Reaction: first 40 pages of the Kite Runner

Wendell Pfeffer

10/27/13

Reaction: The Kite Runner

            So far this book has captivated my attention and forced me to imagine a place in my head that I have never been before. The story starts off with the narrator, formally known as Amir and his family/friends living the good life in Iran during the time it was run by Zahir Sha. The family is incredible rich, the father owns one of the largest and beautiful estates in Afghanistan, his own business and many different luxurious items, such as an American Ford Mustang. The father is a man that promotes the message of manliness: soccer, politics, blood, business are his forms of expression. Amir on the other hand or his son is a completely different person than his father. Instead of sports and watching animals kill each other he likes to spend his time reading and creating stories. This has unfortunately created a more so negative relationship with his father. All Amir wishes is to be able to please him, but he is unable to do so. Amir’s father scorns his love for literature; he wishes his son were a completely different person like Hassan. Hassan is everything Amir is not, Amir’s father admires him for that - he loves how he demonstrates his manliness and defends Amir from bullies. As a result Amir’s father treats Hassan more like a son than he ever does with Amir. Amir finally realizes this when he overhears his father speak with Rahim khan, one of his good friends. Rahim Khan acts as a fatherly figure towards Amir, he appreciates his love for literature and reads his stories. He even wishes Rahim was his father.

            Amir begins to resent Hassan when he discovers the truth. I’ve never witnessed any kid as respectful, pleasant, compassionate and caring like Hassan. He demonstrates these traits by helping Amir with absolutely everything – his clothes, mental attitude, food and safety. Even after all these things Hassan has done for him, Amir continuously bullies him with his stories to relieve his anger towards him. He states words that he doesn’t even know and Amir interprets them with a wrong negative denotation.

            So far life goes on for Amir, Hassan and Baba or Amir’s father just until the Coup d’ Etat officially begins, “it was the beginning of the end” as described by Amir. The Russians are beginning to move in and the Sha is no longer in power. So far this book is really intriguing I cant wait to see what unfolds in the next few chapters.