Amir is an idiot

It's not Amir's fault that those boys raped Hassan. However, it is his fault that he continued to watch it and not intervene. It is understandable that Amir was afraid that if he stepped in they would do the same thing to him. He knew that probably would happen so he ran away and let his best friend be hurt. Throughout the story it makes me really mad how Amir can't just fess up to what he did. All his regret would go away and he could finally move on with his life. Him and Hassan would become good friends again. The guilt that he has is eating away at him for years and years. Why can't he just own up to it? If I were him, I probably would've had that conversation with Hassan a long time ago. It would have made it so they wouldn't have left and they would probably still be friends. It's sad to me that they are as close as brothers and this tragedy can seperate them for good.

Foreshadowing

"I will never forget how Assef's blue eyes glinted with a light not entirely sane and how he grinned... as he pummeled that poor kid unconscious." This quote comes from the scene where Amir and Hassan are cornered for the first time by the neighborhood bullies. Amir knows what they can do to them because he has seen it happen to other kids before. He refers to this look in Assef's eyes again when he is raping Hassan. This is used as foreshadowing to let the reader know of the horrible things that are about to happen. Assef is insane and gets genuine pleasure out of beating other kids up. He smiles to himself as he "pummels"someone. In this same way, he is cheerful when he rapes Hassan. Amir knows that he will not stop for anything because he is mentally insane."Years later, I learned an English word for the creature that Assef was, a word for which a good Farsi equivalent does not exist: sociopath." I didn't know what this word meant so I looked it up; a person, as a psychopathic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. I think this describes him perfectly because he does not see the moral wrongness of what he is doing whatsoever.

Protagonist

I think that Hassan is the protagonist. Even though he is not the central character of the story, he plays a very heroic role. Hassan is always building up Amir by telling him how he will write amazing books when he is older and how great of a kite flyer he is. Even when Amir throws the fruit at Hassan, he refuses to hit him back. Hassan shows Amir what it means to be a best friend and not just a servent. When Hassan and Amir go off to the hill to play one day, they are followed by the three huge bullies of the neighborhood. They both know that they don't stand a chance against them. However, Hassan stands up for both of them. He pulls out his slingshot and points it right at the bully's head. They know that the bullies will get revenge on them eventually but Hassan is brave enough to put an end to it.

Antagonist

In the Kite Runner, I believe that the narrator, Amir, is the antagonist. He is puts his best friend Hassan down all the time by mocking his inability to read. I think that the reason Amir is mean to Hassan is because he is jealous of the way his father cares about Hassan. Amir doesn't get very much attention from his father and when Hassan comes around, his father tends to strike up a conversation with him. Rahim Khan relates more to Amir than his father does. Amir also doesn't stand up for Hassan when he gets raped. He knows that Hassan would do it for him but he is afrad of what they will do to him if he intervenes. As a result, he ruins the friendship they have. They will no longer play together and talk to eachother like they used to. Because of Amir's cowardness, he puts his childhood to an end.

adultery

The whole adultery scene is confusing to me. It seems as if it is just symbolic. The woman represents Willy's discontent in life. Willy is always concerned about being "well liked". This woman seems like a means to attain that specific end. His wife loves him even when he rebukes her and causes her to worry constantly about his delusional state. However, this lady regards herself as a means for Willy to get to the buyers more efficiently. This desire to be "well liked" is a coping tragedy for all the abandonment he has dealt with from his father and brother. In the end, it ends up making his son Biff abandon him as well.

THEMES

One of the themes in this play is abandonment. We see abandonment from Willy's father in his past. We are not given much information about Willy's father but we can assume that is similar to his relationship with Biff; a sad misunderstanding. When his brother departs for Alaska, leaving Willy alone, we see him develop a fear of abandonment. HE then decides to raise a family and make his sons perfect with an understandment of how to be successful. When Biff learns of his father's adultery, he loses all respect for him. Everything that he was taught growing up goes out the window. Biff no longer desires to impress his father of be the man that he is. Finally, when Willy thinks that his son is about to become successful at last, Biff shatters him telling him of his illusions at Frank's Chop Shop. Biff then abandons his father in the restroom. This theme shows us the reason why Willy lives in his delusional state. His constant let downs have reformed him to be the sad man he is.

FOIL CHARACTERS

Throughout this play, Willy and Biff are foils. They are constantly arguing with each other. Ironically, they are both working to impress each other and seem to keep failing. They are constantly making things up about themselves to build themselves up. Biff's idea of business is suffering and agony. Willy believes that it is the only way to make a prestigious living for his family. Willy also talks about how "Biff is a lazy bum". He thinks that his lack of material success reflects that he is lazy. Really, Biff desires to be outdoors and work hard around a farm. In the next sentence, Willy contradicts himself. He says, "Biff is anything but lazy". This delusion shows how Willy is hopeful that Biff will someday become successful. He is not ready to give into the idea that Biff is not trying to become a salesman like Willy is. Just like Willy is delusional about Biff's future, he is also delusional about his own past. He puts himself on a pedestal and is always bragging about the many achievements that he has had.