Tuesday 12 April 2016

The Kite Runner

How is Amir shaped by Hassan, and how is Hassan shaped by Amir?

Amir and Hassan have grown up together their whole lives and they continue to spend time with each other. But Amir does not classify Hassan as his friend for the reason that Amir is Pashtun and Hassan is Hazara. They both shape each others lives even though they live totally different lifestyles whereas Amir's family is very rich and Hassan's family is poor. Hassan is as a servant for Amir's family so they end up spending a lot of time together when he is not busy working. Throughout their lives, Amir has been shaped by Hassan because Hassan has developed an interest in reading and he never knew how to read so he would listen to Amir read his books. The one night when Amir was reading out loud to Hassan, Amir went off script from the story and began making up a story of his own. Hassan would not have knew he went off script because he is not very good at comprehending the story's. But when Amir finished telling his story, Hassan than supported him and told him he did very well. After that night it really inspired Amir to start writing stories since Hassan left such a powerful inspiration for him. Also Amir has shaped Hassan by challenging him to do stuff that he is unfamiliar with. "My favorite part of reading to Hassan was when we came across a big word he didn't know. I'd tease him, expose his ignorance" (30). This is showing that Amir is putting Hassan on the spot and he knows that Hassan will not be able to pronounce the word so he jokes around with him and makes him try and say it anyways. But this is also shaping Hassan because he is slowly learning how to read and pronounce words and overall become a better person. Amir doesn't just value Hassan as his servant, instead he spends time with him even though they both value different religions.

1 comment:

  1. I like how you noticed that Hassan's positive feedback prompted Amir to work on his creative writing.
    I don't think, though, that Amir is trying to help out Hassan. I get a sense that he is using his intelligence as a way to feel superior to Hassan.

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