Comment on Talia's

Talia is right in many ways about Hassan being portrayed as a Jesus-like figure. I also noticed the way Hosseini characterized him as a selfless, accepting, and loving individual who defends those he loves. When Amir was described as the terrible young boy he was during his childhood, I hated him, and could not understand why Hassan loved him unconditionally despite what he had done to him. I almost frowned upon Hassan for doing this. But after looking deeper into his character, I realized that he resembled Jesus, and came to understand that it was Hassan’s forgiving and kind nature that made him such an influential character in the story.

Hassan’s death upset me as well, as I feel that it would have been very intriguing to see him and Amir reencounter each other. Nevertheless, I feel that Hassan and Amir’s “reencounter” is resembled through Amir’s relationship with Sohrab. Sohrab is described to be a spitting image of Hassan; from his looks to his mannerisms. Clearly, we can see through the symbolism that Sohrab is meant to cause a strong impact on Amir’s life, and not only because he is his nephew. Sohrab is an alternate form of Hassan. This is made clear to the readers when Sohrab hits Assef with his slingshot, saving Amir. Despite the fact that Amir is much older than Sohrab, and is supposed to be saving him, we see that Hassan is still present in some form and saves Amir one way or another. I felt that this scene was one of the most powerful ones in the book.

Like Talia, I noticed Hosseini’s attention to detail as well. Amir’s return to his homeland was so moving mainly because of the absence of all of the details he remembered about growing up in Kabul. I thought it was interesting that Amir left Afghanistan in hopes of destroying his past and forgetting Hassan, but when he returns, the only thing that remained in Kabul was his and Hassan’s names engraved in the bark. As Talia emphasized, just about everything can fall and be broken, but Hassan and Amir’s brotherhood was stronger than that, and was meant to undergo even the most tragic hardships.