Sunday, October 27, 2013

Ciara's First Reaction - Pgs. 1-40


I love Hosseini’s writing style.  He has complete control over the reader’s feelings, and even in the first forty pages, I already have concrete ideas and feelings about each character based on various scenarios he provides.  I remember seeing the movie about four years ago, but I barely remember what it was about, and I am not even sure if I saw the whole thing.  I am glad about this because I always prefer to read a book over watching a movie, especially when there is a gifted author at work.

I can already tell that this book is going to focus a lot on the differences of social classes, and what this all means.  Amir was born into a wealthy family with a powerful father who is ashamed of Amir, his only son, because Amir is not manly enough for him; Amir thinks his father hates him, and spends a large chunk of his time unsuccessfully trying to please him.  More than anything, Amir wants his father’s love and approval.  Hassan, on the other hand, was born into a family of disgrace and servitude; however, Ali loves Hassan more than anything and shows him nothing but love and care.  Even Baba approves of Hassan more than he does of Amir.  Despite their social situations, I pity Amir over Hassan because I am confident that if Amir had to choose, he would elect to be poor and powerless if it meant having Baba’s love and approval.  This is why Amir feels the need to taunt Hassan about his  lack of education; even though he knows Hassan has no access to it, it makes Amir feel good about himself that he can be “better” at something than Hassan.  It is a coward’s game, but I understand why Amir feels to play it.  I can already feel this story touching on the big question: does our social standing really make us superior to another?  Superior in being?

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