Chapter 1-5 Questions

1.) The novel begins with a flashback. What do you think is its purpose? What do you learn about the narrator? To give some history behind the story, to give some background information about the author. I learned that he doesn't have a mother, and that his father is very popular in his town.
2.) Who is Hassan? Describe him physically. What is a cleft lip? Describe him by his relationships. What was his first word? Why is it important? How did he come into Amir's life? What contrast is made between Amir and Hassan? Hassan is described as a "Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood: perfectly round face, broad nose, slanting/narrow green eyes, cleft lip. Cleft lip is a big split in the center of the upper lip. Hassan and his family are poor, and he doesn't have a lot of people he's close to. Amir and Hassan were nursed by the same woman, and people who were fed from the same breasts have a kinship and share a brotherhood. Hassan's first word was "Amir", which is important because they grew up together and it shows how close Amir and Hassan really are.
3.) What does it mean to be Hazara, Shi'a Muslim, Afghanistan's minority group? Who, in the story thus far, is Hazara? So far in the Kite Runner, Hassan, Sanubar, and Ali are Hazaras. Hazaras are mogul descendants, but get described as mice-eating, flat-nosed, load-carrying donkeys.
4.) What does it mean to be Pashtun, Shi'a muslim. Afghanistan's majority group? Who, in the story thus far, is Pashtun? Baba, and Amir are Pashtun.
5.) How does Amir describe his home? Why do you think he elaborates this description so much? What do the details of the family pictures in Amir's house reveal? Baba built the house they live in, and it's known to be the biggest house in the town. Amir elaborates to show how his family's wealth.
6.) Who is Sananubar? How is she contrasted to Amir's mother? Sanubar is Hassan's mother, a young, beautiful woman, who left Ali and Hassan while Hassan was a baby.
7.) Who is Ali? What do the neighborhood children call him? What does it mean? Why do they call him this? Ali is Hassan's father, who is also very close to Baba and Amir. Children call him babalu, meaning Boogeyman. Ali has a congenital paralysis of lower face muscle, making it hard to have any facial expressions like smiling or frowning.
8.) How does Amir feel about his father in these chapters? He doesn't feel very close to him, there's a lot of distance between them.
9.) Who is the king's cousin? What did he do and why? His cousin is Daoud Khan, who had ended the king's forty-year reign with a bloodless coup, because the king, his cousin, was away in Italy.
10.) Who is Baba? Describe him. What are his values? How does he relate to extremely religious leaders? Baba is Amir's father. He built the most beautiful house in Kabul, and also built and owns an orphanage. He is wealthy, adventurous, and trustworthy.
11.) What does Baba give Hassan for his birthday? What does his present suggest about his character? How does Amir react to this present? Why did the present turn out to be ironic? Baba shows his present, which is not a gift, but a man standing next to Ali name Dr. Kumar, a surgeon to fix his cleft lip (plastic surgery). Amir was angry that Baba had never done anything special and meaningful for him as he's doing with Hassan, and he seems very jealous. This present became ironic, because once he had the surgery, making him able to smile, he stopped smiling.
12.) Who is Assef? What is his ancestry? What is he famous for? What is his political vision?  Assef is the son of one of Baba's friends. His father is an airline pilot, his father Afghan and mother German. Assef's famous for his stainless-steel brass knuckles.
13.) Who are Wali and Kamal? Wali and Kamal are friends of Assef, who take part in the bullying with him. Look up to Assef as a "God".
14.) What happens between Assef/Wali/Kamal and Amir/Hassan? What does Assef threaten (foreshadow)? Assef starts picking on Hassan and calling him names, Amir stands up for Hassan, then Assef begins picking on him. Hassan takes a rock against Assef's slingshot, and stands up for himself. Assef says that he's a very patient person, that this isn't the end, and that Hassan made a big mistake. He'll be back.
15.) Hassan has plastic surgery to be able to smile "normally" by the following winter. Why does Amir think that is ironic? Amir finds it ironic because once Hassan's mouth is fixed, making him finally able to smile, he stops trying to smile.
16.) What does Amir want to tell Assef about Hassan when Assef bullies them about being friends? Amir wants to tell Assef that Hassan isn't his friend, that he's his servant and only that. i