Kite Runner Entry 4

Truly, Dara was right when she told me this was a depressing book. It truly is. Amir's action in the beginning of the book has come back to him threefold. He finds out that Hassan is his half-brother, that his Baba is not the man that he thought him to be, and that Hassan, who had lived rather well in Afganistan, was killed by the Taliban, the group that the people thought would free them and end the killing. I was shocked to find that Amir and Hassan were half-brothers. It never occured to me that this would be possible, I never thought about it. What was more shocking was the hatred between the two religious groups. Even Farid, a rather nice man and understanding man, was shocked that Amir had 'come all the way from America for...a Shi'a.' (267). Amir and Hassan had gotten along well enough, and they are blood related as well. The only difference is in religion, which is mostly the same in the first place. This is a Glog I created in order to help explain why Sunni's and Shi'as do not get along well. While both follow the Qur'an, they follow different hadiths, or narrations concerning the prophecies of the prophet Muhammad. Because of these different hadiths, following different views and thus end up with different traditions, there is hostility between these two groups. Its really amazing how by just following a different point of view, two groups who believe in the same god shed blood over who is right. It is a lot like Roman Catholicism and Christianity/Protestantism. Both follow the Bible, but their different views over practices has produced many conflicts.

Hassan left behind a son, a young boy named Sohrab. Amir wants to take Sohrab to an orphanage, or to a nice family to be taken care of, and I cannot help but feel exasperated with him. His wife Soraya has always wanted a child, so take him home with you! Is all that I want to say. Though, since he feels himself inept at taking care of Sohrab, he does have some reason not to. I think that Sohrab is like Amir's new start with Hassan, and his way of redeeming himself and his father. Baba had an illegitimate child with his best friend's wife. That child was Hassan, and thus was Baba's 'sin'. Amir's sin is the time that he abandoned Hassan to Assef. Sohrab is Amir's 'way to be good again'. By going to get him, Amir had to face off against Assef, who is now a Taliban insurgent. Amir fought for Sohrab, which he did not do for Hassan. Amir also wants to take Sohrab to a safe place to stay, to people who will care for Sohrab. Sohrab is Amir's redemption, for him and Baba, who had lied to Amir and Hassan, and lying was the worst sin to Baba.
This is a wheel of karma. A sunrise or sunset for the background, depending on how you view it, and a wheel of symbols. At the top is bloodshed and fire, at the bottom, near the sun, is a smiley face. Butterflies symbolize change. The question I want to know is, will Amir be able to break this cycle of regret? Perhaps he will, I just hope he does not dissapoint me again.