Characters

• Baba
  • Bear wrestler
  • Toophan agha “Mr. Hurricane”
  • Towering, thick beard, wayward crop of unruly hair, massive hands, black glare
• Baba’s Father
  • Killed by thief
  • Respected Judge
• Mullah Fatiullah Khan
  • Short, stubby man, acne scars, gruff voice
• Rhaim Khan
• Sofia Akrami
  • Royal Ffamily descendent
  • Taught classic Farsi literature
• Thief
  • Killed Baba’s Father
  • From Kunduz region
  • Hanged by townspeople

Locations

• Baluchistan
  • Reportedly where Baba wrestled the bear
• Baba’s Orphanage, Jadeh Maywand, S Kabul River
• Ghargha Lake
  • Favorite destination of Baba, Amir, and Hassan

Dates

• ~1939? (When Baba was 6)
  • Thief kills Baba’s father
• 1960s
  • Baba builds orphanage
    • Took 3 years
    • Financed by Baba

Themes/Motifs

• Religious dogma versus pratical beliefs for a secular world
• Baba’s disappointment, expectations v reality
• Father v son dynamics

Thoughts

This section sets up Baba’s lore and Amir’s duality of his relationship with his father. He respects, loves, and admires him but hates him for his disappointment with amir. Amir is also jealous of anyone else who receives his father’s affections.

Baba becomes rich and marries a princess, despite doubts from his peers.

Additional religious mandates of Islam are introduced: the virtures of zakat, duty of hadj,  namaz prayers. Qiyamat, is the Judgement Day. Drinking is discussed and Baba’s feelings about religion are given. It all comes down to theft.

Amir feels responsible for the death of his mother and feels that the event contributes to his father’s hate of him. That and Amir’s love of literature as opposed to his father’s interests like Buzkashi or soccer. He even overhears his father doubting Amir’s birthright.

Amir finds a love of writing and literature. Enjoys the Sherjangi “Battle of the Poems” game in Farsi classs. Could recite versus from Khayyam, Hafez, Rumi’s Masnawi. Also read Western authors.