Yet again, Hassan demonstrates his loyalty and devotion to Amir. If we were to judge Amir and Hassan's friendship by actions and not simply expressions of loyalty, the score would be pretty lopsided. (Of course, Amir saves Hassan's son at the end of the book from a pathological pedophile so that counts for something.) We also want to point out the irony in Hassan's reply: "For you a thousand times over!" Amir will develop a pretty nasty case of insomnia as the guilt piles up inside him. Really, Amir returns to the alleyway thousands of times in his memory before he comes to peace with his cowardice. And so the phrase "a thousand times over" is colored with some pretty devastating irony. Yes, Hosseini is using irony again.

Amir leaves Hassan in the alleyway. This passage, along with the passage in which Amir plants a wad of cash and his watch under Hassan's mattress, counts as Amir's two major betrayals of Hassan. Perhaps because of his guilt, Amir never tells Hassan he saw what happened in the alley. Which brings up an interesting side question: Do you think Amir's silence is a worse betrayal than Amir's cowardice?

We're especially frightened by this passage because Assef is only a boy, too. Can Assef even know the repercussions of his act? Does Assef, too, despite his cruelty, retain a type of innocence? When children are cruel to each other are they still innocent even in their cruelty? Don't forget, either, about Amir who's watching the event. In fact, you might be able to say that Amir's abandonment and betrayal of Hassan affects Amir more than it affects Hassan. Hassan retains – or at least returns to – some measure of innocence. But Amir is irrevocably changed.

Hassan certainly meets the Hebrew's requirement of the sacrificial animal: purity. Does Baba in some way play the Ibrahim role and sacrifice Hassan because Hassan is a Hazara? Or does Amir sacrifice Hassan? Do Amir and Baba play the same role – are they both Ibrahim? Does Baba – by refusing to love Amir unconditionally – end up sacrificing Amir? Who is the victim here? If this were a multiple choice test, we might choose "D. All of the above." We can't take the test for you, though.

In this passage, Amir watches as Assef rapes Hassan. It's horrific and cruel. Somehow, Amir believes he can win his father's love if he brings back the blue kite Hassan ran down. And he's right, to an extent. Following his victory in the kite tournament, Amir and his father become closer than ever before. But Amir is also tragically wrong. Amir ignores – by not defending Hassan – some of his father's most cherished principles: honor, pride, and bravery. In order to seem like a man in his father's eyes, Amir actually does the most shameful thing he could do: abandon (and later betray) Hassan.

Although we're happy for Amir, Shmoop's Department of Child Psychology firmly believes it's not a good thing if the child has to win his father's affection. Amir wins the kite tournament and returns to Baba's study with the infamous blue kite. He does gain his father's affection – for a little while. Amir's newfound closeness with Baba will last only a brief time. The sacrifices Amir makes (or has Hassan makes) will haunt him for much of his life.

Amir finally wins his father's admiration but we're pretty sure this actually isn't the way he imagined it would happen. Sure, this passage has all the trappings of a good father-son hug. "I'm so proud of you, son!" the father might even say. But you should dig a little deeper. Just under the surface there's a further connection between Baba and Amir. On one level, Baba celebrates Amir's athleticism and courage in the kite tournament. The boy is finally acting like a man. But on another level, Amir has just committed a hefty betrayal on the same level as Baba's infidelity with Sanaubar. The two are now bound by guilt and sin and that's not healthy.