In these chapters the event that caused Afghanistan to change forever is described. On July 17, 1973 Daoud Khan ended monarchy and took over Afghanistan from his cousin Zahir Shah. Zahir Shah was vacationing in Italy at the time of the coup. On the night of the coup Amir, Hassan, and Ali stayed huddled together until morning and even at a time of great peril Amir is jealous of the relationship Hassan has with Ali, his father. Amir states, "Later, I would tell myself I hadn't felt envious of Hassan. Not at all." page 35. This shows that Amir is slightly in denial; he knows what the truth is but does not want to truly admit it to himself. However, in this time of fear it appears that the family is thrown closer together. When Amir's father returns the next morning Amir notes that this is the first time he has seen fear on his father's face. He father gathers him and Hassan into a warm embrace and tells them how worried he was about them. Amir says that "... for a brief insane moment, I was glad about whatever had happened that night." page 36. This just goes to show how starved for attention Amir is. It also seems as if this new found affection Amir's father is showing him will be short lived.
These chapters also show that Hassan is very insightful. For someone that most people consider to be unintelligent, Hassan is able to quickly read a situation and interpret whether or not something good or bad is ready to occur. For instance on the morning after the coup Hassan and Amir are listening to the news outside of Amir's father's study and they keep hearing the word "republic." Hassan asks Amir what the word means and whether or not he and his father will be sent away. Amir reassures him that everything will be alright. However, this shows that Hassan has very good insight, he realizes that this new leader might be bad for him and his father and any other Hazaras. This could also be foreshadowing and event to come later in the novel. Also the fact that Amir's Baba's birthday present to Hassan is plastic surgery to fix his harelip, could be another sign that things are going to be bad for the Hazaras. It could be that Amir's Baba is trying to draw as much attention away fro Hassan as possible so that there is less chance of him being persecuted later on. Another instance of Hassan's foresight is his ability to be able to tell what Amir is thinking and know exactly what he needs. This also shows that he is a really good friend.
The events that take place with Assef show that there is some warrant to Hassan's fear that things are going to get bad for the Hazaras. Assef states his feelings that he believes that "Afghanistan is for Pashtuns," and that it's "Too late for Hitler. But now for us." page 40. This parallel between Hitler and his persecution of the Jewish people and Assef wish for Daoud Khan to persecute gives a reference point for just how bad things might get for the Shi'a. Then when Assef turns his anger toward Amir and berates him for being friends with Hassan his first thought is "But he's not my friend!.....He's my servant!" page 41. Although Amir does not state this out loud this thought is one of the first time he realizes that he views his friendship with Hassan differently than his friendship with other people. This also reveals yet another layer of Hassan and Amir's friendship. Another aspect is revealed when Amir decides to "toy" with Hassan when he asks him whether or not Amir would he ever he ever lie to him. Amir asks him "Would you?" and Hassan responds he would rather eat dirt. Amir asks him whether or not he would eat dirt if he told him to. There is a moment when Amir and Hassan just look at each other. It is at this moment that Amir says that " Hassan's face changed.... I was looking at two faces, the one I knew, the one that was my first memory, and another, a second face, this one lurking just beneath the surface." page 54. This "second face" that Amir sees, shows him that Hassan is not as simple as he thinks he is but that he is capable of deeper thought and knows when he is not treating him right.
Thank you! This was really helpful!
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