Chapter 2

The chapter starts with, 'When we were children,' which immediately indicates that this part of the story is an analepsis of Amir's life as a young boy. It goes through Amir's close and mischievous friendship with Hassan, detailing what they used to do and how Hassan looked in acute description. He talks about how they 'pelted each other with them, (mulberries) giggling, laughing.' This gives the reader a sense of innocence and childish playfulness. It's a very relatable image, allowing the reader to empathise with Amir and highlighting the fact that Amir was a typical young boy. 
Amir describes the physical appearance of Hassan, and says he has 'a face like a Chinese doll' which creates an image of flawlessness for the reader, however he goes on to describe Hassan's imperfection, 'the cleft lip [...] where the Chinese doll maker's instrument may have slipped' which is detailed imagery and  helps us to understand how Amir thinks and the fact that he's come up with ideas such as this tells us that he doesn't fully understand the cause of this condition, showing the naivety and ignorance of a child. 
Amir has quite a manipulative personality, shown through the quote, 'I talked Hassan into firing walnuts'. This also tells us that he is the more dominant one in the relationship, while Hassan is the submissive one, wanting to please Amir and possibly gain his respect or make Amir proud of him. This also links to 'if I asked, really asked, he wouldn't deny me.' which tells us that Amir takes advantage of the fact that Hassan can never refuse him which makes the reader feel sorry for Hassan because the friendship is seemingly one-sided. It also says, 'Hassan never wanted to' showing the reader that out of the two, Hassan was more morally aware than Amir and has more of an understanding of the consequences. There is a definite social line between them, as Amir seems to be the rich, spoiled boy who is used to getting his way and Hassan is the poor, humble boy who is nice enough to give in but remains aware of the damaged caused by doing so.
He describes how when they got caught by Ali, Hassan's father, he would get mad 'or as mad as someone as gentle as Ali could ever get.' This tells us about Ali's character and the word 'gentle' suggests Ali is a kind man who is also quite humble. Although he disciplines, the reader can tell he is no threat to Amir and won't stop him from being troublesome. Whilst Hassan is being told off, Amir states 'he never told on me.' which shows how loyal Hassan is to Amir, but Amir's unwillingness to confess makes the reader doubt mutual loyalty between the two boys. Amir refers to his father as 'my Baba' which shows a very possessive attitude and the reader gains a sense of fear because Amir is clingy and scared to lose him to someone or something.
Amir begins to describe his fathers estate and the house which Baba designed and built. Phrases such as 'Intricate mosaic tiles, handpicked by Baba', tells us not only that he is wealthy, but he is a very proud man and has very specific taste. This chapter makes the distance between Baba and Amir obvious, and the fact that Amir desperately craves his fathers attention through quotes like, 'I asked Baba if I could sit with them. [...] "Go on now," he'd say, "This is grown ups time'. This highlights how much Amir craves Baba's approval and furthermore, 'He'd close the door, leave me to wonder why it was always grown ups time with him.' makes us feel sympathy for Amir, as we see how lonely he is. This is the moment where we see that although Amir has it 'all' in terms of lifestyle, he would probably give up his material goods just to spend some quality time with his father. Amir seems like a much more emotional character and in need of emotional attention than Baba is willing to give, as he comes across as a tough-love father. Around the time of the 1960's-70's, mothers were the nurturing and affectionate ones, so Baba may not have acknowledged that because Amir's mother is dead, it's his duty to show his son love and attention. 
As Amir is describing the decoration, he begins to explain the photographs. The first is his 'grandfather and King Nadir Shah', which tells the reader that Amir's family have a history of wealth and have always been quite high up in terms of social status. The last photo Amir describes is one of Amir as a baby in his fathers arms, standing next to Rahim Khan. Amir says, 'Baba is holding me, looking tired and grim. I'm in his arms, but it's Rahim Khan's pinky my fingers are curled around.' This further describes the relationship between Amir and Baba and how even as a baby, Baba gave Amir no affection or attention and shows a distance between father and son.
The chapter continues to describe the luxuries throughout Baba's house from the 'mahogany table that could easily sit thirty guests' to 'a semicircular terrace that overlooked two acres of backyard and rows of cherry trees.' These are building on our idea of how wealthy Baba is and when Amir comes to describe the servants' home, 'a modest little mud hut', the contrast of the two living spaces shocks the reader, especially as with all the space Baba has and the fact there's only two people living there. 
Amir describes how 'When the sun dropped low behind the hills [...] Hassan and I parted ways.' The fact that they don't go back to each other's houses acts as a constant reminder of the difference of social status between the two boys. When it comes to describing the servants' quarters, the lack of detail as opposed to Baba's house may shock the reader, as it is a small living space with only the basic furniture. 'There were two mattresses on opposite sides of the room', this further indicates the separation in class between the two boys.
The chapter then discusses Hassan's mother and how he 'Lost her to a fate most Afghans considered far worse than death: She ran off with a clan of traveling singers and dancers.' This seems to make Hassan even more of an outcast because his mother brought shame upon her family, which is still widely frowned upon, and his mother ran away from him. 
Amir begins to show concern for Hassan's feelings about this by saying, 'I always wondered if he dreamed about her. [...] Did he ache for her the way I ached for the mother I had never met?' This seems like Amir is trying to find similarities to the way Hassan feels about his mother and the way Amir feels about his. It's almost as if he's looking for confirmation for the acceptable way to act about a situation like this. 
When it comes to the point in the book where Hassan gets picked on by the soldiers, it really makes the reader feel sorry for him, because we now know that he is a decent boy and the underdog in the situation through no fault of his own. But at this point, you also get an insight to the close bond between Amir and Hassan, as Hassan doesn't react to the soldier at first, it's Amir who repeats, 'keep walking'.
After this incident  at the cinema, Amir looks at Hassan and tells us that 'Tears were sliding down his cheeks.' This answers the question as to whether or not Hassan thought about his mother, meaning that now Amir has seen this, he feels that his situation is more relate-able to Hassan's and is reassured by the fact that Hassan feels the same way. Amir then comforts Hassan by repeating, 'He took you for someone else,' which is a very consoling and thoughtful this for Amir to have done. 
The next section of the chapter describes Ali, Hassan's father. The first bit of description we get of Ali, is about his 'congenital paralysis of his lower facial muscles,' which instantly reflects Hassan and his cleft-lip, linking the image of the kinder, gentler one to the image of facial deformities. 
We later find out some of the history between the Pashtuns and the Hazaras. Amir talks about how the Pashtuns had 'persecuted and oppressed the Hazaras' and how when the Hazaras tried to fight back, the Pashtuns "quelled them with unspeakable violence." We also find out that this conflict occured because the Pashtuns were Sunni Muslims and the Hazaras were Shi'a Musilims. This gives us an insight as to why the vast majority of Pashtuns and possibly other races, feel they can be racist and abusive towards the Hazaran citizens. It also shows the reader that the relationship between Amir and Hassan is not only to do with wealth, but also to do with race and beliefs, so their relationship was dictated by society and prefigured by history rather than just social class.
As a reader, we learn a little more about Sanaubar's (Hassan's mother) personality. It states 'Sanaubar joined the neighborhood kids in taunting Ali.' which tells us she was childish and spiteful with no care for anyone other than herself and how she appears to other people. We also learn that she was married to Ali in order to 'help restore some honor to his uncle's blemsihed name' even though Ali had 'no worldly possessions or inheritance to speak of.' This tells us that for some reason, Ali's uncle had a very bad reputation.
We are also shown how much love Ali has for Hassan, which led to their close father-son relationship from the quote, 'he had found his antidote (to the torment), the moment Sanaubar had given birth to Hassan.' This is also a contrast to Baba and Amir's relationship, and an indefinite cause for Amir to be jealous of Hassan.
We are also given description of Hassan's character when Amir states, 'Hassan was true to his nature: He was incapable of hurting anyone.' (referring to childbirth) 'Out he came smiling.' Showing us that Hassan has been kind and gentle from the moment he was born, indicating he was 'built' to function that way. 
Sanaubar is described in contrast to both Ali and Hassan, 'Sanaubar had taken one glance at the baby in Ali's arms, seen the cleft lip and barked a bitter laughter.' The use of the word 'barked' is anamorphism and is a very vicious image, and makes the reader see her as a dog or wolf, almost as if she were attacking Ali and Hassan spitefully. The fact that 'she had refused to even hold Hassan' amplifies her feeling of hatred and disgust for both of them. 
When we are told by Amir that 'Baba hired the same nursing woman who had fed me to nurse Hassan.' this shows Baba's compassion and empathy for Ali and Hassan, because he hired the same nurse that he trusted with his own child, indicating that he sees Hassan to be as valuable as Amir. 
Amir begins to talk about the song the nurse used to sing, and how he and Hassan asked Ali to sing it to them, even though they had heard it many times, stating 'We just wanted to hear Ali sing.' This shows us that Amir and Hassan had great respect for Ali, even though he was a Hazara and Amir was a Pashtun. 
The final section of the chapter says how Ali would remind them that 'there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break.' This, although a positive image, sets the path for complication as it is almost a challenge that Amir and Hassan would have to prove the statement correct. 
The last few lines of the chapter, 'And under the same roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba. His was Amir. [...] The foundation for what happened [...] was already laid in those first words.' What Amir is trying to say here, is that their first words reflected who they wanted to feel accepted and respected by, and possibly who they wanted to be their equal. It also tells us that Hassan cares for Amir more than Amir cares for Hassan, so it's a very one-sided relationship and respect.