Characterisation Flashcards
Why do we as a reader have any love for Baba and Hasan?
It is the examination of Amir’s love for these characters as the narrator which creates any affection that we as readers hold for them and which drives the story- having only Amir’s perspective to rely on
How may Amir be a fallible narrator?
as he does or says things which might undermine our trust of his narration such as his attempts to justify his actions towards Hassan or exaggerated descriptions of his fathers greatness
The Kite Runner is a novel which examines the turbulent history of Afghanistan between what years?
1970-2001
What quote from the second chapter suggests that Amir has always felt distanced from Hassan due to their ethnicity and statuses in life?
“I never thought of Hassan and me as friends”
Why can Amir be perceived as fallible due to the fact early in the novel he claims that he “never thought of Hassan and me as friends”?
as it is clear from the tales he relates that Hassan was indeed his closest, and possibly only friend
Why may Amir desire to distance himself from Hassan early in the novel by stating in Chapter 2 that “I never thought of Hassan and me as friends”?
possibly as a result of his childhood jealous and of his later guilty colouring earlier events
Why can it be inferred that Amir’s relaironship with Hasan was the defining relationship in his life despite the fact he claims to have “never thought of Hassan and me as friends?
as the novel itself is named after Hasan and the way the novel centres around the terms of their great friendship or in terms of Amir’s guilt over his betrayal of that friendship such as on his wedding day when he wonders if Hassan has married and “whose face he had seen in the mirror under the viel”
What is a clear example of how Amir always thought of Hasan due to their defining relationship?
the fact that on his wedding day when he wonders if Hassan has married and “whose face he had seen in the mirror under the viel”
What does Amir tell us in the opening line of the novel?
that the person he is was formed on the day in the alley in 1975
How is it clear that his feelings fro Hassan were a positive force in his life?
as his desire to write is formed by his time spent reading, and changing stories to Hassan
How can Amir’s desire for marriage and his yearn for children be seen as a link to Hassan?
as this can be seen as his way to recreate his own childhood with the chance to redeem himself
How does Amir become the man his father wanted him to be?
by retrieving Sohrab from Kabul and literally fighting for his possession
How is it clear that Amir uses his writing to escape his guilt?
as it was first used to hide from the lack of love from his father and later in the novel we learn that he admits he is not currently writing about the country, hiding again from the reality of which he fled.
How can the Kite Runner be seen as Catharsis for Amir?
as he attempts to make sense of his various actions and emotions by arranging them into a coherent story
How does Hassan exist in most of the novel?
as a presence looming over the narrative rather than as a character taking parts in events
In what chapter is Hassan’s cleft lip corrected?
chp.5
Hassan was born into servitude but does not appear to resent this. Why does he not suffer the same need as Amir to strive for his father’s affections?
as Hassan receives the warmth and love from Ali
How may Amir have self-edited the hardships faced by Hassan prior to the rape?
his 30 years of guilt may have coloured the reality of Hassan’s treatment as a Hazara and a servant in order to remember his friend as happy and carefree
What suggests that actually Hassan’s life was not carefree and happy?
he would greet Amir’s question about eating dirt and the pomegranate attack with a willingness to take on whatever is forced upon him which shows a child who is used to carrying burdens and coming off second best