Chapter 4

Chapter 4

1. Characterisation

   • Ali
     • His story is revealed at the beginning 'Five-year-old orphan boy before my grandfather...'
     • Ali's relationship with Baba
       • 'Ali and Baba grew up together as childhood playmates...'
       • Compared to Hassan and Amir's relationship
         • Hassan and Baba are sismilar in the way in which they both betrayed the people they grew up with.
   • Hassan
     • Hassan and Amir's relationship
       • '...just like Hassan and I grew up...'
       • 'I never thought of Hassan and me as friends either.'
         • Ethnic differences 'In the end I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara... nothing was going to change that. Nothing.'
           • Foreshadowing that this will affect their relationship in the future
       • Childhood Innocence
   • Baba
     • Made to look very mean and unloving, but also superior
       • 'His glare made my throat feel dry.'
       • 'Baba went on staring me down...'

2. Time

   • Ali's story jumps back to 1933
   • Time manipulated
     • When Amir talks about his and Hassan's childhood, it goes into detail and uses a lot of imagery
       • '...my entire childhood seems like one long lazy summer day with Hassan'
         • Prior to this, there's a juxtaposing argument. Shows unreliable voice
       • '....playing hide and seek, cops and robbers..'
         • Someone is always superior in these games - may represent social standing of Amir and Hassan
     • When Amir wants Baba to read his story
       • 'Air grew heavy, damp, almost solid. I was breathing bricks.'

3. Structure

   • Time is used to manipulate structure - jumps back and forth
   • Ends with a cliffhanger
     • 'Then Afghanistan changed forever.'
       • Foreshadowing and cliffhanger - this structure creates suspense

4. Voice

   • Amir
     • Childish Voice
       • 'John Wayne didn't really speak Farsi and he wasn't Iranian!'
     • Adult Voice
       • '...to this day, it was one of the longest minutes of my life.'
     • Unreliable Narrator
       • Constant change of emotions towards Hassan
         • 'What does he know, that illiterate Hazara?'
         • '"You're a prince Hassan...and I love you."'
       • Constant change of emotions towards Baba
         • 'Most days I worship Baba... But right then, I wished I could...drain all his cursed blood from my body.'
   • Hassan
     • 'Amir Agha'
       • Always polite, inferior to Amir
     • '"Someday, Inshallah, you will be a great writer..."'
       • Foreshadowing and supportive voice
   • Rahim Khan
     • Supportive Voice throughout
       • 'My door is and always will be important to you, Amir jan... Bravo.'
       • 'As always, it was Rahim Khan who resuced me.'

5. Setting

   • '...musty-smelling bazaars of the Shar-e-Nau... walked amid the bustling crowds...'
     • Vivid Imagery
       • Makes us feel as if we are there in their childhood
         • Emphasises importance of their childhood
   • 'Old Abandoned Cemetery...'
     • Foreshadows death and loss
     • There, there is a 'pomegranate tree' with 'blood-red pomegranates..'
       • Symoblism
         • Representative of their friendship. Foreshadowing the fact it may be tarnished in the future