Honestly, I cannot say that Amir has changed my view on him. I think he is suffering from what we have all come to know as “first world problems”. Unfortunately, Amir is becoming disillusioned by his father at a very early age. However, he is blind to the fact that he has a friend who cares for him unconditionally. I hate admitting this but, Assef was right when he told Hassan that Amir would probably never be as loyal to him as he is to Amir.
It made me incredibly mad when Amir just stood back and watched Hassan be taken advantage of. Yes, if Amir had done something he would have probably come home bloodied like Hassan. For lack of a better phrase, it was a dick move on Amir’s part. All he could think about at the time of what happened, though, was how he needed the blue kite to win his father’s affection. I can almost guarantee that when Amir’s father finds out, which I am pretty sure he will, he will completely disregard the fact that Hassan won the kite flying tournament and be more upset that Amir consciously chose to look the other way and not help his friend. If Baba was willing to defend Ali and Hassan when Amir merely asked him if he had ever thought about getting new servants, he will be ready to defend Hassan when he finds out exactly what happened. I think that Amir’s father would have found it more admirable that Amir risked his own safety to help his oldest and closest friend than bringing home the kite. Amir was also unsettled by Assef’s appearance at his birthday party. If Amir had told Baba the situation, Assef would not have set foot in that party and would have paid for his actions. Baba does not strike me as someone who would let something like that go very easily.
It was also aggravating to read about Amir throwing the pomegranate at Hassan, asking him to hit him back. The entire time I wanted Amir to just shut his mouth and leave Hassan alone. He spends so much of the book whining about how Baba does not love him because he is not like the other boys who will beat someone else up and watch sports involving rough physical contact. Amir is imposing similar standards on Hassan; he is upset because he will not react violently. Amir, up until this point, has not been the type of person who would throw a punch if threatened. Just take a look at what happened the first time they encountered Assef; Hassan was the one who threatened the other boys.
I hope that, sooner rather than later, Amir will tell someone what happened, not just say it while everyone is asleep and hope that someone will wake up to hear it.
Maya,
ReplyDeleteI agree that Assef was right when he told Hassan that Amir would not be as loyal to him as Hassan has been being up until this point. I did not believe this at the time that Assef said it because Amir had not shown the readers his true colors. However, now that the readers have seen his true side, it is almost impossible to disagree with Assef. It is so sad that Hassan is willing to do anything for Amir and his family but Amir takes Hassan for granted. It is even more saddening since Hassan constantly says "For you, a thousand times over". As a result of this undying loyalty, Amir should at least have the courtesy to defend Hassan when he is in danger. This is not just any amount of danger. What Hassan is experiencing is the paramount of all danger because not only does he have to go through it, but he will also be scarred with the memories for the rest of his life.
Rape is such a traumatizing occurrence. It is such a shame that Amir would not come to Hassan's defense in a circumstance like this one. He is too busy being selfish. He is only thinking about how he will get back the blue flag when his so called "brother" needs his help. Amir only thinks of what will befall himself. This is definitely not a good time to be selfish or to even be thinking like this at all. In this situation, Hassan would do anything for Amir "a thousand times over" but Amir would never return the favor.