Sain 1
Rose Ellen Sain
Professor Domenech
English 131
22 February, 2009
The Kite Runner
Amir and Hassan had a unique and complicated relationship. Amir was afraid to be Hassan’s true friend because he thought he couldn’t compare to Hassan’s loyalty and courage as Baba saw Hassan. Amir was constantly testing Hassan’s loyalty due to the fact this was the only way Amir felt he had power over Hassan. He resents Hassan because Baba always included Hassan in their lives and treated Hassan as one of his own. After Amir won the kite running tournament, he didn’t want Hassan to be his friend largely because he had finally won Baba’s approval. He had proved himself at the expense of Hassan without Baba knowing fully what had happened.
At age twelve, Amir became what he is today when he sat by and watched Hassan get raped by three guys. Although Hassan caught the kite so Amir could take the credit, Amir was willing to turn his head and convince himself it was the right thing to do in order to win Baba’s affection. He thought Hassan was nothing but a Hazara and Shi’a boy and Hassan was his servant, so it was Hassan’s duty to be subservient to him. This assertion is not entirely true because there are other factors that have helped him become the person he is. Factors such as feeling guilty because he thinks Baba blames him for his mother dying giving birth to him, not loved and accepted by Baba, jealous because Baba treats Hassan the same way as Amir, and not worthy because he doesn’t stand up to others. I would describe Amir as timid, selfish, a coward, having low self esteem, guilty, not feeling worthy, loved, or accepted.
Although Amir, Hassan, Baba, and Ali have a strong bond, Amir and Baba do not perceive Hassan and Ali as their friends. There are parallel’s that can be drawn between Amir and Hassan and Baba and Ali. Ali was brought into the family when his parents were killed and raised with Baba and Baba betrayed Ali and slept with his wife. Hassan was brought into the family when his mother left him when he was born and Amir betrayed Hassan when he watched him being sodomized and did nothing to stop it. There was a bond between Amir and Hassan to some extent. Hassan was always there when Amir wanted to read and play, but Amir was jealous and held a grudge against Hassan because Amir felt Hassan held the qualities that Baba wished Amir held. Hassan knew he was of lower social value with the upper hand, which describes the way Amir and Hassan behave towards each other. Amir constantly conflicts small cruelties on Hassan to get attention that he never gets from his Baba. Hassan accepts Amir’s demeanor whether he agrees with them or not and Amir wishes his Baba would do the same. In chapter 3, I determined the true relationship between Amir and Hassan when Baba wanted Hassan to join him and Amir at Ghargha Lake for a picnic but Amir lies and tells Baba, Hassan is sick. Amir wanted Baba to himself and didn’t want to share Baba’s time with Hassan. If Amir thought of Hassan as a true friend, it wouldn’t have mattered if Hassan went with them.
Amir overhears his father tell Rahim Khan that “there is something missing in that boy,” and this fuels Amir’s wish to please his father. Amir succeeds in pleasing his father when he wins the annual kite tournament and brings back the last kite that Amir managed to cut to win the tournament at the cost of Hassan’s blood on his hands. Amir stood by and watched Hassan be raped and did not intervene to save Hassan. Baba is an intelligent businessman, kind, stern, and sometimes demanding. His relationship with Amir is complicated. He wants his son to be the tough, athletic driven person and Amir is far from that. His relationship with Hassan is kind and loving because he has all the characteristics and qualities he so desires Amir to have, but Hassan is a Hazara and Shi’a boy. His relationship changes with Amir when he wins the kite tournament and brings home the last kite that was cut by Amir. The relationship between Baba and Hassan changes when Amir maliciously hides his watch and money he received from his birthday party under Hassan’s mattress and tells Baba that Hassan had stolen these items. Baba confronts Hassan and Hassan admits he did steal the items. Baba accepts his truthfulness and tells Hassan he forgives him to Amir’s dismay. Ali and Hassan decide to leave and Baba begs them not to go but in the end they leave.
The description Khaled Hosseini vividly described of Amir’s privileged childhood in Afghanistan and now the stricken country under the Taliban is not how I pictured Afghanistan. I pictured every part of Afghanistan being stricken and never have had large prominent houses with dirt roads for the most part with old vehicles for transportation. There were some cultural differences in the novel such as asking for ID when you write a check, the groom’s family pays for the wedding instead of the brides parents, the father of the groom asks for the daughter’s hand in marriage instead of the groom, and the female doesn’t make eye contact with a male. It was easier for the younger children or adults to adapt to America than the older adults. Most adults had to settle for lower paying jobs rather than in their previous profession and life was more laid back. There are a few social structures that differ from Amir’s life in Afghanistan than those in America. In Afghanistan, you would never mix Sunni Muslims and Shia’a Muslims and here in America it is sociably acceptable to date or marry someone a different race and men and women in America can converse whenever they want, unlike in Afghanistan.
Amir decides to tell Baba he wants to become a writer and Baba is very disappointed because he feels Amir should go to medical school or law school where he could get a real job. He doesn’t feel Amir will be discovered as a writer and will struggle to provide for a family one day. Amir has sacrificed his peace of mind a life full of guilt for Baba’s love and acceptance because of his cowardliness when he watched Hassan being raped and done nothing about it. Amir has damned himself because of this guilt he has never been able to confess. The author has Amir, Assef, and Sohrab come together in the story because he wanted Amir to finally stand up and make something good of him so he could finally lay his guilt to rest. The scar that Amir develops as a result of the confrontation with Assef was because Assef wanted Amir to have a constant reminder that he had once told him he was patient and he would seek revenge one day. This was an important journey toward forgiveness and acceptance for Amir because he could finally be courageous and be the man Baba wanted him to be and repay Hassan for what he sacrificed for Amir.
Amir found out Hassan was his half brother and Baba had lied to him his entire life. One time, Baba had told Amir, “When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth” (Hosseini 18). At this point, Amir realized he was more like Baba than he knew. He was furious and hated Baba from withholding this information from him, but in a way, he felt a sense of peace. This was a negative realization because he and Baba had both betrayed the two people that would give their life for them. This was also a positive realization for Amir because he could do something good and for someone just like Baba had done for so many.
When Amir and Baba move to the states, he finds his dad more complex and their relationship starts to change. Baba was having a hard time adjusting to a different culture. He didn’t know as many people, he couldn’t entertain, and he wasn’t willing to accept help from the government. However, Baba is ecstatic to know Amir wants to start a family, Amir became more independent from Baba, they worked together to make money, and Amir found himself taking care of Baba as much as Baba would allow. I find the changes in Baba as positive. Baba, in a bizarre kind of way, knew Amir had grown up to be a son he would have wanted.
There is a difference between Baba and Ali, and Amir and Hassan’s relationship. Although Baba and Ali grew up together, Ali was five years old when he came to live with Baba and his family. Amir and Hassan grew up together from birth, were nursed from the same breast of a Hazara women Baba had hired because Amir’s mother died giving birth to him and Hassan’s mother left after giving birth to him. In my opinion, Baba’s and Amir’s relationship and betrayals are similar. They both know they are of higher class than their servants, and both have tried to make something good out of their betrayals. I think both betrayals are the outcome of circumstances and characters.
Works Cited
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003.