As I had pointed out in my previous reaction, the division of the social classes in Afghanistan ultimately plays a role in Hassan’s destiny. Amir’s initial instinct to “throw Hassan under the bus” in the first scene with the bullies is a foreshadowing of what occurs throughout these next 40 pages of The Kite Runner.
The reading started of light, depicting vivid details of the day of the tournament and Amir’s victory. That day, Amir’s primary thought was retrieving the kite and picturing the face of approval from Baba, however the image of Hassan’s corduroy pants lying on the floor and Amir’s refusal to help would haunt him for the rest of his life. Amir’s reaction towards Hassan’s rape did not surprise me, after all, fetching the blue kite was his first priority. He was able to gain Baba’s love temporarily, and as a result, lost his best friend.
Their friendship will never remain the same. I feel that even if Amir decided to intervene, it would remain so. The two cope with the trauma differently and separately. Hassan is able to sleep, in fact, he sleeps too much and Amir suffers from insomnia because he is haunted by his thoughts. Retreating back to the instincts of referring to Hassan as his servant, Amir is able to create this boundary around the trauma as a kind of emotional protection mechanism and distance himself from the situation.
The following 40 pages of The Kite Runner have determined much of what I believe will comprise the rest of the novel. The references or flashbacks made by Amir’s older self in the first couple pages of the novel are now clear and perhaps the rest of the book will depict the changes in his relationship with Hassan (if any) and how he will continue to cope with the incident throughout the years.
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