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Parallelisms in Chapter 22/23, letter-in-envelope-icon-cartoon-vector…
Parallelisms in Chapter 22/23
Perhaps the clearest parallelism is between Hassan aiming the slingshot at Assef to protect Amir in Chapter 5 and Sohrab doing the same at Assef in Chapter 22.
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An effect of poetic justice - Assef ironically becomes "one-eyed Assef" as Hassan had threatened in Chapter 5. Equally, Amir is once again saved by a Hazara - only this time, he has put his own welfare above that of Sohrab. For Amir, this is symbolic of his redemptive arc.
Ironically however, there is a sense as to which Sohrab's act of defending Amir does not fully redeem the character's actions - instead, he is redeemed from Assef by Hassan's son; is Amir truly redeemed or is he still a coward?
Sohrab protecting Amir in the same nature that Hassan used to protect Amir creates a parallelism of the society that has remained unchanged across the narrative - despite the Hazaras being oppressed, they are obedient to the dominant group, though, to an extent this dynamic is broken as Amir becomes merged with the 'inferior' group opposing the taliban.
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Hazara exploitation
Exemplified in Chapter 7 through Assef's exploitation of Hassan and present here through Assef's continual implied exploitation of Hazaras - in this case Sohrab. Ironically, this examines how Pashtuns, heightened through the character of Assef, continually exploit and abuse the Hazara race - it is generational.
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Negative parallelism in a sense - opposing display of emotions on behalf of Baba to Amir and Kamal's father to Kamal himself, most notably succeeding his rape. Reader only witnesses small outbursts of display of affection from Baba.
Doaud Khan and Assef
Comparing the two characters, it is clear that Sohrab's rebellion from Assef reflects on the coup that occurred within Afghan history - perhaps it relfects a shift in power between the two.
Both stage a 'bloodless coup' (Daoud Khan against the Afghan monarchy, Hassan against Assef with the slingshot).
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Baba and Amir both find things that they feel are redeeming acts of character that act as an excuse for past wrong-doings, ultimately however, Amir realises he has still became his father in this sense and that realistically neither of the characters can be fully forgiven for their actions (Amir's inaction and Baba's lie)
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Sense of irony that Amir was jealous when Hassan got the surgery for his lip (and of the attention/love he received from Baba as a result) and however many years later he also got one
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