“Bloodletting”
CHAPTER 5; PARAGRAPH 5.
In this passage, Amir documents the sea change the country undergoes in the late ’70s. A way of life ends ; Hosseini places Afghanistan’s loss of innocence right next to Amir’s and Hassan’s.
“Proverbial hell”
CHAPTER 16; PARAGRAPH 41
Hosseini uses of contrast of living men and hell, inferring the former is the current state of Kabul; relation to hell.
“Bearded idiots”
Baba: You’ll never learn anything of value from those bearded idiots.” … “They do nothing but thumb their prayer beads and recite a book written in a tongue they don’t even understand.” He Baba took a sip. “God help us all if Afghanistan ever falls into their hands.”
CHAPTER 3; PARAGRAPH 13-25
Hosseini depicts a liberal, Westernized Afghanistan through the character of Baba; We can place Baba against the more extreme Taliban-ruled era
“Some kind of disease”
CHAPTER 2; PARAGRAPH 24.
hen there’s Baba who loves and respects Ali (also a Shi’a Muslim), but who doesn’t refer to Ali as his friend. And at the other extreme: Amir’s teacher, the soldiers, and Sunni society in general which consistently discriminates against Shi’a Muslims.
“The curious thing”
CHAPTER 4; PARAGRAPH 4/5.
Amir contradicts himself here but it could more so be argued that this passage is directly channeled from Hosseini, just through the mouth of Amir.
“The true Afghans”
CHAPTER 5; PARAGRAPH 44.
Irony of ‘innocence’ being quoted by Assef when he, as a Pashtun, is the one to strip Hassan of it; sheds social light on current status of Hazaras/Pashtuns.
“Sultans”
CHAPTER 8
The loss of innocence from the rape causes Amir/Hassan and their friendship to deteriorate; later on in the novel, the loss of the pomegranate tree reflects the loss of innocence not only within ‘the sultans of Kabul’, but also within Kabul itself.
“Lamb”
CHAPTER 7; PARAGRAPH 133
Relate the look of the lamb to any religious connotations; lamb a frequently used symbol of young innocence; criticism of religion?
“Dirty”
CHAPTER 24; PARAGRAPH 87-92
Continuation of a loss of innocence throughout the novel which illustrates the continuation of the atrocities in Afghanistan.
“I ran”
CHAPTER 7; PARAGRAPH 137-139
Amir’s ultimate betrayal is at it’s peak here throughout this chapter; the difference in response when faced with Assef’s gang from Amir and Hassan illustrates their differing views of eachother, despite their deep-routed friendship.
“Good again”
CHAPTER 14; PARAGRAPH 18-19
Relates to innocence also; “again” implies that Amir’s betrayal of Hassan has stretched throughout the entirety of his life.