Social Differences In The Kite Runner, By Khaled Hosseini

1070 Words3 Pages

Through the trials and struggles of daily life, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, shows readers how the friendship of two boys change as they grow up in Afghani culture. Throughout the novel, conflict between these two characters exposes to the reader the vast differences in their social positions, as well as the depth of their personal relationship and dedication to each other. The Kite Runner exposes the differences in Amir and Hassan by exploring their actions in their daily lives and in situations requiring bravery, dedication and selflessness. Readers are introduced early on in the novel to Hassan and Amir as friends with two distinctly different roles. Amir is the self-serving child of a wealthy businessman, while his servant Hassan …show more content…

Hassan frequently defends Amir, yet Amir gives Hassan little credit for this and lies to Baba when asked why Hassan is bruised or scraped up. “You know what always happens when the neighborhood boys tease [Amir]? Hassan steps in and fends them off. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. And when they come home, I say to him ‘How did Hassan get that scrape on his face?’ And he says ‘He fell down’” (Hosseini 24). When Baba confronts Amir about the issue of Hassan defending him, it pushed Amir to further resent Hassan and the attention he receives from …show more content…

Following Amir and Baba’s emigration to America after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Hassan and Amir do not have contact with each other. When Amir does finally learn some information of Hassan, it is from an old business friend of Baba’s that Amir visits in Afghanistan. “A pair of Talib officials came to investigate and interrogated Hassan... The Talibs said he was a liar and a thief like all Hazaras and ordered him to get his family out of [Baba’s house] by sundown” (Hosseini 230). After Hassan refused to leave the house, the situation became even worse and the final example of Hassan’s bravery. “Hassan protested again. So they took him to the street… and ordered him to kneel… and shot him in the back of the head” (230). Hassan’s bravery, even in the face of certain death to protect property that did not actually belong to him, is the last instance of Hassan indirectly protecting

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