Ali is crippled by polio, which causes him to walk with a limp and is paralyzed on the lower half of his face. During a walk through the bazaar, Amir mocks Ali by imitating Ali's walk as he follows behind. Ali notices but does not scold Amir. By Ali not confronting Amir, it shows Ali's modesty and shows that Ali knows his place in society. Ali's paralysis on the lower half his face leaves him unable to smile, making his face seem expressionless. "People say that eyes are windows to the soul. Never was that more true than with Ali who could only reveal himself with his eyes" (Hosseini 8). Ali's is a kind father and loyal servant whose emotions are visible in his eyes, despite his expressionless face.
Hosseini uses the character of Assef as an example of a person who is perfect on the outside, but deformed inside. Assef externally is a physically strong and attractive boy and the son of a wealthy Pashtun father and German mother. Adults see Assef's facade of a polite, educated young man but Amir's description reveals Assef to be a sociopath. Assef is internally deformed because he has so conscience, he believes, that all races are inferior to his own and feels no remorse for is sadistic and cruel actions and instead finds pleasure from it. Assef idolizes Hitler and wants to rid Afghanistan of the Hazaras the same way Hitler tried to exterminate the Jews. Assef believes that he will make a better Afghanistan by eliminating all Hazaras. He believes that by killing Hazaras, he is doing the work of Allah. "You don't know the meaning of the word 'liberating' until you've done that, stood in a roomful of targets [the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif], let the bullets fly, free of guilt and remorse, know you are virtuous, good, and decent. Knowing you are doing God's work. It's breathtaking" (Hosseini 277). Assef's belief that he is doing God's work by killing Hazaras' shows how Assef is internally deformed despite being externally flawless which is just the opposite of Hassan, who is externally deformed but internally flawless.