Amir's Relationship In 'The Kite Runner'

While Amir is lying in the dark, with nothing but his own thoughts, he feels that his guilt is taking over his life. He realizes that he is going to get away with his betrayal and yet he feels terrible. He decides that the only way he is going to live with his remorse is to ignore Hassan, blot him out, so he does not have to think about his sin. Amir’s guilt is so great that he cannot bear to have Hassan under the same roof, so he commits another sin. He lies to his father and accuses Hassan of stealing. “…I took a couple of the envelopes of cash from the pile of gifts and my watch, and tiptoed out…I lifted Hassan’s mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it…I knocked on Baba’s door and told what I hoped would be the last in a long

Hassan is a victim of discrimination, bigotry, and class structure in Afghan society. Hassan and Ali are members of the Hazaras, a minority group of Afghanis. Amir and his father are Pashtuns, the majority, who believes they are a better class than the Hazara. Religion was all that separated Amir and Hassan, as did tribe and class. Amir learned from his father that the Harara tribe to which Ali and Hassan belonged, were inferior people. Because of this bigotry and basic class structure, Hazaras are often victims of physical, emotional and psychological abuse. Thus when a crisis comes and Hassan is being attack, Amir not only doesn't come to Hassan's aid, but also allows him to be brutally abused. Morality lacks because of this class structure, which allows people to be treated as second-class citizens. Considerations towards morality and religion helps the reader to broaden there understanding of the novel and it would be impossible to appreciated the book lacking them.

Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, Amir was the son of a wealthy social worker. He was brought up with the son of his servant, and perhaps his only best friend, Hassan. Amir had a rocky relation with his father. At times, it seemed as his father loved him but those moments didn’t lasted forever. He thinks Baba (his father) wishes Amir were more like him, and that Baba holds him responsible for killing his mother, who died during his birth. Despite being best friends, Amir thinks that Hassan is beneath him because he belonged to an inferior cast. He used to mock him jokingly or tried to outsmart him. In all fairness, it was Amir’s cowardly nature that

At the beginning of the novel, young Amir quickly learns how one poor decision can entirely change the way someone lives. He beloved best friend Hassan was loyal and would happily fulfill any request Amir asked of him, but when Amir started to notice his father, Baba, giving Hassan more attention, he grew envious. When the time came that Hassan desperately needed Amir’s assistance, Amir turned his cheek and took the easy way out.

How do Pashtuns view Hazaras and why? Throughout the book, the Pashtuns view the Hazaras as a lesser race, almost as a lesser species. At the beginning of the novel, Amir reads a passage that claims Hazaras are treated the way they are because, “the Pashtuns were Sunni Muslims while the Hazaras were Shi’a” (pg 8). Why does Amir have a conflicting relationship with Hassan?

One day Asseff rapes Hassan as an act of power, and Amir witnesses the actions but acts in a cowardly matter and simply avoids the matter by ignoring it. Amir then proceeds to cut off the relationships between himself and Hassan, “I actually aspired to cowardice, but the real reason I was running, was that Asseff was right. Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay to win Baba. Was it a fair price? The answer floated to my conscious mind before I could thwart it: He was just a Hazara. Wasn’t he?” Amir did it because the traditional and historical beliefs were more important than friendship. This action displays how being born in a different social class can outweigh all feelings of love and friendship with one of a different social group.

Finally, Hassan`s innocence, and naïve personality still showed loyalty to Amir. After Hassan was raped in the alleyway while Amir by the bystander, Hassan tried to keep a “normal” relationship with him. However, Amir was guilty for not helping Hassan, hoping he would receive one back when he refused to do

However, when Hassan asks a very insightful question, Amir instantaneously thinks of Hassan as an uneducated, poor Hazara boy who supposedly knows nothing. This reveals how society’s perception of Hazara’s is influencing Amir to think the same way. “But he's not my friend! I almost blurted.

Baba keeping his past secret and not telling Amir his own son about Hassan affected Amir's life majorly by his relationships he made and the decisions he made throughout his life. Throughout the story Baba’s secret never really haunted him but kept Amir from secrets about his family and how he treated things different about his life. Amir's relationships were affected because of Baba keeping the secret about him being his real father. “But there was something fascinating albeit in a sick way about teasing Hassan.

Hassan and his family are ethnically Hazaras, predisposing them to brutal discrimination at the dregs of society. Even the intimate relationship between Amir and Hassan was not immune to these connotations, as Amir dictated the relationship by lying to Hassan about words (Hosseini 29) and speaking condescendingly to him. Eventually, Amir’s inadequate free will, like Foster described (253), accepted the rape of Hassan, as Hassan’s social standing contributed to reasoning that intervening wasn’t worth the vengeance from Assef, as Amir asked, “He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (Hosseini 77). Unfortunately, his avoidance was ironic in multiple ways, transferring

They had Hassan—““No they didn’t,” Rahim Khan said” (Hosseini 222). Amir was very angry after Rahim Khan implied that he and Hassan are half-brothers which brought forth the theme of betrayal in the novel. Rahim Khan, Baba, and Ali have been keeping this huge secret from Amir and Hassan all their lives, but if this were different many things would have changed throughout the book. For example, Hassan might not have gotten raped and Amir would not have this heavy burden on his back, but there is a way for him to get redemption. Redemption is the second theme that comes into play after the anagornisis.

Hassan’s inferior character is presented by the way he serves Amir, ‘While I ate and complained about homework, Hassan made my bed’, which implies that no matter how close they may be, Hassan remains the servant which he accepts and is content with, ‘I’d hear him singing to himself in the foyer as he ironed’. Also, Hassan addresses Amir as ‘Amir agha’ which highlights his respect to Amir. However, despite their divisions, when they are alone together they consider themselves equal, ‘”Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul”’, creating irony as they are both aspiring the same hopes and dreams but we know that it is unattainable.

Throughout the novel, Amir endeavors to be approved by his father, Baba, who is admired by people in Kabul. Unfortunately, Baba believes that Amir, unlike him, is very unmanly “and [that he] never fights back. He just... drops his head ” (Hosseini 24). Since Baba wishes for a son who would stand up for himself, he can’t help but observe that Amir’s friend Hassan, as the guy who “steps in and fends the [bullies] off” (Hosseini 24) is his idea of the ideal son. Though aware of his father’s expectations, Amir is unable to change himself and instead envies Hassan and the fact that Baba treats him like his own son by“[patting]Hassan on the back. [and even putting] his arm around his shoulder [like a fatherly figure]”(Hosseini 15). Despite the manifestation of this hatred in Amir, he continues to recognize the bond that he shares with Hassan, “ brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast” (Hosseini 11) which is because both their mothers died during birth. The confusing emotions he feels for Hassan has Amir face a situation in which he acts inappropriately and allows the guilt to manifest upon him. After winning a very important kite tournament for the first time and “seeing Baba on that roof, proud of [him] at last” (Hosseini 71) Amir begins to search for Hassan who had gone to run his kite earlier. Finally, Amir finds him in a dark alley and as he “peeks around the corner” (Hosseini 75) he witnesses a sight that eradicated not only his relationship with Hassan but also Baba’s brotherly relationship with Ali, Hassan’s father. Peeking through the corner of the alley, like a bystander, he watches his one and only friend getting raped. The guilt that came upon him was for two reason; one, his lack of courage to stand up to

Amir stumbles upon an alley. In the alley, he sees the Hassan trap by three boys named Assef, Kamal, and Wali. All they asked of Hassan is to give up the blue kite. However, Hassan’s loyalty and friendship toward Amir prevented Hassan to give up the kite. As the tension built, Assef lets Hassan have the kite, but in-return he does unthinkable. Assef rapes Hassan as Amir watched unnoticeably from the alley (Hosseini 62-66). This was Amir’s chance to prove his true friendship by stepping in to save Hassan. Instead, Amir ran “because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he could do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt. That’s what I told myself as I turned my back to the alley, to Hassan” (Hosseini 68). According to Amir, “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (Hosseini 68). “He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (Hosseini 68).

“The relationship between Amir and Hassan. It’s so different from any relationship I’ve experienced. Amir and Hassan are as closeas a servant and master can be, yet Amir acts like Hassan, a Hazara, is beneath him. Amir never learns to assert himself against anyone else because Hassan always defends him. I think these factors play into his childhood cowardice of sacrificing Hassan. Hassan however remains loyal, forgiving, and good natured,” replied Jack. “So what do you think of their friendship?”