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Theme Of Cruelty In The Kite Runner

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Cruelty is something that eventually causes agony in the best of us. In The Kite Runner, the author uses cruelty in the novel to push the story and characters in a new direction. Cruelty acts as a driving force for the protagonist, Amir, and the people he interacts with. The author does this by placing the characters in unfamiliar situations and forcing them to react to those situations. Initially, Amir is placed in an unfamiliar situation when his friend, Hassan, is abused. His actions while he is in this situation set off a chain reaction forcing the characters to navigate difficult situations. Throughout these difficult situations, Amir grows emotionally as a result of the cruelty around him. The first time where a character is placed in an unfamiliar situation is when Hassan gets abused in the alley. Abuse, in itself, is a from a cruelty, and although this cruelty is not addressed to Amir, it has a direct impact on his life. Right after a kite tournament that Amir won, Hassan goes to run the kite for Amir. While trying to run the kite, Hassan finds himself cornered in an alleyway by Assef and his lackeys. To demonstrate his power over Hassan, Assef decides to rape him while his allies hold him down. What they do not know is that Amir, worried about Hassan’s whereabouts, went looking for him only to find him in this situation. Amir chooses not to help Hassan and he runs away where he never discusses the situation with anyone. His guilt over the situation causes him to set off a chain reaction where he inflicts more cruelty upon himself and others. The paramount example of this is when Amir and Hassan revisit their favorite hill for the first time in months. Amir believes that Hassan is too loyal and that is why Hassan was abused in the alley. In order to make Hassan less loyal and “give [Amir] the punishment [he] craved, so maybe [he]’d finally sleep at night”, Amir decides to pummel him with pomegranates (92). Amir’s guilt only isolates Hassan, exactly what Amir thought he needed. However, isolating Hassan only makes Amir’s guilt worse. The isolation of Hassan drives him and his father away from Amir. Amir and his father, Baba, are hurt by Hassan and his father leaving. Amir hopes

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