Friendship in the Kite Runner

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Recommended: Importance of honesty in friendships

The line between a friend and an enemy is thinner than one can ever imagine. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, "True friendship is never serene" (ThinkExist.com). The job of a friend is so much more than a companion, to pass the time with. They help us shape our life, and they're responsible to be that little voice in our ear, to help us analyze our actions and views. Through Amir's relationships, The Kite Runner shows the true role of a friend to point and guide us even when we don't agree; total devotion can ruin not only a friendship, but a life.

In Hossini's novel, there are plenty of examples of a true friendship, which isn't afraid to criticize and be truthful. The simplest is Amir's wife, Soraya. While some would say her marriage to Amir isn't a true love match, but rather an arranged marriage, they are absolutely in love. She isn't afraid, however, to tell Amir of "what happened in Virginia" (Hosseini 456). She trusts Amir to understand, and to talk to her as a friend. He doesn't try to make what she did right, but instead he praises her courage as "one of many ways in which Soraya Taheri was a better person than me" (Hosseini 424). Because of this friendship, their relationship becomes an exchange. Amir tells her his entire story about Hassan and his guilt, and she helps him through his emotional reconciliation with that, by taking in Sohrab and helping bring him to America. They have no secrets, nothing goes unspoken, and they help each other. While their love might not be viewed as perfect, they temper it with enough truth to keep each other on the right path.

An often overlooked character, a simple Afghan family man, shows Amir more "tough" than "tough love," but still turns out to be a true friend...

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...le for the past, and to make up for a broken friendship. By contrasting these relationships, Hosseini proves that healthy relationships require an even measure of disagreement, correction, and help to stay afloat.

Works Cited

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. iBookstore. New York: Penguin eBooks, 2004.

LaFollete, Hugh. "Pragmatic Ethics." 2007. Blackwell Guide to Ethical Theory. 12 January 2010 .

Princeton University WordNet. Lexicon Dictionary Search. 20 December 2010. 2011 January 16 .

Simon & Garfunkel. "The Dangling Conversation." Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. By Paul Simon. Columbia Records, 1966.

ThinkExist.com. Quotes on Friendship. 13 July 2002. 12 January 2011 .

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