Chapter 7
The chapter is opened with Hassan's dream, in which Hassan, Amir, Ali and Rahim went to a lake. Hassan states that the water was clear, like a mirror, and featuring the mirror may mean that there is something to reflect upon, or in one of their cases, that they must reflect on themselves. The lake is a vast expanse of water, which makes you think of the unknown, not having any idea of what is in there. There is a rumour that the lake has a monster lurking in the bottom of the lake, but Amir and Hassan go in anyway. After proving that there is no monster, the fellow people around the lake call Amir and Hassan "The sultans of Kabul", which is an important quote, because they are put together, and are equal, even though they may be Pashtuns and Hazaras. At the end of the passage, the narrator says that "Upstairs, I could hear the water running in Baba's bathroom.". I think the author has bothered to put this in, as it links in with the water from the lake, and this could be sign that something is going to happen in the future, involving Hassan and Amir. We already know that something is going to happen between the two friends, and this may be symbolic, as the water is already running, no one can stop it, like the future is, and no one can stop that either. The dream must be on Amir's mind, as later he says that the sky is a "blameless blue" colour, and the blue links in with the colour of the water.
the dream is also playing on Amir's mind when they go to fly kites, as even though he has been very excited about it, he turns to Hassan and says he doesn't want to. Hassan doesn't take no for an answer, insisting that there are no monsters, referring back to his dream. Since there is trust between the two boys, Amir believes Hassan, and they go on to fly the kites. Amir does question Hassan though, in his mind, as he says "Hassan wasn't that smart.". He is again referring to Hassan's lack of education, due to being a Hazara, thinking that Hassan shouldn't have been able to think up something clever, if he himself could not. There are many signs leading up to the event in chapter 7, this conversation, and also the dream, are just some.
Then the kite tournament begins. Amir is flying, and Hassan is the runner. The kite is symobised as something of great importance, first when Hassan holds it above his head like "an athlete with an olympic gold medal", and secondly when the kites fall down, Amir describes then as "showering the neighbourhood below with prizes". Later on in the chapter, it becomes evident how important the kite is for some people, including Amir. This is mostly to please Baba, and Amir does keep on getting distracted when he remembers Baba's eyes are on him whilst he is flying, describing his mind "drifting like the kite". When it is finally Amir and a blue kite left, the idea of battling and war comes in again, when he says "The chorus of 'Cut him! Cut him!' grew louder, like Romans chanting for the gladiators to kill, kill!" When Amir cuts the blue kite, he shows the importance of Hassan to him, by correcting him when he says "you won" to "WE won". Even though Amir was desperate to claim the title for himself to impress Baba, he is still willing to share it with Hassan, as they are like brothers.
There is another example of western culture used, from fairytales, as after being congratulated, Amir goes to find Hassan. He had a plan to find Hassan, go home, be congratulated, and then "live happily ever after". This is a famous line from fairytales, and gives another example of different cultures used.
Hassan runs off to find the kite, and before he does so, Amir shouts to him to make sure he does come back with the kite. "for you a thousand times over." he replies, which is a quote mentioned in the opening chapter, signalling that something is about to happen, as he has already had an analepsis of this important quote in the beginning. Amir says that he also smiled that "Hassan" smile, and this was the last time he saw this. This was the same for the kite running, as on this day, he also mentions that this was the last time Hassan ever did kite running.
We also get some more exposition on a few other characters, for example Omar, who is the son of an engineering friend of Baba's, and was classmates with Amir in fourth grade. Obviously they are not as good friends as himself and Hassan, so Omar may be put here to show the closeness of the two boys. We also learn about a market stall holder, who is surprised to find a Pashtun boy looking for an Hazara boy, because of their social status. He points Amir in the right direction and also informs him of some boys that were after him, which makes Amir worried, an he immediately dashes off to find him.
The narrator mentions about peeking into a deserted alleyway in the first chapter, where his life changed, and when Amir mentions that he found a "secluded, muddy road", we know this is the setting for the shocking event to happen. He also uses the word "peeked" again, this time as he looks round the corner. This gives us the indication that he should not be looking here, like it's something he shouldn't be watching, and his mind is telling him that he shouldn't look any further.
As i mentioned earlier, the kite symoblises great importance, and Amir says here "Hassan was standing at the blind end of the alley in a defiant stance; fists curled, legs slightly apart. Behind him, sitting on piles of scrap was the blue kite. My key to Baba's heart." This kite is very important to Amir as he believes it will make Baba truly proud of him, no matter what.
Assef appears though, and this is the second encounter after the slingshot incident. Assef wants the blue kite, and in return, he will gives Hassan forgiveness.
"It's only going to cost you the blue kite. A fair deal, isn't it?"
"Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly. This is his kite."
"A loyal Hazara. As loyal as a dog."
Using the dog to compare Hassan to lessens him, makes him seem like he is owned by Amir, and is below him in social status and order. Assef then pins Hassan to the ground after he has been hit by a rock, and the chapter is interupted by Amir's memories.
The first memory is Ali's words about kinship with Hassan because they had the same nursemaid, where he talks about "brotherhood". The second is of Amir and Hassan visiting a fortune teller who gets a look of doom on his face while reading Hassan's fortune. Next is a dream. Amir is lost in a snowstorm until he takes Hassan's outstretched hand in his. Suddenly the boys are in a bright, grassy field, looking up at colorful kites. The way the author uses descriptive lexical choices means that you can feel how Amir is feeling right at that moment, and see how much Hassan means to Amir, without him saying it directly. After Assef has pinned Hassan down, another memory flashes before Amir's eyes, a third analepsis. This time of sacrificing a lamb. He sees the look on Hassans face whilst Assef is pinning him down, and it reminds him of the lamb's look, imagining that the lamb understands why it is being sacrificed. This is what he sees in Hassan's eyes, like he realises that he is going through this for a friend, as he is loyal, and also, he is below him in social order, as he "Just a Hazara.".
Assef's friends do not want to help him, they say it is "sinful", but Assef argues that their father's will never find out, so is nothing to be ashamed of. He calls them "weaklings", and makes sure they pin Hassan down to the ground, whilst he unzips his jeans, takes off his underwear, and then positions himself behind Hassan. Amir can't watch. He knows he should have spoken out sooner, and even though he still could, he doesn't. He decides to run, run away from the ordeal, and as he does, he hears Assef's "rhythmic grunts" coming from down the alley way. He believes that Hassan was just a sacrifice, like the lamb, to make Baba be proud of him.
He describes the snow at the beginning of the chapter, being white, which makes us think of purity and cleanness. But as he finds Hassan after being raped, he says that there were tiny droplets coming from in between his legs, that stained the snow black. This colour contrast's the whiteness earlier, the pureness, making it not pure. This is the kind of darkness that Amir feels now, like he is regretful of letting that happen to Hassan, feeling guilty.
In chapter 7, Amir shows that he is not as loyal of a friend as Hassan believes, as even though Hassan has been there multiple times to take that blame for Amir's deeds (for example, hitting the animals with the stones from his slingshot), he would not return the favour. We don't get the full details of how Hassan coped with the rape, as it is from a first person point of view, that person being Amir, so we can only try an empathise with Hassan through Amir's description.
the dream is also playing on Amir's mind when they go to fly kites, as even though he has been very excited about it, he turns to Hassan and says he doesn't want to. Hassan doesn't take no for an answer, insisting that there are no monsters, referring back to his dream. Since there is trust between the two boys, Amir believes Hassan, and they go on to fly the kites. Amir does question Hassan though, in his mind, as he says "Hassan wasn't that smart.". He is again referring to Hassan's lack of education, due to being a Hazara, thinking that Hassan shouldn't have been able to think up something clever, if he himself could not. There are many signs leading up to the event in chapter 7, this conversation, and also the dream, are just some.
Then the kite tournament begins. Amir is flying, and Hassan is the runner. The kite is symobised as something of great importance, first when Hassan holds it above his head like "an athlete with an olympic gold medal", and secondly when the kites fall down, Amir describes then as "showering the neighbourhood below with prizes". Later on in the chapter, it becomes evident how important the kite is for some people, including Amir. This is mostly to please Baba, and Amir does keep on getting distracted when he remembers Baba's eyes are on him whilst he is flying, describing his mind "drifting like the kite". When it is finally Amir and a blue kite left, the idea of battling and war comes in again, when he says "The chorus of 'Cut him! Cut him!' grew louder, like Romans chanting for the gladiators to kill, kill!" When Amir cuts the blue kite, he shows the importance of Hassan to him, by correcting him when he says "you won" to "WE won". Even though Amir was desperate to claim the title for himself to impress Baba, he is still willing to share it with Hassan, as they are like brothers.
There is another example of western culture used, from fairytales, as after being congratulated, Amir goes to find Hassan. He had a plan to find Hassan, go home, be congratulated, and then "live happily ever after". This is a famous line from fairytales, and gives another example of different cultures used.
Hassan runs off to find the kite, and before he does so, Amir shouts to him to make sure he does come back with the kite. "for you a thousand times over." he replies, which is a quote mentioned in the opening chapter, signalling that something is about to happen, as he has already had an analepsis of this important quote in the beginning. Amir says that he also smiled that "Hassan" smile, and this was the last time he saw this. This was the same for the kite running, as on this day, he also mentions that this was the last time Hassan ever did kite running.
We also get some more exposition on a few other characters, for example Omar, who is the son of an engineering friend of Baba's, and was classmates with Amir in fourth grade. Obviously they are not as good friends as himself and Hassan, so Omar may be put here to show the closeness of the two boys. We also learn about a market stall holder, who is surprised to find a Pashtun boy looking for an Hazara boy, because of their social status. He points Amir in the right direction and also informs him of some boys that were after him, which makes Amir worried, an he immediately dashes off to find him.
The narrator mentions about peeking into a deserted alleyway in the first chapter, where his life changed, and when Amir mentions that he found a "secluded, muddy road", we know this is the setting for the shocking event to happen. He also uses the word "peeked" again, this time as he looks round the corner. This gives us the indication that he should not be looking here, like it's something he shouldn't be watching, and his mind is telling him that he shouldn't look any further.
As i mentioned earlier, the kite symoblises great importance, and Amir says here "Hassan was standing at the blind end of the alley in a defiant stance; fists curled, legs slightly apart. Behind him, sitting on piles of scrap was the blue kite. My key to Baba's heart." This kite is very important to Amir as he believes it will make Baba truly proud of him, no matter what.
Assef appears though, and this is the second encounter after the slingshot incident. Assef wants the blue kite, and in return, he will gives Hassan forgiveness.
"It's only going to cost you the blue kite. A fair deal, isn't it?"
"Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly. This is his kite."
"A loyal Hazara. As loyal as a dog."
Using the dog to compare Hassan to lessens him, makes him seem like he is owned by Amir, and is below him in social status and order. Assef then pins Hassan to the ground after he has been hit by a rock, and the chapter is interupted by Amir's memories.
The first memory is Ali's words about kinship with Hassan because they had the same nursemaid, where he talks about "brotherhood". The second is of Amir and Hassan visiting a fortune teller who gets a look of doom on his face while reading Hassan's fortune. Next is a dream. Amir is lost in a snowstorm until he takes Hassan's outstretched hand in his. Suddenly the boys are in a bright, grassy field, looking up at colorful kites. The way the author uses descriptive lexical choices means that you can feel how Amir is feeling right at that moment, and see how much Hassan means to Amir, without him saying it directly. After Assef has pinned Hassan down, another memory flashes before Amir's eyes, a third analepsis. This time of sacrificing a lamb. He sees the look on Hassans face whilst Assef is pinning him down, and it reminds him of the lamb's look, imagining that the lamb understands why it is being sacrificed. This is what he sees in Hassan's eyes, like he realises that he is going through this for a friend, as he is loyal, and also, he is below him in social order, as he "Just a Hazara.".
Assef's friends do not want to help him, they say it is "sinful", but Assef argues that their father's will never find out, so is nothing to be ashamed of. He calls them "weaklings", and makes sure they pin Hassan down to the ground, whilst he unzips his jeans, takes off his underwear, and then positions himself behind Hassan. Amir can't watch. He knows he should have spoken out sooner, and even though he still could, he doesn't. He decides to run, run away from the ordeal, and as he does, he hears Assef's "rhythmic grunts" coming from down the alley way. He believes that Hassan was just a sacrifice, like the lamb, to make Baba be proud of him.
He describes the snow at the beginning of the chapter, being white, which makes us think of purity and cleanness. But as he finds Hassan after being raped, he says that there were tiny droplets coming from in between his legs, that stained the snow black. This colour contrast's the whiteness earlier, the pureness, making it not pure. This is the kind of darkness that Amir feels now, like he is regretful of letting that happen to Hassan, feeling guilty.
In chapter 7, Amir shows that he is not as loyal of a friend as Hassan believes, as even though Hassan has been there multiple times to take that blame for Amir's deeds (for example, hitting the animals with the stones from his slingshot), he would not return the favour. We don't get the full details of how Hassan coped with the rape, as it is from a first person point of view, that person being Amir, so we can only try an empathise with Hassan through Amir's description.
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