I believe that a lot has changed between section one and section two. This is due to the flash forward on page 125. However, this manipulation of time has raised many questions for me. It also introduces some changes in the setting of the story.
The first question I have is how did Amir and Baba get to America from Pakistan in the first place? The two countries are half a world away. The only feasible way they could've left for America was by boat. They probably traveled across the Pacific to the Bay Area. Another question is how exactly did they get their American passports? Did they come to America as illegal immigrants? How did they get someone to help them find a place to live and a job if they are illegals? My ultimate question is why would Khaled Hosseini put a flash forward if it raises so many questions? I would assume he would elaborate on that time period later on in the book.
Some radical changes are introduced in the second section. First off, the time period has changed from the 1970s to the 1980s due to the flash forward. Another big change is the setting of the story. It now takes place in America, but then reverts back to Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, Amir wrote short stories. When he travels to America, he is poised to write novels.He is more independent of his father than before. He can drive and he goes to school. He has a job and later on, a wife. In the part where Baba explodes on the store owner, Amir apologizes for him. In fact, it seems like Baba is dependent on Amir.
With the death of many characters like Baba, Ali, and Hassan, it seems like a whole new story than the first section. When Amir returnsto Afghanistan, he goes alone and finds that Rahim Khan is the only pre-Soviet occupation era friend alive there and he too is almost dying. Afghanistan is also in ruins due to about a decade of war. There is a clear difference between Kabul in the beginning and the same city about ten years later. I believe the city is an analogy of how Amir's life has been.
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