Presented by:

Gabriel Beltran

Ryan Lin

Mia Abigan

Maxine Chu

Kimberly Go

Cheyenne Kohchet-Chua

Charlize Ong
GROUP 2: SYMBOLISM

AMIR VS
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DEFINITION OF TERMS
▸ ahesta boro - Wedding song.
▸ awroussi - The wedding ceremony.
▸ bachem - My child.
▸ boboresh - "Cut him."
▸ Eid of Qorban - Animal sacrifice ceremony that commemorates
Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son.
▸ Inshallah - "God willing."
▸ jan - A word of endearment.
▸ khoda hafez - Goodbye.
▸ Mashallah - "Praise God."
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DEFINITION OF TERMS
▸ Qiyamat - Judgment Day.
▸ salaam alaykum - Hello to you.
▸ salaam - Hello.
▸ Shirini-khori - The "Eating of the Sweets" ceremony;
engagement party.
▸ tashakor - Thank you.
▸ yelda - First night of winter, the longest night of the year.
▸ zendagi migzara - "Life goes on."
Amir Hassan

•religion: Sunni •religion: Shi'a

•race: Pashtun •race: Hazara
•social status: rich •social status: poor
•upbringing: more •upbringing: less
privileged privileged; illiterate
RACE AND
RELIGION
▸ The Pashtuns oppressed the Hazaras and the latter
tried to rise against them in the 19th century
▸ The Pashtuns, however, "quelled them with
unspeakable violence"
▸ The reason for this is because of their difference in
religion with the Pashtuns being Sunni Muslims and the
Hazaras, Shi'a Muslims
▸ The Hazaras were also Mogul descendants
SOCIAL STATUS
AND UPBRINGING
▸ Due to the fact that the Pashtuns oppressed the Hazaras,
they were later treated as slaves
▸ It was common for Pashtun families to have Hazara slaves
▸ Since Hazaras were treated as slaves, they were illiterate
and received no education
▸ Hazaras were often bullied because of their low social
status and facial features
▸ It was looked down upon for Pashtuns to befriend Hazaras
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AMIR'S CHILDHOOD
▸ Son of Baba and Sofia Akrami, a
descendant of the royal family
▸ His mother died while giving birth to
him
▸ He and Hassan were close and
treated each "like brothers"
▸ Although, he never considered
Hassan his friend
▸ As a child, he had this love-hate
relationship with his dad and often
feels jealous of Hassan because of
this
 HASSAN'S CHILDHOOD
▸ Son of Baba and Sanaubar
▸ Thought to be the son of Ali, which was
later disproved
▸ Lost his mother after she ran off with a
band of dancers and singers
▸ He received no education so he is
illiterate
▸ He was very loyal to Amir and
considered him a friend
▸ He was treated very kindly by Baba,
considering he was a servant
 AMIR'S ADULTHOOD
▸ Escaped Afghanistan and
eventually moved to the US as a
refugee
▸ Pursued Literature, became an
author and a published novelist
▸ Married Soraya Taheri, the
daughter of General Taheri
▸ Tried to conceive but never had a
child because of the "unexplained
infertility" of Soraya
 HASSAN'S ADULTHOOD

▸ Moved to Hazarajat but eventually returned to Kabul,

where he died
▸ Remained uneducated until a Farsi teacher taught him to
read and write
▸ Married Farzana who died with him
▸ They had a son which they named Sohrab, after a hero
from Amir and Hassan's favorite story
AMIR AND HASSAN'S SIMILARITIES

▸ Both were born and raised in the same place

▸ Both had the same father and wet-nurse
▸ Both bullied by Assef and his cronies
▸ Had a passion for kites
▸ Had a passion for literature
▸ Both influenced Sohrab in different ways
SYMBOLISM OF AMIR AND HASSAN
▸ Amir and Hassan represent two different social classes
and races, the discrimination greatly affected their
relationship
▸ Amir's privilege allowed him to escape the war, while
Hassan had no money to escape even if he wanted to
▸ Amir and the Pashtuns represent the ones who had
everything, but Hassan and the Hazaras represent the
ones who had nothing at all, and yet both show their
own problems and joys
MULTIPLE
CHOICE
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▸ What kind of Muslims are the Hazaras and Pashtuns,

respectively?
▸ a. Sunni and Shi'a
▸ b. Shi'a and Sunni
▸ c. Shunni and Si'a
▸ d. Shunn and S'ia
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▸ What is the name of Amir's mother?

▸ a. Farzana
▸ b. Soraya Taheri
▸ c. Sofia Akrami
▸ d. Sanaubar
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▸ Who taught Hassan to read and write?

▸ a. Rahim Khan
▸ b. an unnamed Farsi teacher
▸ c. an unnamed American teacher
▸ d. Baba
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▸ How was Sohrab named?

▸ a. From Hassan's favorite story
▸ b. From one of Hassan's relatives
▸ c. From Amir's middle name
▸ d. From a religious figure in the Koran
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▸ How did Amir lose his mother?

▸ a. She ran off with a group of dancers and singers
▸ b. Had a heart attack when she discovered her son
was pursuing Literature
▸ c. Got killed by the Taliban
▸ d. Died having hemorrhages after giving birth to him