Chapters 1-10 close reading Flashcards
What does winter symbolize?
cold, despair, loneliness, emptiness and the hero’s literal or symbolic death
What does summer symbolize?
warmth, joviality, joy, ease, fullness. The peak of the hero’s power.
What do mirror’s symbolize and what are they used to symbolize in the passage about Hassan and Amir annoying their neighbors with mirrors?
Mirrors symbolize imagination, consciousness, self-contemplation, reflection of the universe, mythic door-soul frees itself by ‘passing’ to the other side. A distorted image/mirror used in destructive ways symbolizes self-deception. The mirror as it’s used in the book symbolizes the way that Amir takes advantage of Hassan’s loyalty, and the unequal relationship that they have, with Hassan being lower on the ladder than Amir. A mirror that distracts people, as well as something the devil used is used to show that Amir is distracting Hassan from his typical way of living, acting loyal. Hassan doesn’t want to annoy the neighbors, but because of the pressure Amir puts on him, Hassan has to cave and do something against his morals.
How do Hassan and Amir act like brothers? What message is the author trying to convey through their close relationship?
Hassan and Amir spend almost all of their time together, fed from the same breast, and grew up together, acting as support for the other. Even though they grew up very close, the gap between classes of the two of them makes it so that their relationship can never be equal and must always e unbalances, with Hassan doing whatever Amir wants him to do. Amir will always want Hassan to do what is best to get Baba’s approval, and Hassan will always want Amir’s approval, obeying anything Amir says to do.
Which character is a foil to Amir? Why?
Hassan is a foil to Amir. Hassan is Shi’a and Amir is Sunni, Hassan is Hazara and Amir is Pashtun, they are of different classes, they live in different places, they have completely opposite relationships with their fathers, and even though Hassan can accept his way of living, Amir doesn’t understand. Hassan is kind, considerate and loyal.
Which character is a foil to Baba? Why?
Rahim Khan is a foil to Baba because he is the only one that shows Amir love, and is the one that reads Amir’s stories, as well as standing up for him about Baba not believing that Amir’s his son.
What connection is the author making when he juxtaposes the two scenes about Baba not believing Amir is his own child and Amir going on his “mean streak”?
Showing difference between the two ways that Amir is acting, even though Amir takes his fathers words as wanting him to be meaner, Baba would never approve of Amir being unkind to Hassan.
What is Displacement? How does Amir use it?
Displacement is “ reassignment of some kind of aggression to a scapegoat to relieve the tension of a situation or feeling.” Amir uses Hassan as a scapegoat to relieve the tension between him and Baba when Baba is giving Hassan more attention and love than Amir, making Amir jealous, thus lashing out at Hassan.
How does the parallel structure in the passage about religion separating the two boys enhance the possible conflicts between Amir and Hassan?
With Amir being Pashtun and Sunni, and Hasan being Hazara and Shi’a, they are on completely different ends of the social spectrum, with Amir having the most influence and best life, and Hassan having the most difficult life, with the ability to be recognized of his race in everyday life because of the Mongolian features he inherited from his ancestors. Hazara culture+language has heavy Mongolian influence.
What does the bear Baba fights symbolize in Chapter three? What does Baba being indistinguishable from the bear mean to Amir?
The bear symbolizes a threat to Baba, and something that he has to overcome. Baba morphing into the bear, and Amir not being able to tell the two apart means that Baba is becoming a threat to Amir, and that he is scared, rightfully so, of Baba.
What does Baba mean by the statement “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.” and how does it connect to chapter 1?
He means that because Amir didn’t stand up to Assef when he witnessed Hassan being harmed, it foreshadowed that he wasn’t going to stand up to anything in the future, be it Assef or another person causing harm to someone he holds dear. It connects to chapter one because him not standing to Assef made him who he was on that day, not able to stand up for anything he believed in. (opposite of Baba w/ soldier)
What is Denial?
Having conscious awareness at some level, but denies the reality of the experience by pretending it is not there.
Hassan has a dream about the lake that is mentioned in ch 7-8, why did Hassan have this dream? What does Amir realize about his role in the dream?
Hassan had this dream to prove that society won’t stand in the way of Amir and Hassan’s relationship, and that they can become friends despite their class difference. Amir realizes that he is the monster in the pond, the thing preventing Amir and Hassan from becoming closer than they are now.
What is significant about Amir’s statement, “He was so goddamn pure, you always felt like a phony around him”?
Hassan is pure, and loyal and trusting, and receives Baba’s love more than Amir had ever, which highlights the lack of these qualities in Amir, making him angry and feeling like he needs to lash our and reassign his feelings to a scapegoat to relieve his emotions.
What does the sheep symbolize in ch 7, why does Amir recall the sheep during Hassan’s assault?
The sheep symbolizes acceptance that what is happening to it is for a greater good, just like Hassan believes that he is sacrificing himself for Amir, because he has to, to give Amir the satisfaction of pleasing Baba.
