I'm wondering, may I join in even if I'm not a member?? I just read this book.

Denise | April 25, 2005 8:33 PM

Denise, anyone can participate in a discussion even if you aren't a member, so please feel free to jump in.

Barbara, as of right now, I'm only on page 29. I had company yesterday and didn't get much reading done, but I have time today.

I'm amazed that this discussion hasn't gotten going yet considering that the book has been on bestseller lists and lots of people have already read it. Maybe everyone is out enjoying the nice weather.

marydell | April 26, 2005 8:15 AM

By all means, Denise. What did you think?

barbara | April 26, 2005 9:53 AM

At what age is one held accountable?

I believe that if you are old enough to know what is wrong or right, you have to "pay for your actions." amir is writing as an adult, did he know right from wrong back when the incident happened?

was it a sin/variation of theft?

hassan was robbed of his childhood. also, amir took away part of their friendship by not acting initially and then changed his behavior toward hassan for the rest of their lives. would that have been a sin in baba's eyes?

p.s. why won't by shift key work here?

john | April 26, 2005 9:54 AM

I don't know John. I think we become aware of right and wrong well before we develop the maturity and strength of character to act on it. Peer acceptance is such a dominant force at that age. And the assault Amir witnessed was so violent & shocking, I can't judge him too harshly. The only sin of cowardice that I saw, was the theft of Amir's own self esteem.

However, Amir did willfullly and maliciously betray Hassan by setting him up. That, for me, was a much darker sin. He was motivated by guilt, greed, and jealousy. It was calculated, pre-meditated... not self-preservation or fear. Baba would absolutely view that as sin.

My shift key is working ;)

barbara | April 26, 2005 10:36 AM

Whether Amir sinned or not by not standing up for Hassan is a hard call. I'm leaning towards yes, though. He was old enough to that he should help, and then how he treated Hassan afterwards would imply that Amir knew he should have tried to stop the others as well.

Denise | April 26, 2005 11:12 AM

Poor Hassan. Amir's abandonment of their friendship was so painful...hurt him worse than the rape, I think. I was very moved by the portrayal of the disintegrating bond between them. Remember when you lost your first best friend? One of many losses of innocence we might all have in common.

barbara | April 26, 2005 4:05 PM

I think Amir knew what he was doing was wrong – but that didn’t diminish the fear he felt. In the end his fear/cowardice was greater than the desire to help Hassan.

I'm in two minds about Amir's guilt. Perhaps Amir isn't as guilty as he thought, he was only a child and so his 'sinning' is all in his mind. On the other hand, if the situation were reversed Hassan would have stood up to him, and Amir know this because he did in the past. So by not standing up for Hassan Amir is denying him (‘stealing’ from him) a sign of friendship and loyalty. But Amir is only a child and would the situation have ended any better if he stood up for Hassan? Probably not. So maybe Amir’s real sin is not in running away or doing nothing, but failing to admit to Hassan that he was there, he saw what happened and did nothing. John, I think you’re right – Amir ‘stole’ part of their friendship, by firstly not standing up for Hassan and then not admitting what he had done.

But what Amir did later by setting Hassan up was awful – unforgiveable perhaps. I think he knew exactly what he was doing, he knew it was bad and he knew why it was bad. But at the same time he was still quite young I think the test here is would the adult Amir ever do anything like this, and I think the answer is no. So although Amir was old enough to understand his own actions and their consequences he was not mature enough to enforce his own moral code – a code which he later showed he did have by returning to Afghanistan and ultimately adopting Hassan’s son.

Danny | April 29, 2005 9:23 AM

"not mature enough to enforce his own moral code." Very nicely put! I agree about the adult test. Amir is a better man for the mistakes of childhood.

barbara | April 29, 2005 12:26 PM