Ali and Hassan leaving, and so they do..
To be continued.
Picture taken from HERE
Well written, thank you!
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