Corruption In The Kite Runner

Corruption surrounds mankind, from biblical stories to modern day political governments. Because human nature is undeniably flawed, people and their communities may fall to immoral and faulty behavior. In his historical fiction, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini depicts the privileged and cowardly Amir growing up in peaceful Afghanistan and betraying a valued friend. Through Amir and his country’s demise, Hosseini shows how people are shaped by their environment and that the interaction between the two greatly influences the health of each. The corruption of man intertwines with the corruption of the nation and those surrounding him, therefore the combined influence of nature and nurture contributes to the downfall and struggle of each as well

Although Amir does not have control of his innate nature and tendency to rely on Hassan for protection from bullies, he has the potential to build a more courageous character with proper nurturing. However, Baba, ridden with his own corruption and past mistakes, provides Amir with an unfortunately neglectful and disapproving parenting that further weakens Amir’s natural cowardice. Perpetual feelings of incompetence for his father such as, “I didn’t want to disappoint his again” errode Amir over time and eventually cause him to associate his worth with Baba’s approval of him (17). This leads to Amir developing his goals towards pleasing Baba solely and prioritizes this above all else, instilling an imbalance to Amir’s moral compass. Alongside Baba’s poor execution of raising Amir, peer influence and observational learning from others greatly impact Amir’s view on the Hazaras. Young children often learn through seeing and mimicking. Therefore when Amir sees Baba “in none of his stories...refer to Ali as his friend”, it is likely that Amir will mirror similar behavior of refusing to see Hassan as a friend because of the servitude boundary between them (25). By

Bullied and ridiculed for playing alongside a Hazara, Amir devolves even greater into complacency and adjusting his views to match that of his society. When Assef declares intensely racist views, “‘Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be...not this Flat-nose here. His people pollute our homeland’”, followed by a baffled “‘How can you call him your ‘friend’?”, Amir internally becomes ashamed of his close relationship with Hassan and reflects on the need to hide his friendship “I play with Hassan only when no one else was around” (40-41). This shows how willing Amir is to conform to avoid rejection and disdain for his actions, such as striving to please Baba and rejecting Hassan to paradoxically evade rejection. Consequentially, Amir’s repetitive shame associates Hassan with it, showing that Amir’s gradual devaluing of Hazaras is driven by societal norms. Amir becomes a citizen, perhaps out of many, that take the stable and peaceful monarchy of King Zahir Shah for granted. Hosseini portrays the exposition of the book in pre-war so “that the