Relationships, narrative techniques and theme: guilt.

I'm now going to write about some of the relationships described in the book, as well as a narrative techniques and guilt as a theme.

Amir and Baba have a bit strained relationship. Baba seems to think of his son as an embarrassment. Amir doesn't play soccer, he enjoys literature and poetry, and in general Amir isn't as manly as Baba was at his age. It seems like Amir isn't the son Baba wants. This could be because of Amir's mother. Amir thinks that Baba blames Amir for the death of his mother. Amir's mother died while giving birth to Amir. He has learned§ that stealing is a sin, and he is afraid that he stole Baba's wife from him. Baba also seem to like Hassan just as much as his own son.  

Amir seeks his father's redemption.§ He wants his father to like him, so he competes in the kite fighting tournament. If he could win the tournament, he knows his father would “like” him and accept him like he should. Amir wants to be loved; he wants a hug from his father and some encouraging words now and then. He wants his attention. The kite fighting tournament is his key to his father's door.

The book has some interesting narrative techniques. When Amir witnesses Hassan being raped, the narrator suddenly tells about two memories, a dream and a thought. These are told to emphasize the action. The first memory is when Baba tells Amir about him and Hassan being “brothers”, as they fed from the same breast. This memory is an indication of Amir feeling guilty. Amir sees the rape, but doesn't take action, even though he and Hassan are “brothers”. In the second memory, Amir and Hassan visit a fortune teller, who does not want to predict Hassan's future. We now understand that it was because Hassan was going to be raped, although Amir didn't know that at that time. In Amir's dream, he's lost in a storm. This is a symbol of Amir's guilt and thoughts after the rape. He cannot tell anyone, and even though he really wants to, nobody “listens”, exactly like in his dream. The thought that is told, is when Amir sees Hassan's look on his eyes. He remembers seeing a lamb before it was slaughtered, and the lamb kind of “accepted” it's fate, knowing that it's fate was decided by something higher than itself. When Amir reflects upon this, he realizes that Hassan had the same look in his eyes as the lamb.

After the rape, Amir feels guilt. He has troubles telling anyone about it. The first and only time he manages to say it out loud, is when everyone else is asleep. He becomes an insomniac (someone who has trouble sleeping or falling asleep). He desperately wants to tell someone, but what can he say? That he watched the whole thing, but didn't do anything to prevent it? Not only has he troubles sleeping at night, he cannot look Hassan in the eyes. There's a barrier in his mind. He and Hassan don't talk very much, and they don't play and have fun like they used to. On top of all this, Amir won the kite fighting tournament and his father's redemption. But it doesn't matter to him. He does not at all enjoy his father's attention, as he feels so guilty.

That was it for now! I have a lot of reading to do, but that's actually not something I'm going to complain about. I like the book. Although I have to say, I feel like I'm analyzing a bit too much.. Haha. Until next time!