Ashley, other Ashley, Angela, Dylan, Jessica, and Lillian

[Ashley Diaz]

Analyze the symbolism of the harelip as it appears in the beginning and the end of the novel. How does is compare Hassan and Amir?

[mayraherna...@gmail.com]

In the beginning of the novel Hassan's harelip or cleft lip is one of his most representative features as a child, and it's one of the features Amir's refers the most in describing him. The split in Hassan's lip acts as a mark of Hassan's status in society. It signifies his poverty, which is one of the things that separates him from Amir, simply because a cleft lip indicates that and his family don't have money to fix the deformity. At the end of novel, Assef splits Amir's lip as he beats for him, leaving Amir with a permanent scar much like Hassan's. In a sense, Amir identity becomes merged with Hassan's. He learns to stand up for those he cares about as Hassan once did for him, and he becomes  a father figure to Sohrab. Because of this, it also serves as a sign of Amir's redemption. 

[lillian Morales]

I completely agree that the split lip represents the separation between Hassan and Amir's class and I like how you took that into Amir merging with Hassan's identity after the beating from Assef, making Amir into the man he needed to be and contributing to his redemption.