Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Irony and Amir's story
What is the significance of the irony in the first story that Amir writes? After hearing Amir's story, Hassan asks, "Why did the man kill his wife? In fact, why did he ever have to feel sad to shed tears? Couldn't he have just smelled an onion?" How is his reaction to the story a metaphor for Amir's life? How does this story epitomize the difference in character between Hassan and Amir?
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In Amir's first story, I feel as though he put what he was feeling on its pages because he was angry at life, angry at Hassan for being the son Baba wished he had(even though he didnt know that was true yet), angry because he was seen as a disappointment and a coward to himself. And Hassan's nature is to just be happy, to stand up for yourself when needed, but do not harm someone else when it isn't necessary. I thought that was a really sweet part in the novel. It helps me to see the innocence in good-hearted kids.
Amir was different from Hassan through the interpretation of this story by the fact that Hassan is simple-minded and he just thinks of simple ways to do things are arrive at solutions. Amir, he is totally opposite. He took the story and put such a sorrowful and depressing twist to it. It's kind of like a metaphor to his life because if he would have just did simple things like say help Hassan when he was raped or say something and apologize for it afterwards, so much pain wouldn't have existed. But instead he chose the painful way and ended having all the gold he wanted, but the person he loved so much was gone.
When I first read this question, the main thing that stuck out to me was the last one asking the difference in character.
Just thinking back to the first story Amir writes, it shows greed, hate, love and anger. I believe all those feelings he felt towards Hassan. Amir is the kind of person who holds grudges, and tries to out-do people who in real life are not trying to be a competition. Hassans’ character is loving and innocent, where-as Amirs character is first seen as being based on revenge and jealousy, then forgiveness and empathy in the end. Hassan has always stayed true to himself, whereas Amir was never really sure who he was because he was always trying to receive Baba's highest affection. In Amir's first novel, I think the significance is to just show that Amir over thinks to much, and is really holding a lot of feelings inside himself that he does not know how else to express.
I think Amir's life is like his story, because he always went a step to far to solve his problems. To get his father to notice him, Amir did not protect Hassan from Asef in the alley. To feel guilt free, he lied and framed Hassan to make his family leave. Instead of taking the easy way, in a long run, and tell what happened or stepped in the first place, Amir created a web of lies. Hassan is a more simplier human. I think he sees the world as evil or good and tries not to complicate things.
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