In chapter three the reader learns more about Amir's father. It is clear that Amir is starved for attention from his father. Amir relates the story of his father building an orphanage and tells of the day before the opening when his father takes him to Ghargha Lake. Amir's father told him to bring Hassan along too, but Amir lied and said that he could not come. This shows just how desperate Amir is to spend time with his father and it also shows that he is a little jealous of Hassan. He tells of the time when Hassan had accompanied them on an outing before and had managed to gain his father's approval. It can be seen that there is a twinge of jealousy there because Hassan was able to accomplish something that he has been striving for his whole life. However, Amir's attempt to have quality time with his father fails and Amir's father basically spends he whole time they are at the lake ignoring him and preparing for his speech the following day.
The reasoning behind why Amir's father is the way is he is revealed in this chapter as well. It is stated that "...despite Bab's successes, people were always doubting him." page 15. His father was told that he could not run a business but he became "one of the riches merchants in Kabul." It was also said that he would never marry well but he married one of the most educated and well-off women who also was a royal descendant. Amir feels as if his father has the ability to "mold the world around him to his liking." and that he only saw the world as black and white. This quote shows Amir's feelings about that aspect of his father, "You can't love a person who lives that way without fearing him too. Maybe even hating him a little." page 15. In short this means that Amir's feelings about his father are extremely complicated. It also can be seen that Rahim Khan represents the voice of reason within the novel. He comes to logical conclusions about situations and tries to keep the peace.
Chapter four reveals more about Hassan and Amir's friendships. Amir admits that he never really thought of Hassan as his friend. This is due to the fact that they belong to two separate social classes. Amir is of a higher rank and Hassan is his servant. Also there is the fact of their religions. Amir states that "In the end, I was Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi'a, and nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing." page 25. However, as kids they are inseparable. They spend all of their summer days together and work out a routine for the school year where they can still spend all of their free time together. More about Amir's character is revealed through his interactions with Hassan. For instance the fact that he stopped reading riddles to him when he found out that he was better at them than him, shows that Amir has an extreme jealous streak. Also the fact that Amir makes fun of Hassan when he does not know certain words show's that he has a cruel side. However, the fact that he feels guilty afterward and tries to make up for it by giving him his old stuff shows that he does have conscious. Another instance of Amir showing tenderness toward Hassan is when Hassan complemented him on the story he had made up and Amir told him that "You're a prince, Hassan. You're a prince and I love you." page 30. This shows that in his own way Amir truly does care for Hassan. Chapter four ends with a cliffhanger, making the reader wonder what will happen next. "Because suddenly Afghanistan changed forever." page 34.
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