Amir jan

"Baba spoke in a low voice, the one he took on whenever I embarressed him in public. "Aren't you going to thank Assef jan? That was very considerate of him." I wished Baba would stop calling him that. How often did he call me "Amir jan?"" (pg. 97)

It is very important that the reader of this book realizes where this story is taking place throughout the entire book. One way Hosseini reminds the reader is through the words he chooses to use. I am sure that most people who read this book have no idea what these words mean in the beginning, but by using context clues, one can figure out their meaning. "I'm going to the baker to buy naan." Other times Hosseini translates the words right after he puts them in the text. "Tashakor." Thank you, "Bachem." Chair, "Khastegar." A suitor, "Mojarad." A single young man, "Nang. Namoos." Honor and Pride, "the Dil." the Heart. It is very important that he includes these words to give the story more of an ethnic background. I found that Hossseini uses these words more often when the plot changes over to America. I believe this is because he wants to show how they will always keep their roots no matter where they live.

Out of all of the terms that Hoseini uses, I believe that the word "jan" has the most significance in this book. When put after a name, this word is a term of endearment. The reader must recognize when this word is used because it shows if the people who are talking to each other truly care about the other person and respect them or not.