Saturday, December 7, 2013

Raoul’s Reaction to pages 100-203


In the beginning of this installment, Amir does one of the most hideous acts I have ever seen. He frames his best friend, Hassan, of stealing. I knew that Amir was not a good person, but after this I lost all respect for Amir. I believe he did what he did because he was a coward and could not face his guilt. Amir tried to make the memory of that guilt (Hassan) go away. The scene where, Baba cries and begs his best friend (the brother he never had) to stay was one of the sadist things I have ever read. Personally I have never seen my father cry, but I could only imagine how destroying that must have been for Amir, and how much more guilt collected from that. In the scene where Hassan and Ali are driving away, Amir consciously knew that he should go out running to stop the car; however, he does not. This only shows how incapable of acting in times of need Amir is (but we already knew he was incapable because of the scene in the alley).

By the time Amir turns 18, the war in Afghanistan becomes unsafe, so Baba and Amir escape to Peshawar in Pakistan. During there escape we see what an amazing man Baba is. We also see how far from the tree the apple landed. While crossing the boarder, the Russian solider wants to f**k (rape) the Muslim woman in the back of the truck. Baba risks him life to save the women. This shows us the difference between Baba and Amir. When Amir’s best friend (Hassan) was being raped, Amir did nothing to stop it because he was scared. While on the other hand, Baba risks his life to save a stranger from being raped. While reading this, I too began to question if whether Amir was Baba’s son because they do not share any genetic similarities that I can see.

Throughout the rest of the Installment, Amir grows up with a life of regret. Thankfully, as he grows up, we can see a shift in his personality. Amir finally gets the courage to go back, and face his fear. He goes back to Pakistan to talk to Ali, which I believe in the next installment will lead to him facing Hassan again. I believe that the death of Baba is what truly forced Amir to grow out of his cowardly personality.  

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