Chapter 7 Notes
 Hassan has a dream about Amir overcoming a monster in a
lake (59/63); Hassan anticipates Amir’s fear and makes
Amir feel superior by pretending he does not understand
the significance of his dream
 “It occurred to me then that maybe Hassan had made up his
dream. Was that possible? I decided it wasn’t. Hassan
wasn’t that smart. I wasn’t that smart” (62/66). Amir
immediately assumes Hassan is incapable of developing
this metaphorical dream
 When told to go get the kite, Hassan responds with, “For
you a thousand times over” (67/71)
 Hassan’s selflessness reveals his strong character; Amir’s
selfishness shows his weakness
 Both Amir and Hassan are trapped by social standards;
Hassan to be a complete servant and ignore his desires, and
Amir to be a ‘master’ and be selfish
 Assef compares Hassan to an animal: “A loyal Hazara.
Loyal as a dog” (72/77); dehumanizing Hassan
 “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” (76/81); Hassan’s
symbolic representation as the lamb precedes Amir
sacrificing him
 Compares this to when he watched a sheep be slaughtered,
“I watch because of that look of acceptance in the animal’s
eyes. Absurdly, I imagine the animal understands. I
imagine the animal sees that its imminent demise is for a
higher purpose” (77/82); Amir parallels his feelings about
the sheep with his feelings about Hassan
 “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”
(77/82)