Examples Of Cowardice In The Kite Runner

Amir’s Cowardice and Hassan’s Bravery in The Kite Runner
Misplaced priorities are a struggle that is known to every member of the human race at some point in their lives. Some defeat this predicament with strong morals and a brave heart, and others, afraid to stand up, are defeated by the struggle, left to regret what they did not achieve. This is especially evident in Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner. Amir makes his priority Baba’s love, while Hassan’s priority is loyalty to his masters: Amir and Baba. This leads Amir into acts of cowardice as he chooses what will most make Baba proud instead of the moral thing to do. In contrast, Hassan’s loyalty results in him being brave in all situations, doing whatever he can to serve and protect

his masters. Lastly, by being cowardly, Amir is tormented with guilt and has to eternally live with the pain; meanwhile Hassan is optimistic about and is grateful for life. Therefore, one’s level of bravery can either result in one’s anguish, or one’s lightheartedness.
Both Amir’s and Hassan’s priority is love. However the difference lies in desperation for love versus providing love. Amir is desperate for Baba’s love, and will do anything to obtain it. When Amir and Baba were going to Ghargha Lake, Baba asked Amir to bring Hassan but instead “[Amir] lied and told him Hassan had the runs” (Hosseini, 14). Amir wants Baba all for himself, even if his actions would steal the chance at someone else’s happiness. Amir even goes as far as “[hating] all the kids [Baba] was building [an] orphanage for; sometimes [he] wished they’d all died along with their parents” (Hosseini, 19), even though he knows the real reason Baba is not showing him as much affection as he would like is because of his personality, he would rather put the blame on anyone else. When Amir eavesdrops on Rahim Khan and Baba from under the door of Baba’s study, he finds that they are talking about him: “’You know what always happens when the neighbourhood boys tease [Amir]? Hassan steps in and fends them off… Where is [Amir] headed? A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything’” (Hosseini, 24). A substantial amount of why Baba does not connect with Amir as much as Amir would like is due to the fact that he is not brave and strong like Baba is.
Hassan, in contrast, provides the love of loyalty.

Whenever Amir would ask Hassan to do something he was reluctant to do, Hassan would still agree if he begged because “[he] never denied [Amir] anything” (Hosseini, 4). Hassan loves Amir an extraordinary amount, so much that he would commit an action that he otherwise would never have wanted to commit. Even when Hassan figures out that Amir has betrayed him, he still sacrifices himself for the safety of Amir. When Hassan lies and tells Baba he stole the watch Amir had framed him for stealing, Amir says Hassan’s lie stung “like [he’d] been slapped… [Hassan] knew [he] had betrayed [him] and yet he was rescuing [him] once again” (Hosseini, 111). Hassan knew what would happen to Amir if Baba caught him trying to get rid of his servants, so he lied to protect Amir, even when Amir had wronged him. Baba and Amir flee to America, yet Hassan remains loyal to them while still in Afghanistan. Rahim Khan asks Hassan and his family to move into Amir’s old house, as he can not maintain the house by himself, but instead they move into the mud hut Hassan used to live in. Hassan’s reasoning is “’what will [Amir agha] think when he comes back to Kabul after the war and finds that I have assumed his place in the house?’” (Hosseini, 219). Not even during the war, when he does not expect Amir to come back, does he temporarily take residence in Amir’s old house. Out of loyalty and respect, he lives where he always had, even when Rahim Khan is

telling him it is alright, and even when no one there would tell Amir, on the slight chance that Amir would come back. “[They have] an unequal friendship – Hassan adores Amir while the latter takes advantage of the former’s unswerving faithfulness” (Ivers). Amir’s selfish desperation for Baba’s love causes him and others more agony than gain, while Hassan’s loyalty leaves him and others better off.
The biggest dissimilarity between the two boys is their level of bravery. Amir, motivated by his powerful desire for Baba’s approval, does whatever he believes would make Baba most proud instead of the morally correct action to take. When Amir was looking in the alleyway where Hassan held the kite from Assef and his cronies, he knew Hassan was in trouble, but could not bring himself to do anything, thinking to himself that “[he] had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who [he] was going to be” (Hosseini, 82). In the end, Amir runs, proving the kite, which would make Amir a winner in Baba’s eyes, to be of more importance than his friend’s safety and innocence. Not only does Amir sacrifice Hassan for his father’s approval, but he also tries to convince himself that it was acceptable to surrender him for his own selfish purposes. Amir reflects on his actions that day in the alleyway, convincing himself that “nothing [is] free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price [he] had to pay, the lamb [he] had to slay to win Baba” (Hosseini, 82). Amir attempts to justify his cowardice by comparing Hassan to a sacrificial lamb, which is typically used to show how surrendering someone creates more benefits than harm, which is not the case. Out of shame for not taking action, Amir continues to make matters worse by lying and not confessing to the adults in his household. After the incident, Hassan sulks and hardly does anything but sleep (Hosseini, 85), and his father, Ali, worries about him. He turns to Amir for an answer, but Amir snaps at Ali and curtly replies, “’how should I know what’s wrong with him?’” (Hosseini, 86). Amir throws away his chance at making things right by being cowardly in his actions just so he can maintain his newly obtained affection from Baba.
Through Hassan’s unwavering loyalty, he demonstrates a significant amount of bravery, especially in comparison to Amir. His first act of bravery is protecting Amir from Assef, who has a reputation for savagery (Hosseini, 41), and his companions. Assef picks a fight with Amir, “really mean[ing] to hurt him…[until] there was a flurry of rapid movement behind [Amir]…[and he realized] Hassan held the slingshot directly at Assef’s face” (Hosseini, 45). Hassan, despite what Assef could and would do to him for standing up and fighting back, protects Amir because of his undying loyalty for him. Hassan not only protects Amir in the physical sense, but in the emotional sense too. When Hassan is cornered by Assef and his gang, Assef offers to let Hassan go unscathed; if he gave Assef the kite Hassan promised Amir he would give him. Hassan refuses, saying, “’Amir agha won the tournament and I ran the kite for him. I ran it fairly. This is his kite’” (Hosseini, 77). Even in the face of danger, Hassan is willing to undergo any pain Assef can do to him to keep his promise of bringing Amir back that kite to make Amir overjoyed. He is also willing to potentially sacrifice his honour and way of life to deliver the truth. There is a lot of stigma around rape, especially around that of a male, but Hassan still tells his father “everything, about what Assef and his friends had done to him, about the kite, [and] about [Amir]” (Hosseini, 112). Even though Baba had provided for Ali and Hassan their whole lives, it is shameful to admit that such a dishonourable action had happened to him, and it would change their whole lives, Hassan still tells his father about what happened, despite the consequences, because he is loyal to himself and to his father. Amir’s cowardly actions as a result of Baba’s limited explicit love for Amir causes many characters major distress, whilst Hassan’s bravery, stemmed from his loyalty, brings multiple people around him relief, closure, and happiness.
The most significant difference between Amir and Hassan is how life is for them after they make the most significant decisions of their lives; the decisions made in that alleyway with the kite in Kabul. Amir’s cowardly act results in great mental and emotional pain. Amir experiences his first real repercussion of his decisions from that day on a trip to Jalalabad, when he recalls, “People raised their heads from their platters, [and] called out their congratulations… I felt like sticking a knife in my eye. That was the night I became an insomniac” (Hosseini, 91). A lack of sleep, especially with a guilty conscience, has enormous negative effects on a person’s health, causing Amir an abundance of issues in the years to come. “He lives with this guilt for many years, paying deeply in pain and suffering, always wanting to redeem himself for his betrayal” (Corbett). After decades of anguish, Rahim Khan offers Amir the chance at the redemption he has been longing for; but it will cause Amir more torment before he feels redemption. Amir, conflicted between guilt and selfishness, exclaims, “’I can’t go back to Kabul… I have a wife in America, a home, a career, and a family. But how could I pack up and go back home when my actions may have cost Hassan a chance at those very same things?” (Hosseini, 227). The guilt eats away Amir over the years gone by, and causes him an unfathomable amount of pain.
Contrary to Amir’s cowardice, Hassan’s bravery has left him with a light heart.

Upon seeing a Polaroid of Hassan and his son, the first time Amir has seen Hassan in decades; he cannot help but notice “[Hassan] exuded a sense of self-assuredness, of ease… Looking at the photo, one might have concluded that this was a man who thought the world had been good to him” (Hosseini, 227). Despite all the hardships that Hassan had faced as a young boy, he was happy as a man. In addition to living a joyous life, Hassan was also optimistic. Along with the photo came a letter from Hassan addressed to Amir, where Hassan describes his life and how he wishes Amir was with him, and is “’hopeful that one day [he] will hold one of [Amir’s] letters’” (Hosseini, 227). About halfway through his letter Hassan says, “I thank Allah every day that I am alive… because my wife has a husband and my son is not an orphan” (Hosseini, 228). Hassan looks forward to each and every day just to see his wife, his son, and one day, a letter from Amir. That is all Hassan needed in life. Unlike Amir, whose actions had dire consequences to his health and the people around him, Hassan lived a happy, lighthearted life for the most

part.
It is evident in The Kite Runner that a person’s degree of bravery ensues in either one’s sorrow, or one’s high spirits. This is revealed throughout the novel as Amir’s priorities result in acts of cowardice, and consequently his misery, while Hassan’s priorities lead to acts of bravery, thus leading him to a life of contentment. Truly, one’s decisions should always be carefully thought out; as it may alter one’s future drastically.