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.
Sain 2
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
Sain 3
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.
Sain 4
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
Sain 5
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.
Sain 6
Works Cited
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003.