- The novel opens with Amir as a grown man reflecting on his childhood. Provide a detailed description of the opening scene of the novel.
“I became what i am today at the age of 12, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975” Amir is reflecting on his past which is soon revealed further in the novel. In the opening scenes Amir gives a lot of details about an ‘incidence’ that happened but leaving the readers unknown of the exact thing that happened. - The novel ends with Amir and Sohrab in the park together. Provide a detailed description of the final scene of the novel.
The final scene in the book is a full circle rotation. Amir used to run kites with Hassan as kids and now he is running kites with Sohrab completing the circle.
“It was only a smile, nothing more. It didn’t make everything alright. It didn’t make anything all right. Only a smile. A tiny thing” - Reflect on Hosseini’s intentions when framing the novel like this. Consider how the novels key themes are established and developed by these scenes. Reflect on the position the reader is placed in by Hosseini’s deliberate framing of the text in this way.
Hosseini’s intentions with framing the novel lie this might have been because he wants it to finish it in a full circle.
- Describe three other scenes in the novel that you consider to be significant. Explain why these scenes are significant in regards to the development of character and theme development.
The pomegranate tree: Hassan and Amir are face to face and Amir wants Hassan to punish him so he hits Hassan with a pomegranate hoping he will throw one back at him. Amir thinks this is a start of punishment and make him feel less guilty for what he did to betray Hassan.