How Does Amir Betray Hassan

Throughout the whole book, Amir has been vying for love from his father, often against Hassan, and feels powerless when he does not get it; this causes him to attempt to assert power in other aspects of his life, usually over Hassan. Amir feels as if Baba does not love him, and feels powerless to fix it; he says, “I always felt like Baba hated me a little, And why not? After all, I had killed his beloved wife, his beautiful princess, hadn’t I? The least I could have done was to have the decency to have turned out a little more like him. But I hadn’t turned out like him. Not at all” (Hosseini 19). He believes there is nothing he can do to make his father love him; after all, he cannot change the past, and he cannot change himself substantially. This feeling of powerlessness affects him in such a way that he feels the need to compensate for this loss of power elsewhere in his life. He would exploit the kindness and forgiveness Hassan always showed him, and would try and prove his superiority and worth in that relationship. Amir once asked if Hassan would eat dirt if he asked him to, and afterwards said, “I knew I was being cruel, like when I’d taunt him if he didn’t know some big word. But there was something fascinating--albeit in a sick way--about teasing Hassan. Kind of like when we used to play insect torture. Except now he was the ant and I was holding the magnifying glass,” (Hosseini 54). Amir is filling the power gap he feels in his life with power over Hassan, and is trying to show Hassan how much control he has over him. Hassan, Amir’s servant and a genuinely kind person, is in a vulnerable position against Amir,

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

Amir's entire life had been haunted by what he saw happen to Hassan. Although he was a child at the time, he couldn't accept his shortcoming during a time of need. He was jealous of his father for being able to stand up for himself and others and Hassan's undying loyalty to him. He developed a pattern of behavior - of covering up his mistakes and hiding his past – that he could not rid himself of until he suffered like Hassan did. He made it up to Hassan by saving his son, and he made it up to himself by suffering the way he

When Amir was looking for Hassan after the kite flying contest he is talking to someone asking if they had seen him. He refers to Hassan as “our servant’s son” (69). He and Hassan are best friends at home through their entire childhoods. Despite this, he still does not even refer to him as a friend to society; to the people around him Hassan is just his servant. Then later in the novel after he has witnessed Hassan getting raped, he does not want Hassan to be living with them anymore. He asks Baba “have you ever thought about getting new servants?” (89). He tries to exile his best friend for no reason at all even though they have been through everything together. This is the foundation of Amir showing this theme of exile towards Hassan, and it only gets worse. Hassan begins to notice what Amir is doing and tells him “I don’t know what i’ve done, Amir agah I wish you’d tell me. I don’t know why we don’t play anymore” (88). He ignores Hassan and shuts him out into exile even though all he has done is be loyal to Amir. Soon after Amir wants to completely exile Hassan and get him out of his home for good. Amir decides to frame him so he “lifted Hassan’s mattress and planted [his] new watch and handful of Afghani bills under it” (104). Amir lets Hassan take the blame for this act completely and exiles him out of his life forever. Hassan even writes to him but Amir does not respond. Amir exiles Hassan and shows the theme of exile through his actions toward Hassan throughout the

To add to Hassan’s admiration for Amir, Hassan would take the blame despite the fact that it is Amir’s fault. “But he never told on me. Never told that the mirror, like shooting walnuts at the neighbor’s dog, was always my idea (4).” It is bizarre that Amir did not confess when Hassan was getting punished, like if someone has a friend, he/she would not want that friend getting hurt. Then he acts like nothing happened and does not even thank Hassan for covering for him, but instead he acts like it was Hassan’s fault and that Hassan deserves the punishment. Amir is most likely jealous that Hassan receives Baba’s attention while he needs to work for it, which is why he lets Hassan take the blame for him. “The group felt that Baba shows more kindness to Hassan as a way of overcoming his guilt for the affair, which in turn makes Amir feel unwanted: his literary talents are not appreciated because his father would prefer a son interested in football (Dennys).” It is assumed that Amir does not like Hassan because he can gain Baba’s attention easily while Amir has tried for years to get a little bit of attention. Amir thinks that if Hassan gets in more “trouble” then Baba would like Hassan less and start liking him more and pay more attention to him. Amir treats Hassan kindly when they are alone, but in public he degrades Hassan and acts like Hassan is nothing to him. “But he’s not my friend! I almost blurted. He’s my servant (41)!”

First, Amir’s constant regrets prevent him from feeling satisfied with his life, contrast to Hassan’s minimal regrets. Amir’s most haunting regret is that he did not stand up to Assef while Hassan was getting raped in an alleyway. Amir's regret of not standing up for Hassan, starts to haunt him when he states, “I understood the nature of my new curse: I was going to get away with it...That was the night I became an insomniac”(86). This quote shows that the mistake Amir made is going to stay with him and negatively affect how he lives his life. Amir could have helped Hassan, and it would have helped Amir toward a happier future. Hassan grows up not having any major regrets, so nothing will come back to prevent him from being happy. Even after Hassan underwent getting raped for the kite, he does hold that as a regret. Hassan letting go of the event is shown when he tries to keep his friendship alive with Amir and does not

Amir grew up with a sense of entitlement, and a loyal servant/friend in Hassan. After Hassan’s rape, Amir is stricken with grief and tries to console himself by saying that he is better than Hassan because Hassan is a Hazara and has a cleft lip. It’s here where the disgusting mindset of Amir, a perspective that only the reader has the opportunity to understand. “Hassan knew. He knew I 'd seen everything in that alley, that I 'd stood there and done nothing. He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time.” (Kite 9.29) This quote perfectly encapsulates Amir’s feelings of extreme grief for what he did to Hassan. This is a recurring theme within the book, the reader sees the anxiety that Amir feels for betraying Hassan in the alley that day, and from that day he does his best to repent for his unatoned sins.

After the betrayal of Hassan, Amir feels ashamed of himself. He feels all of the guilt and does not know how to become good again. He feels this guilt for the majority of his life, even in America. Subsequently Amir and Baba moved to America, Amir meets a girl. He always finds excuses to go see her and finally decides that he wants to marry her. So Baba went to go ask her father for permission and he said yes. Shortly after receiving this news, Amir talks with Soraya, his wife, and she does something that Amir has wanted to do for quite a while, she tells him her secret. Amir “envied her. Her secret was out, spoken, dealt with. [he] opened [his] mouth and almost told her how [he’d] betrayed Hassan, lied, driven him out, and destroyed a 40 year

Throughout the novel, the protagonist and narrator Amir receives many acts of loyalty from his brother and friend Hassan; these acts start off simple and almost meaningless to Amir, but as times get harder, Hassan’s loyalty proves strong. Hassan was very loyal and humble to those close to him and showed his devotion when he listened to everything Amir had to say and did whatever he wanted when he asked. Amir was reminding himself of the past and constantly bring him memories of Hassan and felt guilt at every moment. Amir reminded himself of the days in Afghanistan when Ali scolded Hassan for the things he had asked him to do, “But he never told on me. Never told that the mirror, like shooting walnuts at the neighbor’s dog, was my idea” (4). These actions were created by Hassan’s surroundings as he grew up, he was taught to be a Hazara servant, but once that friendship sparked between the two boys, Hassan didn’t want to lose that, Amir was his only friend. These small acts of loyalty sparked and grew more important to Amir. A major turning point in the novel was during the kite tournament, but upon finishing the race, Hassan tells Amir, “For you a thousand times over!” (67). This statement is a constant reminder throughout the novel that Hassan will forever be with him and that he will constantly put himself in danger for him and the people he loves. The proof of his loyalty increased that very same day when Hassan found the kite in an alley, but being cornered and harassed by Assef and his friends, he chose to stay and run that kite for Amir instead of handing it over. “‘Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly. This is his

Amir seems to be a very selfish person who will avoid any conflict that does not involve him. Amir is the son of Baba and Hassan's best friend. Even though Hassan and Amir are great friends, Amir seems to take their friendship for granted. On the day of the kite running tournament, Hassan gets mixed up with gang who intend to rape him. They proceed to do so as Amir sits at the sidelines and watches. Amir says, ¨I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan--the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past--and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end I ran. I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me.¨ (Hosseini 77) Amir has the option to help his friend who has been with him through thick and thin, but afraid of his own personal safety, he runs. Leaving Hassan completely alone and helpless. Amir also desires attention from his father and will think or do awful things to get it. Amir says, “I’d, ask Ali where Baba was, when he was coming home, though I know full well he was at the construction site over-looking this, supervising that. Didn't that take patience? I already hated all the kids he was building the orphanage for; sometimes I’d wish they'd all die along with their parents.” In Amir's mind, getting Baba’s attention is all that matters. Sacrificing others for his own gain becomes a habit of his. Amir is aware of his selfishness and in someway wants to make up for it.

When Amir distinguished himself as young, he made many poor decisions. Amir allowed Hassan to make many sacrifices for him. He watched Hassan get beat up and raped without doing anything to help because of his own selfish reasons. This only ended up putting a wall up between them. Amir knew he betrayed Hassan and couldn’t deal with the guilt. He then told Baba Hassan stole a watch and money from them, hoping Hassan would get kicked out. This act of betrayal just ruined Amir’s and Hassan’s relationship further. Amir wanted nothing to do with a boy who would do anything for him. Hassan knew he ultimately needed to leave, leaving Amir to only feel emptier than before. These acts of betrayal never left

Amir’s betrayal of Hassan causes him to feel guilt throughout the rest of his childhood, and into his adulthood, and he can’t get rid of that feeling no matter what he does. A little while after Hassan and Ali move out, Amir and Baba move to America to try and start a new life. Amir did this hoping it would help him move on from Hassan, but it didn’t. Once they got America, Amir did his best to forget about Hassan, and he was somewhat able to, until someone would mention his name. After living in America for a few years, Amir met his future wife Soraya, and Baba came down with a deadly disease. Before Baba died however, he granted Amir’s wish of getting the general’s (soraya’s dad) blessing for Amir to marry Soraya. Before they got married

One triumphant day, Amir won the local kite fighting tournament and finally earned Baba’s praise. Hassan ran to retrieve the losing kite, which was considered a trophy, and told Amir “For you, a thousand times over”. When Hassan finally obtained the kite, he was cornered by Assef and his friends. Assef was the neighborhood bully and had tortured Amir and Hassan for years. When Hassan refused to give up the kite, Assef beat and raped him. Amir watched the whole thing but didn’t interfe because he didn’t want to lose the respect of his father. The guilt ate Amir alive. “That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.” Soon after the incident, Amir tried to distance himself from Hassan and Hassan and his father eventually leave. A couple years later, Amir and Baba flee to America to escape the war in Afghanistan. Amir graduates and gets married but even after all those years;

When Amir and Baba went to the lake one day when Baba had built the orphanage, Amir exclaimed, “he asked me to fetch Hassan too, but I lied and told him Hassan had the runs” (13). This associates the power Aamir wants in order to impress his father. Furthermore it embellishes the fact that Amirs quench for power over Hassan was growing since the beginning of the book, Hassan was always, “steps in to fend them off” (22), which made Amir feel weak and powerless. This enraged the evil that was brewing inside him, and created a dynamic of always wanting more. The power that came from Baba’s approval always came so easily to Hassan, However for Amir, he always went out of his way to be vengeful towards him. Hosseini depicts this constantly throughout his life, for example when he graduated highschool in California and Baba mentioned how good it would be to have Hassan there with them in the new car they had gotten, Amir said, “a pair of steel hands closed around my windpipe at the sound of Hassan's name” (134). Hosseini wants us to see that Amir is constantly wants that power over his father’s relationship with him, but Hassan always gets in the way of that. Even when Amir was doing an act of good to save Sohrab, he “hadn’t felt happy and [he] hadn’t felt better, not at all” (289). Amir began to laugh during the time that he

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