KR+Summarizer

Jessie Morris Chapters 1-5 Summaries

Chapter 1 was basically a very short introduction that talks about how the narrator became the way that he is now at the age of 12. He receives a telephone call from an old riend and from this chapter the book goes on to talk about what happened to make his friend Rahim Khan tell him that there is a way to make things good again.

In chapter 2 the narrator and his childhood is introduced. Amir, the narrator, grew up in what is though to be the most beautiful house in Kabul. His father, Baba, is very wealthy, and Amir wants nothing more but love and attention from him. Amir and his father have two servants, Ali and his son Hassan, who are very close to the family. Ali and Hassan are Hazara, which are considered a minority because they are Shi'a muslims and not Sunni muslims. The live in the little hut outside of Amir's house. Baba and Ali are close growing up because Baba's father took Ali in when his parents died in a car accident. Amir and Hassan have grown up together too, and they are only a year apart. Both of their mothers "died" soon after giving birth to the boys, so they breast fed from the same woman, which was considered to make them closer, like brothers.

In chapter 3 the narrator expresses how he strives to have a better relationship with ihs father, but in a way he feels some what neglected by him. The narrator shows jealousy to Hasan when he comes places with Amir and Baba, and Baba treats him like a son too. Amir tries to make conversation with his dad by talking about his religious teacher who says its a sin to drink alcohol. Baba thinks this is ridiculous and says that there is only one real sin, theft. He explains "when you kill a man, you steal his life, you steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth; when you cheat you steal the right to fairness." Later in the chapter Amir overhears Baba talking about how Amir never stands up for himself, and if he hadn't actually seen his wife give birth to him, he wouldn't believe that was his son.

In chapter 4 it describes the friendship between Amir and Hassan. Hassan, being a servant, is illiterate, so Amir always reads to him. One day, because Hassan can't even notice, Amir stops reading from the book, and starts to make up the rest of the stroy on his own. When Hassan tells him this is one of the best stories he has read him in a while Amir become inspired to write a short story of his own. He tries to show it to his father, but Baba doesn't even seem to care, so Rahim Khan reads and and says "Bravo!' which makes Amir even happier.

In chapter 5 Amir had been home at night with Hassan and Ali while Baba was gone. Amir wakes Hassan up to read his short story, and while he is reading it gun shots start going off and lighting up the sky. The boys don't know what is going on and Ali holds them close until the early hours of the morning. The next day they keep hearing republic on the radio, which bores them so they go outside to play. While they are out there the neighborhood bully, Assef, comes out with his friends and starts harrassing them. He's known for beating kids up with his brass knuckles, and is about to beat them up when Hassan pulls out his sling shot and threatens to hit him in the eye with a rock. Assef leaves but warns them it was a mistake to do that and they'll be sorry.