Hassan Character Notes

Feel free to add anything, because I'm unsure as to whether I have covered all that can be done, or not.
- Philli

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Name: Hassan
Novel life-span: Birth – 38 years (death)
Key Relationships: Amir, Ali, Baba, Sohrab, Farzana, Rahim Kahn

Personality: Loyal, cares a lot for Amir, is very sacrificial when it comes to helping those close to him, illiterate but enjoys Amir reading the Shahnamah, as he grows in age, he still remains content with his life, and always loyal to Amir.

Likes and Dislikes: For a lot of the book, it is emphasised that Hassan likes it when Amir reads to him either his own stories, or from the Shahnamah. As well as this, it is also mentioned in passing that Hassan enjoys drawing when he can; “…and a wooden table in the corner where Hassan did his drawings.” As mentioned when describing Ali and Hassan’s living quarters. It is also dwelled upon that even when Amir has betrayed Hassan, and is behaving in a cold manner toward him, Hassan still wishes that they can be friends – even to the point that it is brought up in his letter when they are 38 years old.

Motivations:

Regrets: Although it is not directly said, it is implied that Hassan possibly regrets how the friendship between himself and Amir deteriorated over time, with sentences such as “I am hopeful that one day I will hold one of your letters in my hands and read of your life in America.” Which suggests that Hassan still wants their past friendship, and has a real interest in wanting to know more about Amir’s life.

 
Defining Moment: On the whole, in relation to the entire book, Hassan’s rape in chapter seven could be seen as Hassan’s defining moment as it triggers the whole downward spiral of his friendship with Amir due to the betrayal that occurs between the two boys. However, there are several other instances in which the importance of Hassan’s character is as prominent as the protagonist. For example, chapter seventeen shows a letter from Hassan to Amir, and therefore changes perspective from Amir’s to Hassan’s for the next few pages. This chapter then goes on to describe Hassan’s death; a shocking blow to both Amir and the readers, who are not really expecting the sudden and quite horrible death of one of the main characters in the story.

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Semantic field: Trust, loyalty, Hazara, friend, brother, bond,

Sentence types: Simple, shows Hassan’s uneducated mannerisms/character. Some are interrogative, again showing his lack of knowledge, and also shows how he respects/looks up to Amir as someone of greater intelligence.