In the novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini forms the theme, “the act of betrayal is easier than being loyal” through two characters, Amir and Hassan. As these two boys grow up in a changing Afghanistan, loyalty and betrayal changed their lives forever. Being a loyal friend and having a loyal friend makes a friendship strong and stable, but when one of those friends stabs the other in his back, the relationship falters. In Amir’s case of unloyalty, Hassan’s life was swept away by Amir’s guilt. Hassan is very loyal and humble to those close to him and shows his devotion through his action and words. As Hassan’s first word was Amir, his loyalty to his friend and brother only grew, never faltering even when their lives changed forever. Hassan Amir struggles to live up to his father’s expectations and never really had to stand up for himself because Hassan was always there for him in a bad situation. As he grew older, Amir realized that there was a major difference between Pashtuns and Hazaras which Assef showed through his words and asked Amir how he could call Hassan his friend. The first thought Amir has is, “But he’s not my friend!... He’s my servant!” (Hosseini 41). Grabbing the brass knuckles, Assef was going to hurt Amir for taking in and caring for Hazaras, but from behind him, Hassan loaded his slingshot and aimed at Assef’s eye, threatening him to leave the two of them alone. Although Hassan has stood up and protected Amir many times, it seemed that Amir felt that betrayal was easier than loyalty. On the night of the tournament, hidden in an alley, Amir watched his friend and brother get raped for the kite that belonged to Amir and did nothing because he was terrified and a coward who was always protected by someone else. “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba... He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (Hosseini 77). Amir’s final act of betrayal to Hassan when he was a child was also the last time he saw him. Amir was tired of lying to those close to him, he only wanted the affection of his father and Hassan made that possible for him by running that one blue kite. As time went on, the guilt was looming in the shadows and Amir had enough, after his birthday he made one final act of selfishness, “I lifted Hassan’s mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it.” (Hosseini 104). It took Amir twenty-six years to start standing up for himself and his first act of loyalty was presented to his nephew, “for you a thousand times over.” (Hosseini
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.
Although Hassan is his best friend, there are many instances where Amir reveals his jealousy, most notable when Baba sees Hassan as the stronger boy, "self-defense has nothing to do with meanness. You know what always happens when the neighbourhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fends them off. I 've seen it with my own eyes…” (Hosseini 24). Clearly, Amir hears how his father compares the two, and unlike Hassan who manages to meet Baba’s expectations, Amir grows bitter towards Hassan. He is unable to fight off his envy which later causes him to sacrifice his best friend’s innocence: “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (82), and this is all because he realizes “his shame is complicated by his own realization that in part he doesn’t help his friend precisely because he is jealous of him” (Corbett, 2006). From here, Amir develops strong feelings of guilt that induces him to perform even more destructive acts, such as having Hassan and his father evicted from the house. Amir not only loses a close friend, but now he has to continue to live with remorse as he dwells on these memories. The only way for Amir to redeem himself of his repercussions is through a challenging process of sacrifice and self-discovery. Although one is unsure at this point whether Amir succeeds at his endeavors, it is clear that this story
The way our friends treat us in the face of adversity and in social situations is more revealing of a person’s character than the way they treats us when alone. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, ethnic tensions, nationality, and betrayal become the catalyst that drives and fuels Amir, Assef, and other characters to embark on their particular acts of cruelty. Serving as a way to illustrate the loss of rectitude and humanity, cruelty reveals how easily people can lose their morals in critical circumstances. Through Amir, Assef, and the Taliban’s actions, cruelty displays the truth of a person’s character, uncovering the origin of their cruelty. Amir’s cruelty spurs from his external environment and need for love from his father, choosing
Misplaced priorities are a struggle that is known to every member of the human race at some point in their lives. Some defeat this predicament with strong morals and a brave heart, and others, afraid to stand up, are defeated by the struggle, left to regret what they did not achieve. This is especially evident in Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner. Amir makes his priority Baba’s love, while Hassan’s priority is loyalty to his masters: Amir and Baba. This leads Amir into acts of cowardice as he chooses what will most make Baba proud instead of the moral thing to do. In contrast, Hassan’s loyalty results in him being brave in all situations, doing whatever he can to serve and protect
Betrayal is one of the most prominent themes in the novel The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. Hosseini chose to represent this theme through the decisions and actions of the main protagonists. Both Baba and Amir chose to betray the people close to them, which resulted in major ramifications for themselves and the people around them. With their betrayals came feelings of guilt. However Amir 's guilt was exponentially more conspicuous than Baba 's. It followed him into his adult life, and the impacts were quite negative and detrimental to both his personal health and his personal relationships. Hassan, on the other hand, chose to remain loyal to those close to him, regardless of the situation or the threats placed upon him. While this resulted in major consequences, it also demonstrated his capacity for kindness, caring, and loyalty. Even though he was confronted with traumatic experiences due to his loyalty, he was able to accept it, move past it and eventually heal. In turn, although his life was short, it was filled with meaningful realizations
The theme of loyalty is widespread throughout "The Kite Runner". Hassan is a very loyal character in this story, he is loyal to his brother Amir this is demonstrated from the start he tells Amir “for you a thousand times over” often to mean he would do anything for Amir when the situation calls for it. Amir on the other hand is jealous and feels entitled to his father’s love and care, he does not understand Baba’s love for Ali and Hassan and as such he does everything to discredit Hassan and put himself on better grounds with his father. Hassan’s loyalty is juxtaposed with Amir’s betrayal, for in every act of kindness demonstrated by Hassan he receives and equal or greater amounts of betrayal from Amir. Nonetheless Hassan remains
No one in the city of Kabul thought anything less than greatness and admiration for him. Hassan’s with Amir, ready to defend and protect him no matter what the cost. And Amir’s with Baba, wanting to please him and make him proud to have a son like Amir. By making a decision of who Amir was more loyal to as well as who he wanted to please more, inadvertently led to his betrayal of Hassan. “I had one last chance to make a decision.
The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, shows how lying and deceit is a counterproductive route when trying to live with a dreadful past, exhibited through the actions of Amir. Amir’s decision to withhold the truth and blatantly lie in several situations due to jealousy and his desire for Baba to be proud of him amounts to further pain and misery for himself and those he deceives. Because of Amir’s deceit towards Baba and Hassan, his guilt from his past manifests itself into deeply-rooted torment, not allowing him to live his life in peace. The guilt from Amir’s past is only alleviated when he redeems his sins by taking in Sohrab, contributing to the theme that the only way “to be good again” is through redemption, not shunning the past.
Amir is Pashtun, this is the more accepted and prosperous ethnicity. Hassan is a Hazara boy, this being an ethnic group that is looked down upon by Pashtun citizens of Kabul. “In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi’a, and nothing was ever going to change that.” (Hosseini 25). Throughout his childhood, Amir is put down regularly by neighborhood kids for befriending Hassan because of his ethnic background. Amir realizes that no matter what he may do, or no matter how Hassan may try to alter the situation, Hassan would always be too different for people to accept. This embarrasses and frustrates Amir. This frustration is one cause for Amir to slowly but surely push Hassan out of his life. Although it is not the most obvious reason, it is an underlying one. This is a mistake on Amir’s part because Hassan does so much for Amir, being the loyal friend that he is, and for Amir to push someone of such good moral and character out of his life, is a tremendous mistake on his behalf. It is quite obvious that Hassan would give his life for Amir, but, because of where Hassan comes from, Amir struggles throughout his childhood, to find a way to accept the friendship Hassan gives
...made fun of him and treated him badly. This may have been an example of separation in Afghanistan and how society was divided. But when Amir moved to America he buried his past until he got a call from Rahim Khan to come back home. Amir agreed and went back to find out Hassan has died and the Taliban took Hassan’s son Sohrab. Amir agrees to rescue him because he feels like it’s his obligation to Hassan because of all the wrong he has done to him. This may be an example of friendship goes above all and that separation within class, race, religion, or political climate doesn’t matter to Amir. Amir takes Sohrab back home and at the end of the book he flies a kite with Sohrab. When they cut another person’s kite, Amir runs to get the kite and yells to Sohrab “For you, a thousand times over” to reflect Hassan’s memory and how Amir appreciates Hassan’s friendship.
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
Hassan agrees and gives chase for the kite with Amir follow some time later on. However, during that time Hassan is corner by Assif and several others children. Hassan is then punished by Assif for protecting Amir, as well as being a different type of Afghani. In one swift motion, Assif performs a horrifying sexual act on Hassan, all the way Amir watch it far down a street. And what does Amir do? Well he ran as he put it, “I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt” (77).
Throughout the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the theme which is shown through the film is “loyalty is one of the only things that can hold bonds between family and friends”. In the beginning of the novel Amir describes Hassan’s loyalty by saying, “Hassan never wanted to, but if I asked, he wouldn’t deny me. Hassan never denied me anything” (4) This quote shows how Amir would make Hassan do things against his will, but because Hassan was so loyal to Amir, he would do the things Amir asked him to do. The theme is shown through this quote because this occurs at the very beginning of the story and Hassan is putting Amir’s needs before his own, this will reflect throughout the
Khaled Hosseini, the author of The Kite Runner, grew up in prejudiced Afghanistan during the 1960’s as a middle-class Pashtun living with Hazaras working for his family. His move to America after the Communist Coup proved difficult for his family, especially his father. In his novel, Hosseini writes through a young boy, Amir, very similar to himself, who grows up with his father and two Hazara servants in Afghanistan at the time of the Taliban attacks. Both Amir and his father, Baba, treat their servants, Hassan and Ali, like family. Society, however, does not approve of such relationships between Pashtuns and Hazaras. As Amir hides and watches horrified, another Pashtun boy rapes Hassan. This leads to the continuation of Amir’s internal conflict about the treatment of Hazaras by the public, and also makes him feel guilty and self-conscious throughout his entire life. In addition, Amir strives for affection and attention from his rather indifferent father. Amir’s outward conformity to societal values in his relationships with both Hassan and Baba, as a result of his inner struggle and guilt, contribute greatly to the significance of The Kite Runner.
Right before he goes to run the blue kite, Hassan says to Amir, “For you a thousand times over!” (Hosseini 67). This is one of the most significant quotes in the novel, The Kite Runner by the number one New York Times bestselling author Khaled Hosseini. This quote means to do anything, no matter what deed or task, however many times for a person. A common phrase exchanged between loyal friends or partners. Speaking of loyalty, this is one of the main themes present within The Kite Runner. Quite frequently and especially in this novel, loyalty often comes with the reality of (ADD MORE) In the novel, The Kite Runner by author Khaled Hosseini, the theme of loyalty is present throughout the book and especially