The Effects of Power The definition of power is described as “the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events” (Oxford Dictionary). Many people have power whether it be a huge or small amount of it. The people who have power tend to use it against the other person or people. In the novel, The Kite Runner, there are varying degrees of power between parties and the party with less power ends up feeling inferior. Assef used his status to bully and take advantage of Hassan and Amir. When Assef saw Hassan and Amir together, he wanted to scare them by having his brass knuckles out and ready to fight. “Assef slipped on the brass knuckles. Gave me an icy look … I looked in his crazy eyes and saw that …show more content…
“ ‘I’ve changed my mind,’ Assef said. ‘I’m letting you keep the kite Hazara. I’ll let you keep it so it will always remind you of what I’m about to do’ ” (Hosseini 73). Since Assef was of high status and Hassan was just a “simple Hazara” it did not matter what happened to him. Assef knew this and he knew that no one would believe Hassan if he did speak out about what happened. Assef had a mentality similar to Hitler’s, so he thought that simply beating Hassan up and taking the kite would not be enough. Dr. Benjamin G. Voyer states that “… individuals with power have been shown to be less capable of understanding the perspective of others, and their emotions and feelings.” Assef could not understand why Hassan and Amir were friends and why Hassan was adamant on keeping the kite instead of handing it over to him. He did not care about how his actions would make Hassan feel because all he wanted was revenge for when he threatened to make him “one eyed Assef” (Hosseini 42). All he knew was that Hassan had no right to be defying him and that made him extremely angry. This resulted in him choosing to do something that he knew would scar Hassan – preventing him from ever defying him …show more content…
While reading to Hassan, Amir comes across a word that Hassan does not know so he teases him about it. “ ‘Well, everyone in my school knows what it means,’ I said. ‘Let’s see. Imbecile. It means smart, intelligent. I’ll use it in a sentence for you. ‘When it comes to words, Hassan is an imbecile’ ” (Hosseini 29). Being a Hazara prevented Hassan from being able to attend school, so he did not learn how to read or write. Amir liked that it was the one area where he excelled and he used that against him. In the moment of teasing Hassan, it makes Amir feel better about himself even though he knows that doing so is wrong. This small amount of power made Amir feel so good that it became his “favourite part of reading to Hassan” (Hosseini 28), instead of simply feeling good for helping out a
He made a sweeping, grandiose gesture with his hands. " Afghanistan for Pashtuns, I say. That's my vision." (40) Assef rapes Hassan went they are children and later Hassan’s son Sohrab. He also stones people to death for fun and people see him as a hero for it.
Amir tells him it means smart or intelligent and uses it in a sentence which says how Hassan is imbecile when it comes to words. Afterwards, Amir always feels guilty for it and ends up giving him an old shirt or a broken. As it says, ““Let's see. ‘Imbecile.’ It means smart, intelligent. I’ll use it in a sentence for you. ‘When it comes to words, Hassan is an imbecile.’”... I would always feel guilty about it later. So I'd try to make up for it by giving him one of my old shirts or a broken toy.” (Hosseini, 31) Amir teases Hassan for not knowing how to read and feels guilty for calling him a stupid person so he tries to make up for it by giving him old shirts or broken toys. In addision, Amir writes a story and wants Baba to read it but he shows no interest in reading it and quickly gets away to get ready. Rahim Khan comes along as he happily offers to read it and leaves him a note which encourages him to keep writing. When they leave, Amir suddenly wishes Rahim Khan was his father but then feels guilty for it and remembers all the good things about Baba. As it states, “When they left, I sat on my bed and wished Rahim Khan had been my father. Then I thought about Baba
When they are children, Hassan is the scapegoat for Amir’s naughty ideas. According to Hosseini, “Hassan and I used to climb the poplar trees in the driveway of my father’s house and annoy our neighbors by reflecting sunlight into their homes with a shard of mirror.”
Hassan and Amir were close, but were not “friends”. There was once a kite fighting tournament that Amir won and Hassan was the kite runner. Hassan went after the last kite and while returning to Amir from capturing the kite, Hassan ran into a known bully, Assef. Amir was looking for Hassan. When Amir finds Hassan, he sees Assef with him.
One day when Hassan and Amir are walking through Afghanistan, they come across Assef, a sociopathic bully known for his brass knuckles and his rancor towards Hazaras. He prepares to fight Amir and Hassan, but Hassan threatens to shoot out Assef's left eye with his slingshot, saying they'll call him "one-eyed Assef." Before the daunted bully backs off he warns them that he will have his revenge.
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.
Hassan defends Amir from being beaten by Assef, who has a reputation in Kabul of being a psychopath. When Assef threatens them, Hassan does not hesitate to respond saying, “You are right, Agha. But perhaps you didn’t notice that I’m the one holding the slingshot. If you make a move, they’ll have to change your nickname from ‘the Ear Eater’ to ‘One-Eyed Assef,’ because I have this rock pointed at your left eye” (45-46). Later on, Amir stands up for Sohrab, Hassan’s son, as Hassan stood up for Amir countless times before.
Because Hassan did not give the kite, Assef decides to rape Hassan as a “punishment”. Instead of helping his friend out, Amir just walked away from the scene and let Hassan get violated in one of the most vulgar ways. After this incident, Hassan quietly walked back home and gave Amir the kite for which he was confronted by Assef for. The kite in this situation proves to be an important symbol. Whereas earlier in the novel the kite represented happiness and fun to Amir, in this situation it represented sin and guilt to Amir.
When the readers were first introduced to Assef, he was described by Amir as a sociopath. He approved of Hitler's ways, said what he tried to do was right, and Assef wanted the same to happen to the Hazaras, because of his beliefs, "Afghanistan is for Pashtuns,"(Hosseini,43) this quote was said by Assef to Amir when he met them in an alleyway after Daoud Khan had become president. Years later, when Amir met Assef again, when Amir was trying to get Sohrab, you can see how much worse Assef had become, he turned into what he had admired when he was younger. His hatred of the Hazaras in Afghanistan had led to the massacre in Mazar-i-Sharif. That was the circularity in the life of Assef, going from a young sociopath, to a
Assef sees it as wrong for a hazara to be friends with a pashtun. He only sees hazaras as servants, he treats them more like animals than humans. This quote is said in a low point for Amir, Amir wants to help Hassan and he feels for him, but he was too scared so he runs away.
Kite Runner depicts the story of Amir, a boy living in Afghanistan, and his journey throughout life. He experiences periods of happiness, sorrow, and confusion as he matures. Amir is shocked by atrocities and blessed by beneficial relationships both in his homeland and the United States. Reviewers have chosen sides and waged a war of words against one another over the notoriety of the book. Many critics of Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, argue that the novel would not have reached a lofty level of success if the U.S. had not had recent dealings with the Middle East, yet other critics accurately relate the novel’s success to its internal aspects.
The difference in response between Amir and Hassan when he faces Assef’s gang shows the different views from one another, despite of the close friendship. On page 137 it says, “I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. [...] In the end, I ran.” This is the moment where Amir begins to feel so much guilt and fear in his life. He was too afraid to do anything to protect his friend and do something about it. When he says, “In the end I ran” not only did he do that physically but also mentally as he ran away from the problem without intervening to stop
Early in the novel, Amir sees Hassan cornered by Assef and his gang while trying to defend Amir’s kite he won with during the kite running tournament. He tries to decide whether he should save Hassan like he has done for him on multiple occasions or turn his back on his only friend. “I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan-the way he stood up for me all those times in the past
Or maybe he chooses to escape, leaving his "sidekick" in sadness. The reason that lies behind the assault went up against by Hassan is extensively more heart tweaking as Hassan being a devoted specialist does not surrender the kite to Assef when crippled. So to reprimand his constancy towards Amir, Assef shows Hassan a lesson by ambushing him in a disconnected
Power has been defined as the psychological relations over another to get them to do what you want them to do. We are exposed to forms of power from the time of birth. Our parents exercise power over us to behave in a way they deem appropriate. In school, teachers use their power to help us learn. When we enter the work world the power of our boss motivates us to perform and desire to move up the corporate ladder so that we too can intimidate someone with power one day. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Kurtz had a power over the jungle and its people that was inexplicable.