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Abuse; treat a person with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly. Amir’s constant abuse throughout The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, was in cause of his selfish actions, the horrendous mistreatment, and the degrading of Hassan’s educational level of understanding. Amir and Hassan had grown up together, neither with a mother but together they try to form a friendship that will never bloom to its full potential. In the beginning of the story Amir seems as if he is a kind friend to Hassan, but as times grow longer he realizes what he truly thinks of Hassan. To begin with, one of the most horrific ways that Amir abused his and Hassan’s friendship was by using Hassan in his own selfish ways to attain what he desires. Despite …show more content…
Before the actual occurrence of the rape, Amir and Hassan were having a normal conversation. Amir then made the entire situation spiral downward with a single question; “‘I’d sooner eat dirt,’ he said with a look of indignation. ‘Really? You would do that?’” (54). Even though Hassan said he would eat the dirt, Amir had to evolve the question even further than it needed to be. This does not show true friendship in any way, shape or form, Amir mistreated Hassan’s loyalty even further by considering the question, let alone saying it. Preceding the rape, Amir decides an unforgiving action in which he attempts to dispose of his guilty conscience. He meets Hassan beside the old pomegranate tree where they spent their days as a child when he decides to relieve his guilt in one of the most special places to Hassan; Amir says, “I hurled the pomegranate at him. It struck him in the chest, exploded in a spray of red pulp” (92). Believing the pomegranate incident would relive his guilt, Amir had felt no sorrow after the assault. Including the probability that Hassan was already torn apart by the rape, Amir’s actions could have only worsened Hassan’s self-esteem. This horrendous behavior before and after the rape would be considered mistreat in multiple ways. Amir’s guilty conscience made things difficult for Hassan to fully deal with the ongoing struggles of the
Because of Amir’s extreme desire to receive the attention and affection from Baba, he begins to subconsciously sacrifice his relationship with Hassan in order to fulfill his interests. However, as Amir continuously matures and begins to recognize his initial ignorant, detrimental actions towards Hassan, he no longer “worship” his father like he did in the past. This causes him to ensure a sense of independence because of his ability to quickly adapt to a completely new, unfamiliar environment and remain adamant on pursuing their own aspirations.
Although Hassan is his best friend, there are many instances where Amir reveals his jealousy, most notable when Baba sees Hassan as the stronger boy, "self-defense has nothing to do with meanness. You know what always happens when the neighbourhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fends them off. I 've seen it with my own eyes…” (Hosseini 24). Clearly, Amir hears how his father compares the two, and unlike Hassan who manages to meet Baba’s expectations, Amir grows bitter towards Hassan. He is unable to fight off his envy which later causes him to sacrifice his best friend’s innocence: “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (82), and this is all because he realizes “his shame is complicated by his own realization that in part he doesn’t help his friend precisely because he is jealous of him” (Corbett, 2006). From here, Amir develops strong feelings of guilt that induces him to perform even more destructive acts, such as having Hassan and his father evicted from the house. Amir not only loses a close friend, but now he has to continue to live with remorse as he dwells on these memories. The only way for Amir to redeem himself of his repercussions is through a challenging process of sacrifice and self-discovery. Although one is unsure at this point whether Amir succeeds at his endeavors, it is clear that this story
The way our friends treat us in the face of adversity and in social situations is more revealing of a person’s character than the way they treats us when alone. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, ethnic tensions, nationality, and betrayal become the catalyst that drives and fuels Amir, Assef, and other characters to embark on their particular acts of cruelty. Serving as a way to illustrate the loss of rectitude and humanity, cruelty reveals how easily people can lose their morals in critical circumstances. Through Amir, Assef, and the Taliban’s actions, cruelty displays the truth of a person’s character, uncovering the origin of their cruelty. Amir’s cruelty spurs from his external environment and need for love from his father, choosing
The Kite Runner is a narrative, the first book written by Khaled Hosseini. There exist two main characters in this book——Amir and Hassan. Amir is the young son of a wealthy family, while Hassan is the son of a servant in Amir’s family. The story has happened in Afghanistan. Amir and Hassan always played together since childhood but after Amir watches Hassan is bullied and raped without showing up, unable to deal with his guilt, Amir forces Hassan’s family to leave their house. And then their friendship is broken. Soon the war began and Amir’ family run to America. Few years later, one of his father’s friends asks them to come back to Afghanistan and tells Amir three unbelievable facts: Hassan is the son of Amir’s father and the wife of Hassan’s “father”; Hassan died; the son of Hassan was sold. Hence, in order to atone for his crime, Amir finally finds Hassan’s son back. (Khaled Hosseini, 2003)
On multiple occasions, Amir deceives and betrays Hassan’s trust because of his jealousy towards Hassan’s relationship with
This embarrasses and frustrates Amir. This frustration is one reason for Amir to slowly but surely push Hassan out of his life. Although it is not the most obvious reason, it is an underlying one. This is a mistake on Amir’s part because Hassan does so much for Amir, being the loyal friend that he is, and for Amir to push someone of such good moral and character out of his life, is a tremendous mistake on his behalf. It is quite obvious that Hassan would give his life for Amir, but, because of where Hassan comes from, Amir struggles throughout his childhood, to find a way to accept the friendship Hassan gives him.
Hassan would do anything for his friends and treat everyone, even bullies, with respect because his respectful dad, Ali, taught him to always be loyal to all, and never hurt anyone. Ali was Baba’s servant and long-time friend, and stayed close to him throughout their childhood and adulthood. Amir's actions showed how much of a coward he was. Amir suffered his whole life living with the guilt of knowing that Hassan was raped, much like Baba lived his whole life in guilt knowing that he stole the truth from Ali by committing adultery.
Amir takes advantage of Hasan because he is a Hazara and his servant. “When it comes to words Hassan is an imbecile” (29). This is when Amir first starts to belittle Hassan knowing that he is a Hazara therefore illiterate. Instead of helping his friend, Amir chooses to instead downplay him and mock Hassan. “What would you do if I hit you with this?” (92). Amir pelting Hassan with the pomegranate after he asks this question continues his betrayal because Amir knew Hassan would not do anything about it. “A loyal Hazara. Loyal as a dog” (72). Assef of all people acknowledged that Hassan was loyal to Amir. This in some ways makes Amir as disgusting as Assef but it there are worse instances of betrayal by Amir.
The hardships that life reveals can either affect a person in a negative or positive way. They can strengthen or weaken the development of one’s character. Khaled Hosseni’s The Kite Runner is a novel that tells the story of two boys – Amir and Hassan, his childhood friend and servant– who spend their lives attempting to overcome their obstacles. These obstacles create experiences that will shape them for the rest of their lives. Firstly, Hassan and Amir share similar hardships, however Hassan learns and grows from them, and Amir lingers over the negativity, allowing it to destroy his life instead of moving forward. Secondly, Amir is always rescued, which allows him to feel a sense of entitlement, while Hassan fights his own battles, resulting in a greater amount of inner strength. Lastly, as Amir and Hassan become adults in opposite ends of the world, they battle hardships that are very different. The differences within their adulthood continue to show who is the more honourable character. Ultimately, in Khaled Hosseni's The Kite Runner, Hassan is a stronger character than Amir, despite the fact that they both battle similar hardships.
Amir is clearly an emotionally unstable person, but his resentment towards Hassan is increased because of his own haunting guilt.
Amir throughout the novel always felt guilty for not sticking up for Hassan especially when Assef raped Hassan in the alleyway. Amir 's guilt during this time made it hard for him to even be around Hassan because he didn 't know how to feel except guilty. Amir started treating Hassan very distant from him and doing things that would eventually ruin their friendship such as stop talking to him, hitting him with pomegranates, and trying to frame him as a thief (Chapter 8). Rahim Khan who played a very important role in the lives of Hassan and Amir felt guilty for keeping the secret about how the two boys were actually half brothers ( Chapter 17) . The secret was discovered once Amir returned to Afghanistan, this was part of the reason Rahim Khan disappeared after Amir left his house to go find Sohrab. Throughout the book Amir 's actions affected how he treated and dealt with everyone else. Amir 's actions often made him feel guilty because he didn 't stick up for himself or others. Amir 's actions such as when he asked Hassan “You’d do that? Eat dirt if I told you too” especially made him feel guilty because Hassan would do anything Amir asked of him (Chapter
Though some may rise from the shame they acquire in their lives, many become trapped in its vicious cycle. Written by Khlaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner describes the struggles of Amir, his father Baba, and his nephew Sohrab as they each fall victim to this shameful desolation. One repercussion of Baba hiding his sinful adultery from Amir is that Amir betrays Hassan for his father’s stringent approval. Sohrab’s dirty childhood also traumatizes him through his transition to America. Consequently, shame is a destructive force in The Kite Runner. Throughout the course of the novel, Baba’s shameful affair, Amir’s selfish betrayal, and Sohrab’s graphic childhood destroy their lives.
During The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini reinforces the theme of the loss of innocence and redemption. Many characters lose innocence or are the cause of another character losing theirs. Amir both loses his innocence and that of others. His innocence is stolen by his father. In the novel Amir overhears Baba saying, “‘If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son’” (Hosseini 24-25). This affects Amir for his entire life as he tries to compete with Hassan for his father's attention. He does not realize that in doing so, this crumbles his world as he knows it. It makes Amir resentful, calloused, and even cruel, all of which are characteristics of someone who has lost their innocence. In turn, Amir’s loss of innocence causes other to lose their innocence because of his lack of courage and disregard for others feelings.
Amir then occasionally used his higher intellect to trick or mess with Hassan since Hassan didn’t know it. Hassan was always honest and loyal to Amir, and also the one who stood up for Amir and himself and fought for them.
Amir begins to ponder about his childhood friend Hassan and how they used to play together. Hassan is a young servant of Amir, who lives with his father, Ali in a shed owned by Amir’s father. He remembers how brave Hassan was and how he stood up for his beliefs. Amir thinks back to how Hassan stood up for him and protected him at any cost, including standing up to the neighborhood bullies. Hosseini supplies a sufficient amount of background After seeing the events that have happened in Amir’s life, the reader will know and understand that “the kite runner” is Hassan.