Symbols--the lamb

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"Hassan didn't struggle. Didn't even whimper. He moved his head slightly and I caught a glimpse of his face. Saw the resignation in it. It was a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb."

Symbols-- Amir's first story

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"well...if I may ask, why did the man kill his wife? In fact, why did he ever have to feel sad to shed tears? Couldn't he have just smelled an onion?"

Symbols--the cleft lip

"The face of Afghanistan is that of a boy with a thin-boned frame, a shaved head, and low-set ears, a boy with a Chinese doll face perpetually lit by a harelipped smile."

Symbols written anaylsis

The black notebook represents the first story Amir wrote as a child. The story symbolizes Amir’s first step towards becoming a writer, but more importantly it symbolizes the irony in Amir’s own actions- becoming what his father feared he would become in trying to gain his approval, trying to find happiness but instead earning a life time of guilt and shame. Most of the ironies in Amir’s life come from the consequence of actions he thought would make him happy, much like the way the man in his story kills his own wife to cry more gold but finds himself devastatingly unhappy. The lamb in the story symbolized Hassan’s role in Amir’s life; like a lamb, Hassan was sacrificed for Amir’s benefit, and like the lamb he understood what was happening and acted submissively. On another level, lamb is associated with innocence and purity, the slaughter of the lamb like Hassan’s assault, signified the loss of purity. Hassan’s cleft lips also have great symbolic value. Amir at the beginning of the story describes the lips as a characteristic most representative of Hassan. The physical deformity denotes his lower class status and poverty directly, because it indicates his family does not have money to fix it for him. The cleft lip is also symbolic of happiness, because visually it forced Hassan’s mouth into an unchanging smile. The year Hassan’s lips were reconstructed, he was raped and emotionally scarred. From then on he never smiled in front of Amir. The cleft lip condition returns near the end of the story on Amir’s mouth, after he rescues Sohrab from Assef and finds self-redemption. It signifies that he is now happy, and also that he is now taking on Hassan’s role as Sohrab’s father. The deformity originally branded Hassan as a low breed and social outcast, but its meaning evolved throughout the novel and into a blessing instead. In this respect, the cleft lips are very similar to the scarlet letter. 

Irony-- What Amir wanted VS what he got

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“I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba.” 

Irony- Assef's role in Amir's life

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 “I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night."

Irony-- the unfolding resemblance between Amir and Baba

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"Please think, Amir jan. It was a shameful situation. People would talk. All that a man had back then, all that he was, was his honor, his name, and if people talked...we couldn't tell anyone, surely you can see that." 

Irony written analysis

Three major instances of irony found in the story include Amir's unfolding resemblance to Baba, the contrast between what Amir wanted and what he received, and finally Assef's role in Amir's predicament. At the beginning of the novel, Amir felt the chasm between him and Baba was caused by their dissimilarity. For example, he believes that by being stronger and more athletic like Baba he can impress him and win his favor, so he avidly participates in soccer and football. However, after most of his efforts ended in vain and Baba begins to lose hope, Amir becomes desperate. He is determined to win the kite tournament and allows Hassan to be raped in order to bring back the fallen trophy kite. He then buries this shameful secret for half of his adult life. The irony lies in when Rahim Khan calls and forces Amir to face the past again, Amir discovers that Baba actually conceived Hassan with Sanaubar-- Hassan is his half brother. Albeit trying to find the best of Baba’s traits in himself, Amir realizes that the only thing he shares with Baba is the betrayal of their best friends and a lifetime’s penalty of guilt and struggle for self-redemption. There is a further irony in the fact that Amir returns with the blue kite in hopes of winning Baba’s approval, but instead secretly becomes the type of coward Baba has always feared Amir would become. Assef is the cause of Amir’s turmoil, and the incident in the alleyway greatly shadows Amir’s conscious for the next 20 years. Ironically, it is also in Assef’s assault that Amir finally finds atonement for his sins; as Amir takes the beating from Assef, he is healed emotionally and relieved of his guilt. 

Motifs--Rape
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"It's just a Hazara," Assef said. But Kamal kept looking away. "Fine," Assef snapped. "All I want you weaklings to do is hold him down. Can you manage that?"..."I don't know," Wali was saying. "My father says it's sinful."

Motifs-- Father-son relationship

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“I think he loved us equally, but differently.” 

Motifs--Self- Redemption:

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“...there is a God, there always has been. I see him here, in the eyes of the people in this [hospital] corridor of desperation. This is the real house of God, this is where those who have lost God will find Him... there is a God, there has to be, and now I will pray, I will pray that He will forgive that I have neglected Him all of these years, forgive that I have betrayed, lied, and sinned with impunity only to turn to Him now in my hour of need. I pray that He is as merciful, benevolent, and gracious as His book says He is.” 

“And this is what I want you to understand, that good, real good, was born out of your father's remorse. Sometimes, I think everything he did, feeding the poor on the streets, building the orphanage, giving money to friends in need, it was all his way of redeeming himself. And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good.” 

Motifs written anaylsis

Husseini created numerous motifs throughout his novel, the most prominent of which are rape, self-redemption and the father-son relationship. These motifs reappear at critical intervals of the story and are inextricably linked to each other. Cases of sexual assault arise at 3 pivotal points in Amir’s life- first when Hassan is raped, second when Amir and Baba flee for America, and third when Amir rescues Sohrab from Assef. Husseini chose rape specifically because its impact extends past physical violence- it attacks the victim's emotion, dignity, and most importantly, sense of honor. Honor is a key component in the Afghan culture, and loss of it often results in social shaming or out-casting. By using rape as a main motif, Husseini is making a bold statement about the Afghan culture and how people are subject to judgment, and subsequently treatment, based on reputation, social status, honor and adherence to social conventions; those who are violated become 'dirty' by societal standards. The consequences of rape also serve as Amir's source of guilt, the foundation of this life story. Both Amir and Baba’s lives are defined by their efforts at self-redemption. For Baba, not being able to give Hassan the life he deserves is his biggest regret, and he continuously tries to make up for his predicament by building the orphanage, contributing to charity causes and acting as a model of justice to those around him. For Amir, the problem is two-fold: he feels guilty for being the cause of his mother’s death. He believes that is the reason Baba dislikes him and tries to prove his worth to Baba by winning the kite race and bringing home the fallen kite. However, in acquiring the kite he allows Hassan to be raped, and Baba’s short-lived pride for Amir quickly becomes Amir’s greatest source of shame. As Husseini sets Amir out on a journey of risk, self discovery and sacrifice to fix his mistakes, he also draws many parallels between the importance of honor in Afghan culture and the religious rituals performed to redeem one’s honor. By examining the unconventional method Amir takes to find redemption, which includes bringing Sohrab to America and risking his family’s reputation by publicizing he has a half Hazara niece, Husseini conveys another key about morality and the Afghan culture- what is right isn’t always socially accepted. Finally, Husseini weaves father-son relationships into many aspects of the story, starting at the beginning of the story with Amir and Baba, then backtracking to Baba and Hassan’s history, and eventually arriving at Amir’s relationship with Sohrab. This is partly to emphasize the prevalence of males in Afghan culture (a large portion of important characters in Amir’s life are male), but also links to the idea that blood is thicker than water, and one is inextricably bound to one’s parents/siblings.