Practise essay 1 – The Kite Runner
The tragedy for these two boys is that although Hassan is like their father,
Amir is not. Do you agree?
Afghanistan is considered a ‘landlocked’ country located between Asia and the Middle
East. Its history goes back as far as the oldest ancient societies and many civilisations have
fought their battles on this volatile land. (Establish the context)The book ‘The Kite Runner’ by
Khaled Hosseini explores a memorable story of two boys, who are influenced by the political
and religious complexities in Afghanistan in the 1970s. (Introduce the book and outline of
story) Fathered by the same man, these boys initially appear to be very different in
character, with only the servant Hassan being comparatively similar to his unknown father.
From the beginning of the book, the recognised son Amir appears to be lacking in the
qualities and strength of character that his noble father possesses and these differences
continuously cause a wedge between the two and between Amir and Hassan.(Mention the
characters, themes and concepts related to the topic)The book is a tragedy in many ways
but this tragedy is based on inequality and the impact an environment of power imbalances
can have on children. (Address the topic and establish YOUR contention)Both Amir and
Hassan are influenced by the relationship they have with Baba and we do not see all ironic
similarities or the unexpected differences between all three until the very last line of the
book. (Set up your essay)
At the start of the book, Amir is very different to Baba, becoming more like him at the end
but the main tragedy for these two boys is that Baba never saw the potential in Amir,
continually comparing him to Hassan. (Topic sentence)The death of Amir’s mother resulted
in distance between father and son, increased by the Afghan culture that produced males
who should be strong, fearless and if they are Pashtun – proud and arrogant. Amir perceives
that his father hates him and believes ‘Baba hated me a little…I had killed his beloved
wife…But I hadn’t turned out like him. Not at all.’ Baba states that he finds it difficult ‘to
believe that he’s my [Amir is his] son’ and has ‘something missing’, an observation that
would have been difficult for a child to live with. (Explanation and Evidence) Amir has an
unhealthy love hate relationship with his father that produces a continual need to obtain his
father’s approval and this becomes an obsession. Amir develops a jealous, selfish and
resentful nature that quickly develops into deceit and a habit of putting his own needs first,
which causes his ultimate betrayal of his best friend Hassan, who he witnesses being raped.
Amir does not do the right thing because he sacrifices his friend to please his father and
consequently endures a life of guilt and self-doubt. (Explanation and Evidence) Baba’s lack
of support and ‘black and white’ approach to everything kept Amir at arm’s length; ultimately
he was responsible for the choices Amir made on the day Hassan was raped. The tragedy is
that Amir was trying to be like Baba, ‘who molded the world around him to his liking’ and he
tried to mold his world and sacrificed the only person who had loved him unconditionally –
Hassan. (Link back to topic)
Initially we believe that Hassan’s fearlessness and loyalty are like qualities displayed in
Baba however, by the end of the novel the similarities between the two characters of Amir
and Baba are more evident. (Topic sentence) When Rahim Khan contacts the adult Amir to
‘be good again’ and return to Afghanistan, the full extent of lies and deception are revealed.
Amir discovers that Baba has been capable of deceiving those closest to him, having an
affair with his best friend’s wife, keeping his Hazara son Hassan a secret (denying him of the
truth) and like Amir, living a life of guilt and regret. Baba is a hypocrite when he says ‘when
you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to
fairness’, as his obvious double standards reveal that like Amir, he was a cheater of the truth
and of fairness. Amir states, ‘fifteen years after I’d buried him, I was learning that Baba had
been a thief. And a thief of the worst kind, because the things he’d stolen had been sacred:
from me the right to know I had a brother, from Hassan his identity, and from Ali his honour’.
(Explanation) In contrast to the negative attributes of both men, Amir shows he is like Baba
in a positive way when he shows enormous courage with the Taliban. Similarly to how Baba
stood up to the Russian soldier when they fled their country, Amir puts his life on the line to
do what is right. (Explanation and Evidence) The discovery that Baba stole everyone’s ‘right
to the truth’ and that Hassan was actually his brother (and Sohrab his nephew), Amir is
prompted to finally ‘be good again’ and seek atonement in the hope of redemption – showing
a similar strength of character that Baba also possessed. After his Taliban ordeal, Amir is left
with a similar physical scar to the harelip scar that Hassan had, an ironic reminder that he is
permanently different. The tragedy here is that neither Baba or Hassan ever see the
transformation of Amir and that his redemption is only achieved with violence and he would
not have escaped without Sohrab’s intervention, using skills and courage taught by Hassan.
(Link back to topic)
Hassan is not like Baba or Amir and the tragedy is that if both characters were more
like him then unfortunate events in the novel may have been different. (Topic sentence)
Hassan is just as affected by Baba’s lies to protect his social position, as he is by Amir’s lies
to protect himself. Hassan has pure and selfless qualities that the other two do not possess,
as they represent people who are bound by pride or their position of power or status. Unlike
Hassan, they are more worried about how others see them or how they may be personally
influenced by something. (Explanation and Evidence) The tragedy is that Hassan who
believes that ‘it’s wrong to hurt even bad people. Because they don’t know any better, and
because bad people sometimes become good’, is more worthy than these two and that his
devotion and loyalty remains true to the end of the book. However, this tragedy is
emphasised by the circumstances that produced the behaviour of these characters and
continued to influence the relationships between all characters in the book, especially
Hassan. (Explanation and Evidence) Baba is a product of his social status and complex
culture and is expected to be a man of strength - he is conditioned to be this way. The
tragedy of this book is that the various social factors drive a wedge between them all. The
social, cultural, religious and political imbalances create power imbalances that influence
what they all do. The lowly Hazara Hassan is free of needing to defend his status and is
therefore genuine in all he does and the tragedy for him is that he truly deserved better. If
the others were more like Hassan, perhaps his life would not have been so difficult. (Link
sentence)
Perhaps the greatest tragedy in the novel is the distance that exists between these
characters - between father and son, between brothers and between friends. (Topic
sentence) This empty space is created because of the cultural expectations put onto males,
particularly in certain cultures. Social status and power can negatively influence the
relationships between people and this is perhaps the saddest fact that influences Amir’s
early behaviour and breaks the bond between the two boys. Baba and Amir too are denied
the love they crave and the relationships they wanted with each other but Amir and Hassan
never reconcile as friends or brothers. (Explanation and Evidence) Baba loses his second
unacknowledged son and his best friend and that too is a tragedy. In the end of the book,
Amir becomes the courageous selfless son that Baba would have wanted, realising that it is
‘better to get hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie’, the tragedy is that Baba and Hassan
never find out or witness this, or the formation of the type of relationship between himself
and Sohrab that the others had been denied. (Explanation and Evidence) Amir achieves
redemption and atonement when he returns to his religion, devotes himself to his own
community by doing charity work (like his father) and dedicates himself to serving Sohrab breaking all previous social expectations. (Evidence) By standing up to the symbol of past
Afghan oppression, the General, Amir shows he has learned that past ways have been the
cause of much of what has been wrong all his life. What is most tragic is that as a child, Amir
was a victim of his society in the same way Hassan was. (Link to topic)
Hassan is not like either Baba or Amir, as he makes continual sacrifices for both of
them and possesses a loyalty and purity of spirit that neither the other two do. The tragedy
for these two boys is that the society they were raised in contained imbalances that shaped
their behaviour and values. (Return to topic) Rahim Khan sums it up when he states ‘in the
end the world always wins’ but the changes in the character of Amir signify that perhaps
there is some hope that people can transform. Amir created good out of guilt and this made
him like Baba at the end of the novel but Hassan was the only one who constantly put
others’ needs ahead of himself and served them with ‘guileless devotion’. (Revisit the gist or
main points that you covered)The message of the book appears to be that serving another
man, or expecting to be served, creates the potential for lies, corruption and divisions
between people. Both Baba and Amir became ‘tortured souls’ because they lacked faith and
put their own needs first. (Evaluate the book – the message, it’s purpose)The final message
appears to be a comment about Muslims being true to their religion and being willing to
sacrifice themselves for what they believe in, Amir says ‘I see now that Baba was wrong,
there is a God, there has always been’. However, the final ironic tragedy is that Hassan
survived every challenge but lost his life protecting Baba and Amir’s house, the last symbol
of his past life and status and what his religion rejected – someone else’s material wealth
and his own social inequality. (Final line of reflection)