"He asked me to fetch Hassan too, but I lied and told him Hassan had the runs. I wanted Baba all to myself. And besides, one time at Gharga Lake, Hassan and I were skimming stones and Hassan made his stone skip eight times. The most I managed was five. Baba was there, watching, and he patted Hassan on the back. Even put his arm around his shoulder." (14-15)
"Baba heaved a sigh of impatience. That stung too, because he was not an impatient man. I remembered all the times he didn't come home until after dark, all the times I ate dinner alone. I'd ask Ali where Baba was, when he was coming home, though I knew full well he was at the construction site, over-looking this, supervising that. Didn't that take patience? I already hated all the kids he was building the orphanage for; sometimes I wished they'd all died along with their parents." (19)
Amir also finds himself jealous of Hassan, his servant and best friend. One night, listening to his father and Rahim Khan talking, Amir heard his father say that Amir was unlike the rest of the boys his age. He preferred poetry to soccer, when all the other boys were soccer fanatics. Even when Amir is picked on, Hassan is the one that stands up for him. Amir hears this,
"Self-defense has nothing to do with meanness. You know what always happens when the neighbourhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fends them off. I've seen it with my own eyes...I'm telling you Rahim, there is something missing in that boy." (24)
The next day, as Hassan was preparing Amir's breakfast, he asked Amir if something was bothering him.
"I snapped at him, told him to mind his own business." (25)
There is a clear jealousy of Hassan here, and how Baba compares Amir to Hassan and Amir fails to measure up.
Wonderful observation of a very important theme - how does this theme affect Amir? Do you see Amir beginning an archetypal quest? For what?
ReplyDeleteI think Amir has an unspoken hatred for Hassan at the same time as being his friend. His jealousy has taken over and made him somewhat miserable and bitter when Baba notices Hassan's successes, (the few that he does have, he is a servant).
ReplyDeleteI see Amir beginning an archetypal quest for his father's ultimate approval and affection. Baba has never been an affectionate man, but Amir has also become jealous of Ali and Hassan's relationship. Ali is a protective father figure in Hassan's life, and that is what Amir desperately longs for.
"Hassan was crying. Ali pulled him close, clutched him with tenderness. Later, I would tell myself I hadn't felt envious of Hassan. Not at all." (38)