Kite Runner
Chapters 5-7
By Cara Joyce, Julia Dolinger, and Kristan Carney
Plot Points: Minor
The Afgani monarchy is put down in a bloodless coup, and a new government is put into place.
For his birthday present, Baba arranges for a plastic surgeon to fix Hassan's cleft lip, erasing his permanent smile. 
Assef and his gang attempt to attack Amir and Hassan, and, in order to escape them Hassan threatens the boys with his slingshot. He tells Assef that if he does not let him and Amir leave safely, people will have to start calling him "One eyed Assef." Assef complies and lets them go, but warns the two that he will take revenge on them. 
    
Amir and Hassan enter a kite-fighting tournament that is reported to be the biggest one in 25 years. Baba tells Amir that he thinks that he may be able to win, and Amir begins to see the contest as his last opportunity to win Baba's love and respect.

Hassan takes longer than usual returning with the kite, and Amir begins to worry. He goes looking for him, and finds him cornered in an alleyway by Assef and his gang. The boys tell him that they will let him go if he gives them the kite, but Hassan refuses, no doubt remembering his promise to Amir. Assef and his friends procced to brutally beat Hassan, and Assef eventually rapes him. Amir, scared, shocked, and slightly unfeeling to Hassan's plight, simply watches as he is tortured. He makes no move to intervene, and eventually runs from the scene. 
Themes: 
When people don't stand up for the rights of others, they lose their own self esteem. 

This can be seen when Hassan is being raped by Assef while Amir simply watches. Amir, due to his own fear and disregard for Hassan's social status, does not attempt to intervene and help his friend. Because of this, he loses respect for himself and his friendship with Hassan is ultimatly destroyed.

Despite the many differences that can divide people, tradtions that they collectively share can bring them together. 

This is demostrated in the kite fighting tournament, which includes Hazaras, Pashtuns, Sunnis and Shiites alike. 
Plot Points: Major
Literary Devices: 
  


Imagery - Throughout chapters 5-7, Hosseini employs constant imagery to help portray a certain scene and allow the reader to connect to the mood with ease.  One place where imagery is used is on page 60.  Amir says, “The streets glistened with fresh snow and the sky was a blameless blue.  Snow blanketed every rooftop and weighed on the branches of the stunted mulberry trees that lined our street.  Overnight, snow had nudged its way into every crack and gutter” (Hosseini 60).  Another example of imagery would be when Amir finds Hassan with Assef and his lackeys.  Explaining the alleyway, Amir explained, “ A havoc of scrap and rubble littered the alleys.  Worn bicycle tires, bottles with peeled labels, ripped up magazines, yellowed newspapers, all scattered amid a pile of bricks and slabs of cement.  But there were two things amid the garbage that I could not stop looking at: One was the blue kite resting against the wall, close to the cast-iron stove; the other was Hassan’s brown corduroy pants thrown on a heap of eroded bricks” (Hosseini 75).  This quote helps the reader imagine what Amir sees, and what kind of setting this all takes place in.

Symbolism - In chapter 7, Hassan describes a dream he had about swimming at Ghargha Lake to Amir.  In his dream, thousands of people were lined up at the edge of the lake, refusing to swim for rumors were that there was a monster at the bottom of the lake.  Contrary to the threat of danger, Hassan and Amir dive into the lake and swim to the center, showing that there was no monster at all.  Later on in the chapter, Amir says, “But made up or not, the silly dream had lifted some of my anxiety.  Maybe I should take off my shirt and take a swim in the lake.  Why not?” (Hosseini 62).  The lake serves as a symbol to Amir, urging him to take risks by showing there’s no “monster”; no danger in his actions.



Literary Criticism in Chapters 5-7:

The Historical Approach- In the begining of Chapter Six, the author describs the winter season and what daily life consitutes of during that time. Without this description, the reader could not possibly understand why kite fighting is done during this time and why it is such an important part of Afgani life. 

The Psychological Approach- "I stopped watching, turned away from the alley...I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan- the way he'd stood up for me all those times in the past-or I could run. In the end, I ran" (Hosseini 77). The psychological approach can be used in this scene to analyze why Amir ran away instead of saving his life-long friend. Humans react to tramatic situations in one of two ways: They take action, or they turn away. The flight or fight response. Although Amir may not have acted honorably, his actions were basic human instinct. 

Reader Response: This criticism could be used to help the reader decipher the complexities of certain scenes Hosseini fills with literary devices and foreshadowing.  By asking questions, the reader can get their own interpretation of open-ended thoughts Amir relays, such as why his father seems to hate him, or how far Amir is willing to challenge Hassan’s loyalty, and why.  



Motifs: 

In Chapters 5-7, Hassan’s cleft lip serves as a motif. Throughout the book, Hassan’s lip is constantly mentioned, and is usually portrayed as a positive thing, at least in the eyes of Amir. He often says that Hassan’s cleft lip gave him the appearance of someone who was always smiling, someone who is content with his life. For his birthday, Baba arranges for a plastic surgeon to correct Hassan’s lip, erasing the permanent smile. This foreshadows to the negative turn that his life will soon take. As Amir says: “By the following winter, it was only a faint scar. Which was ironic. Because that was the winter that Hassan stopped smiling” (Hosseini 47.) Soon after his surgery, Hassan is brutally attacked and raped by Assef, rendering him depressed and ultimately unable to smile. His cleft lip symbolized the uninhibited joy that Hassan once felt, which he lost once that cleft was removed. 

In Chapter 7, Amir recounts the memory of the yearly slaughter of the sacrificial lamb, made in order to celebrate how the prophet Ibrahim almost sacrificed his own son for God. Every year, Baba handpicks the lamb, and Amir describs this one as being powder white with crooked black ears. As is customary, Ali places a cube of suger in its mouth before it is killed, in order to make it's death sweeter. What truely haunts Amir is the look of resignation on the animal's face before it is slaughtered. As he says: " I watch because of that look of accptance in the animal's eyes. Absurdly, I imagine the animal understands. I imagine the animal sees that its imminent demise is for a higher purpose..." (Hosseini 77). Everything about the lamb down to its physical appearance represents how Amir views Hassan, and gives the reader a greater insight into what he is feeling as he watches Hassan get raped. The lamb is white-furred and innocent, with crooked ears so much like Hassan's once hare-lipped smile. While describing this memory, Amir refers to the lamb as "the animal," representing his true feelings towards Hassan.  A part of him sees Hassan's rape as a necesscary sacrifice, one that he doesn't want to make but needs to in order to win his father's affections.  But it is the lamb's look of acceptance that truly resonates with Amir, and reminds him deeply of the flash of resignation that he saw on Hassan's before he is raped.