~Chapter 1-3~

In Chapter 1 we are introduced to the protagonist, Amir. He recalls the winter of 1975 and says how people can "never bury the past." I believe this quote to mean that even though something terrible happened to Amir a long time ago, it still comes back to haunt him to this day. As he sits in a park in San Francisco, he sees two kites in the sky and remembers the words that Rahim Khan said before he had hung up the phone the prior night, "There is a way to be good again." I think that he remembers this quote because it is going to foreshadow what happens in the coming chapters. When a book starts in a flashback, it is called a story frame. Did the red and blue colors of the kites mean anything? Are they a symbol of something? I thought that maybe they were colors of his country or maybe red, blue, and the missing white is a symbol of something.

In Chapter 2 we are introduced to Amir's friend, Hassan, who is known as his half-brother. Hassan and Amir were breast fed by the same woman. Hassan also has a cleft lip, most likely from his mother being of some relation to his father. Hassan is a Hazara and a Shi'a Muslim and Amir is a Pashtun and a Sunni Muslim. These boys live very different lifestyles, but them and their father's get along. Baba, Amir's father, is a very well-known man and owns a great estate in a neighborhood of Kabul. His house has beautiful marble floors, a chandelier, and a table that can fit up to 30 people. He is the host of numerous parties and seems to be well liked where he lives. Ali, Hassan's father, is a worker of Baba. He and his son live in a mud shack and is considered much lower living. The only similarity of these two young boys is that neither one of them has a mother. Amir's mother died while giving birth to Amir and Hassan's mother joined a performing group shortly after he was born. I find it odd that she left after having her child and I think that she was ashamed of how he looked, knowing it was her fault and that the arranged marriage forced her to have a son with family. Amir and Hassan have been friends since they were young and grew up together. Amir makes mention of his first word being "Baba" and Hassan's first word being "Amir." I believe this is also going to foreshadow something coming up. Why wouldn't Hassan's first word be "Ali?"

In Chapter 3 we are introduced to the different side of Baba. He tells his son that young children are not allowed in adult conversations and forces him to leave the room. While inside, Baba and a select few of his friends talk poorly about Amir. He overhears his own father talking about how he "can never stand up for himself." Amir feels jealousy towards the relationship between Hassan and Baba. He feels that they share a much more close bond, building homes for orphans together. Why wouldn't Amir be upset? Or is he? Also Amir mentions that his grandfather was murdered when his father was only a young boy. Does this have any effect of foreshadowing?