Betrayal. How many of you have heard that word before, I am guessing almost all of you have. So what does betrayal mean to you when you hear it? Betrayal comes in many different shapes and sizes and everyone sees what betrayal is differently. For Amir it happens to be a choice he made as a little boy. In the book “The Kite Runner” Amir the main character changes drastically from the beginning of the book to the end book to the end. First I will be explaining how Amir was as a kid, what changed him, and how he is as a young adult. The the book starts off talking about how two kids are playing together near a tree; that is Amir and Hassan. The two big key role players in the book. There two young little boys are very special child-hood “friends”. …show more content…
All of Amir's life he has tried and tries to get Baba’s attention and to make him happy. Amir is the very opposite of his dad and vise versa. His dad is very outgoing, the town's hero, well spoken, and sporty. On the other hand Amir is exactly like his mother quiet, serene, a poet, and likes reading and writing. The one thing that his dad and him have in common is that they both enjoy kite running/fighting. As time goes on in the book “Amir still struggles to fulfill his father’s exacting standards (Miles 1).” Babe sometimes believes Amir isn’t his real son if he hadn’t “... hadn’t seen [his] own wife push him out (Hayes 2).” Amir sees how his father looks at him with a boorish look. So Amir comes up with a lucid plan, to win the kite runner contest and he is bound to win his father’s attention and heart and in due time he does. “He does get Baba's approval when he wins the kite fighting contest (Hayes 2).” For a while him and his dad start getting along and spending loads of time together but that doesn’t last long at all. They both came to their senses and realize that kite runner is the only thing they have in common and that is what gets them talking but they still will always love each other. After that Amir tries everything in his power to reconnect with his dad, to regain what he always wanted with his father. Amir …show more content…
After Amir had won the kite running battle Hassan decided to run Amir kite around Kabul to show everyone he was the champion. It had been a while since Amir had seen Hassan and thought he should have be back by now. But did he know something horrid was going on to Amir. Amir happened to find with Hassan was but he wasn’t alone, he turned the corner and “ [He] couldn't stop looking at: One was the blue kite resting against the wall, close to the cast iron stove; the other was Hassan’s brown corduroy pants thrown on a heap of eroded bricks (Hosseini 75).” Yes what you think is about to happen is happening. This poor little boy is about to experience the worst situation in his life right now. While his best “friend” is standing there watching not doing anything. As he is just standing there “Assef knelt behind Hassan, put his hands on Hassan’s hips and lifted his bare buttocks. He kept one hand on Hassan’s back and undid his own belt buckle with his free hand. He unzipped his jeans. Dropped his underwear. He positioned himself behind Hassan. Hassan didn’t struggle. Didn’t even whimper. He moved his head slightly and I caught a glimpse of his face (hosseini 75-76).” This boy is lying helpless and who knows what is going through his mind but his friend his brother is staring at him getting raped and not doing anything to stopped it. Hassan catches him looking and just
Because of Amir’s extreme desire to receive the attention and affection from Baba, he begins to subconsciously sacrifice his relationship with Hassan in order to fulfill his interests. However, as Amir continuously matures and begins to recognize his initial ignorant, detrimental actions towards Hassan, he no longer “worships” his father like he did in the past. This causes him to ensure a sense of independence because of his ability to quickly adapt to a completely new, unfamiliar environment and remain adamant on pursuing their own aspirations. When individuals highly idolize and worship the successes that their loved ones have achieved, their in-suppressible desire to emulate the achievements of others causes them to inevitably experience difficult circumstances that challenge their morality and principles. In The Kite Runner, Amir has always displayed overflowing affections for Baba due to his prideful feelings of being the son of a wealthy, prominent father.
In the book “THe Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, betrayal is is one of the big themes that occurs in this book. Amir shows the most betrayal of all, like him witnessing Hassan's rape and not helping him at all. That was his cowardly thing that he did and experiences guilt from it. Many years pass since that event he starts to feel what other people felt when he would betray them, like when he was betrayed by his father and Rahim Khan, because he found out that Hassan was his brother and he felt betrayal of trust just as he made the people he betrayed feel.
Amir goes through many events that take place in the book that change him, and the way he is perceived within the book. Amir is a young boy, who is tortured by his father’s scrutinizing character. Amir is also jealous of Hassan, because of the fact that his father likes Hassan instead of Amir. Amir fights for his father’s approval, interest, and love. This is when Amir changes for the good as he deals with the guilt of the rape of Hassan. Amir witnessed Hassan getting raped, but decides to nothing in order to win over his father’s interest. The guilt that Amir builds up is carries from his premature times as a child to his mature times. From Afghanistan to
Flying kites was a source of Amir 's happiness as a child as well as a way to attain his father’s approval. In Kabul, Afghanistan, a kite flying tournament was held annually. Young boys laced their string with glass and attempted to cut the strings of other kite flyers. That last on standing was deemed the champion and the idol of all the younger children. Before Amir competed in his kite tournament, Baba said, “I think maybe you 'll win the tournament this year. What do you think?” (Hosseini, 50) Amir took this opportunity and told himself that, “I was going to win, and I was going to run that last kite. Then I’d bring it home and show it to Baba. Show him once and for all his son was worthy. Then maybe my life as a ghost in this house would finally be over.” (Hosseini, 50) Amir wanted the approval and affection of his father badly enough that he was willing to allow Hassan to get raped in order to attain it. After this kits became the symbol of Amir 's betrayal to Hassan. The kite ultimately becomes the way that Amir connects with Sohrab, mirroring how Amir connected with Baba when he was a
To begin, rape is an occurring motif throughout the novel to symbolize a loss of innocence, sacrifice, as well as mental and physical scarring. One of the most tragic and tear-jerking moments in the entire novel surrounds the moment when Amir decides to not help Hassan while he is getting raped. Reading this part, it is very hard not to get furious with Amir because obviously what he did was wrong but he did have reasoning behind not helping his brother. Amir stands there for a few reasons; one of the reasons being is his desire for his father approval, which he knows he can receive by coming home with the kite. When Assef says this, “I've changed my mind; I'm letting you keep the kite, Hazara. I'll let you keep it so it will always remind you of what I'm about to do.”(Hosseini 73) to Hassan, Amir still stands there and becomes the one thing that Babe always feared he would become which is a coward. As Amir stands to the side and tries to get Babas approval and while he continues to be a coward, he allows his one brother and Babas son to become a victim of rape. For years after that, Amir lives his life full of guilt and shame which ulti...
The constant battle of love and a sense of tension between all of the father and son pairs is extremely apparent throughout all of The Kite Runner. It always seems as though one character is trying to make something up to another character. Feelings of guilt, the need to redeem themselves, and extreme jealousy between Amir, Baba, Hassan, and Ali are the primary factors that keep the plot moving. Whether it is Baba to Hassan or Amir to Baba, there is always a sense of the need for redemption going on. This sense of redemption can be found not only within characters, but also incorporates a bit of polical view in to the novel by giving a glimpse in to the various lives of different ethnicities and how they interact with one another.
Everything in his life has been earned, not given, unlike Amir. Hassan’s substantial work ranges from cleaning the house, buying groceries, and washing clothes, to working rigorously for those he truly cares about. The understanding of what it means to do something for others instead of personal benefit, and the ability to suffer in silence is what truly distinguishes Hassan from Amir. Despite their age, the only similarities the boys share is that they both have grown up without the presence of a mother. Hassan’s ability to aid others proves useful when him and Amir enter a kite flying contest in an attempt to win Baba’s love. Hassan and Amir win the contest, but when Hassan tracks down the kite that was defeated by Amir so he could show it to Baba, he is trapped by Assaf and other boys who want revenge on Hassan and Amir. When Amir finds Hassan surrounded by the boys in the alley, his initial instinct was not to save his friend Hassan; however, he thought only about the kite which he described as the key to his father's heart. As Hassan is defending Amir to the boys, despite his own predicament, Assaf asks Hassan, “But before you sacrifice yourself for him, think about this; Would he do the same for you? Have you ever wondered why he never includes you in games when he has guests? Why he only plays with you when no one else is around?” (72). Hassan
The other source of tension in Amir’s life is his relationship with Baba, his hard-driving and demanding father. Desperate to win his father’s affection and respect, Amir turns to the sport of kite flying, and at the age of 12, with the assistance of Hassan, he wins the annual tournament in Kabul. Amir’s victory soon is tarnished when he witnesses a vicious assault against his friend, who raced through the streets of Kabul to retrieve the last kite, Amir had sliced from the sky, and fails to come to his aid. Amir’s cowardness is compounded by a later act of betrayal that causes Ali and Hassan to leave their home, and he now faces the nightmare, bearing the burden of his poor choices for the rest of his life.
In Amir’s early childhood, kites represented happiness. Flying kites was his favorite pastime, as it was the only way that he connected fully with Baba, who was once a champion kite fighter. However, the kite takes on a different significance when Amir doesn’t stop Hassan's abusers from raping him in order to prevent the kite from being stolen. The kite serves as a symbol of Amir’s guilt throughout the novel. Hechose his fragile relationship with his father over the well-being of his best friend and half-brother: “Baba and I lived in the same ...
In the story, The Kite Runner, Amir had always felt that his father did not love him. He is unaware of why his father is so distant from him, and acts as though he is not proud of his son. Amir, more than anything, seeks his father’s approval and love. The origin of this conflict is a great secret that his father withholds from Amir. It affects his father’s attitude, as well as their relationship, and is eventually resolved when the truth is at last revealed, and Amir is able to find closure.
I think that the theme of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is betrayal. I think this because betrayal is expressed through many characters. In the novel Amir betrays Hassan more than once. Shortly after Amir’s victory in the kite tournament, both Hassan and Amir run to catch a kite. Amir loses Hassan for the reason being the Hassan is a lot faster than Amir. When Amir went searching for Hassan he finds him in an alley getting raped by Assef. Amir betrays Hassan by not helping him escape Assef. Another example of betrayal is between Baba and Amir. Baba betrays Amir by not telling him the truth about Hassan. Amir and Hassan are half-brothers because Baba slept with his servant’s wife. Amir finds out about Hassan and him, when he visits Rahim
Amir is, to be put bluntly, a coward. He is led by his unstable emotions towards what he thinks will plug his emotional holes and steps over his friends and family in the process. When he sought after Baba’s invisible love, Amir allowed Hassan to be raped in an alleyway just so that the blue kite, his trophy that would win his father’s heart, could be left untouched. In the end, he felt empty and unfulfilled with the weight of his conscience on his shoulders comparable to Atlas’ burden. Unable to get over his fruitless betrayal, he lashes out and throws pomegranates at Hassan before stuffing money and a watch under his loyal friend’s pathetic excuse for a bed, framing Hassan for theft and directly causing the departure of both servants from his household. Even after moving to America, finding a loving wife, and creating a career for himself in writing, he still feels hollow when thinking of his childhood in Afghanistan. Many years later, he is alerted of Hassan’s death and sets out on a frenzied chase to find his friend’s orphaned son. He feels that he can somehow ease his regrets from all of those years ago if he takes in Hassan’s son, Sohrab. He finds Sohrab as a child sex slave for Assef, who coincidentally was the one to rape Hassan all of those years ago. After nearly dying in his attempt to take back Sohrab, he learns that he can take the damaged child back to the states with him. Sadly, Hassan’s son is so
The longing for parental acceptance is often what leads to childhood downfall. At some point a child strives to make their parent proud. When a lack of attention is displayed in a parent child relationship there is a lack of communication and support. In The Kite Runner this type of relationship is shown through Baba and Amir's interactions. Throughout The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Amir and Baba’s relationship takes many turns. Their relationship affects the plot through many situations such as when Baba acts uninterested in Amir's life, When Baba fails to treat Amir the same as Hassan, and when Baba takes his guilt and anger out on Amir.
Though some may rise from the shame they acquire in their lives, many become trapped in its vicious cycle. Written by Khlaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner describes the struggles of Amir, his father Baba, and his nephew Sohrab as they each fall victim to this shameful desolation. One repercussion of Baba hiding his sinful adultery from Amir is that Amir betrays Hassan for his father’s stringent approval. Sohrab’s dirty childhood also traumatizes him through his transition to America. Consequently, shame is a destructive force in The Kite Runner. Throughout the course of the novel, Baba’s shameful affair, Amir’s selfish betrayal, and Sohrab’s graphic childhood destroy their lives.
During The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini reinforces the theme of the loss of innocence and redemption. Many characters lose innocence or are the cause of another character losing theirs. Amir both loses his innocence and that of others. His innocence is stolen by his father. In the novel Amir overhears Baba saying, “‘If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son’” (Hosseini 24-25). This affects Amir for his entire life as he tries to compete with Hassan for his father's attention. He does not realize that in doing so, this crumbles his world as he knows it. It makes Amir resentful, calloused, and even cruel, all of which are characteristics of someone who has lost their innocence. In turn, Amir’s loss of innocence causes other to lose their innocence because of his lack of courage and disregard for others feelings.