Chapter 4

Chapter 4

In chapter 4, we see the relationship between Baba and Ali, and Amir states that "Ali and Baba grew up together." This shows the parallel narrative, as Amir and Hassan also have this same relationship. He also says that Baba and Ali used to get up to lots of mischief, which is very like Amir and Hassan. They start to describe some of the things they got up to as children, one of which includes pulling a stinger off of a bee, and trying string round it so it was unable to fly away. This shows how they were so oblivious as children, as it seemed like just a bit of fun, but was in fact cruel. They also played Cops and Robbers, which is a very western game. This shows the mixture of cultures, and especially as Amir starts to describe their favourite film "The Magnificent Seven", which they saw thirteen times. This could be a Prolepsis, as Amir ends up in San Francisco, in America, in his later years, as he explains at the beginning of the book. The Western genre of films are also very manly, and as Baba was criticising Amir of not being tough or mean enough, he could have encouraged the boys to watch these films, as there is a lot of violent fighting scenes as people stand up for what they believe in. This is yet more of the western culture, which is coming into the mix as well as their Afghan culture.

There are also more details of Amir and Hassan's relationship, and this is shown when Amir describes his routine before school.

"By the time I had lumbered out of bed, Hassan had already washed up, prayed and prepared my breakfast: hot black tea and a slice of toasted naan topped with my favourite sour cherry marmalade."

Amir is waited on hand and foot, and seems very privileged, especially as Hassan also gets all his books ready for him, whilst he "complains about homework". But this doesn't stop their fun, and another relationship shines through after Amir gets back from school, which is more like father and son. They head up to an abandoned cemetery at the top of a hill, which can set the scene for use, as this indicates death and lack of care. But this is juxtaposed by there being a pomegranate tree, which still has plenty of fruit, as this indicates new life. The redness of the pomegranate is highlighted by the narrator though, so this could indicate a darker side. The father and son relationship however, is indicated when Amir reads Hassan the story - "We sat up for hours under that tree, sat there until the sun faded in the west and Hassan insisted we had enough daylight for one more story, one more chapter." They also carved their names into this tree, saying "Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul.". To us, in a western culture, this would indicate love and romance, but in their culture, it may indicate different things, and just friendship or brotherhood. The one thing that isn't very brother like about their relationship though, is when Amir teases Hassan, because he is not educated. When Hassan doesn't understand a word,Amir takes it upon himself to tease Hassan with it, telling him the wrong meaning, just because of his lack of knowledge, and a good education. Although Amir did tease Hassan a lot about this, he said that "I would always feel guilty about this later. So I'd try to make up for it by giving him one of my old shirts or broken toy." This seems like Amir doesn't think Hassan needs good quality, new things, and instead gives something to him that he doesn't even appreciate himself.

But I think the most important thing that happens between Hassan and Amir in this chapter, is when Amir decides to make up a story, leading Hassan to saying it was the best story he's read. This, in a way, is an analepsis, as later he gets his novel published. Amir then writes another story, inspired by Hassan's praise, but does not recieve the same praise from his father Baba. In fact, Baba doesn't even read it. The way the narrator uses lexis to describe this event really highlights how awkward Amir felt in his presence - "I probably stood there for a minute, but to this day, it was the longest minute of my life.".

Amir's storyline is very detailed, but Hassan manages to pick it apart, which Amir is a little annoyed at. "What does he know, that illiterate Hazara? He'll never be anything but a cook. How dare he criticise you?"This is a really important quote, as Hazaras are devalued in society as they are the minority, but when you are friends with someone, you shouldn't judge them on these things. But Amir does, he disrespects his opinion because of his religion, even though they are friends and trust each other. I think this might have a big part to play later in the book, as if Amir had a slight disrespect for him when he was younger, this may continue when they are older.

Overall there is a lot of detail in this chapter, so therefore I think it is quite reliable, as he isn't hesitant about any of the details. There is some more exposition about other characters, and we learn a little more about Ali and Baba's friendship.