Amir and Hassan are the best of friends, although they are from different backgrounds. The two boys believe their friendship will last forever and they promise to always be there for each other.
Amir and Hassan spend most of their time outside. They are boys and they like to run and play. They spend a lot of their time under a pomegranate tree. The tree shades them and Amir reads to Hassan. Hassan can't read, because he isn't allowed to go to school, he is the servant's son of Amir's father. Amir spends lots of time reading to Hassan and making up stories. The pomegranate tree symbolizes the nurturing and beautiful friendship these two young boys have, at the time.
"There was a pomegranate tree near the entrance of the cemetery. One summer day, I used one of Ali's kitchen knives to carve our names on it: 'Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul'. Those words made it formal: The tree was ours."
The boys saw the tree as their special place and thought that nothing could take the friendship away from them. After the horrible tragedy that Amir witnesses with Hassan, the tree no longer holds the same meaning for the two of them. Amir is wracked with guilt, that he carries most of his life. He wants Hassan to show him how angry he is at him. He throws pomegranates at Hassan and wants him to hit him back, instead Hassan hits the pomegranate over his own head.
When Amir goes back and visits the tree, he sees that the tree is no longer bearing fruit, which represents the fact that their friendship is no longer in tact. The two names are still carved in the wood, but the tree is dead, just like their friendship.
No comments:
Post a Comment