Although Amir and Hassan grew up together playing in the same fields and climbing the same trees, there was a huge degree of cultural history that separated them. Something much bigger has created an invisible barrier between the two of them. The division of separation was more than each of them sleeping in two different houses or eating breakfast at different tables. Amir and Hassan were born just a year apart from each other. Each of them knew they had different mothers and fathers. Yet, somehow, both were nourished as infants from the breast of a woman who was not their mother. In their culture, the nourishment and nourishment they received from the same woman united them in an immutable way. Hassan almost always knew Amir's thoughts. However, despite their friendship and unshakable food bond, the fact remained that the two boys belonged to a unique class within Afghan society. The two unique classes among the Afghan people are the Shia Muslims and the Sunni Muslims. Shia Muslims are also known as Hazaras, while Sunni Muslims are known as Pashtuns. Amir discovered a book on the subject: “The book said that part of the reason the Pashtuns had oppressed the Hazaras was that the Pashtuns were Sunni Muslims, while the Hazaras were Shiites” (Hosseini 9). The factors that determine which class an individual belongs to are his or her ethnicity and facial features. “They called him “flat nose” because of Ali and Hassan's characteristic Mongoloid Hazara features” (Hosseini 9). In other words, if your parents were Hazara, the children will automatically be born Shia Muslims. The same logic applies to Sunni Muslims. Therefore, if the parents were Pashtun, then the children... middle of paper... the person he loved most on earth was not only his best friend, but also his half-brother. Perhaps Hassan could know Amir's thoughts so well because he also shared Amir's blood. Amir eventually developed some courage and some boldness. He developed this courage not for his own sake, but for the sake and safety of his grandson, Sohrab, Hassan's only son. “I don't know if I gave Assef a good fight. I don't think I did. How could I? That was the first time I fought someone” (Hosseini 288). Perhaps Amir had noticed his half-brother's courage in the past and had actually learned something from it. “I remember how envious I had been of Hassan's courage” (Hosseini 286). Maybe this time it was Amir's way of “being good again” (Hosseini 2). Works CitedHosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. 10th anniversary ed. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003. Print.