Sacrifice In The Kite Runner

Unrequited Sacrifice
In the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden both authors develop the main idea of sacrifice for others while expecting nothing in return. Hosseini’s main sacrificial character is Hassan who constantly sacrifices himself for his friend Amir’s relationship with his father and Amir’s comfort. Although Amir is aware of Hassan’s sacrifices he remains distant and cruel while still expecting Hassan to sacrifice more for him. Hayden develops the idea of sacrifice with a father waking early to work for his family who in turn act cold towards him. Both authors further the idea of the sacrifices made with metaphors, anecdotes and, textual evidence.
Hosseini and Hayden both begin their works by developing the idea of the sacrifices their characters

make. Hayden’s beginning line is “Sundays too my father got up early” (Hayden 1). This line immediately sets up the father’s sacrifice. The father woke up early not just on Sunday but on all of the other six days in the week. The speaker’s father was waking early on the day of rest to care for his family. Hosseini reveals Hassan’s unrelenting sacrifices to Amir in the second chapter “Hassan never denied me anything” (Hosseini 4). Hosseini continues to develop this idea throughout the first part of the book with many anecdotes detailing Hassan taking the fall for Amir’s mischief. The authors choosing to begin their works with foreshadowing to the character’s sacrifices allows the audience to gain an understanding for the characters.
Both authors include elements that give the audience the impression that the characters are working. Hosseini develops Hassan’s character more as a servant than a friend with Hassan living in a hut, waking early to prepare Amir for school and, maintaining the home that Amir and his father live in. The last lines of Hayden’s poem are “What did I know, what did I know of love’s austere and lonely offices?” (Hayden 14). Hayden uses the word “offices” as a metaphor
to convey a sense of labor rather than parenthood. These examples allow the authors to convey a
sense of obligation of the characters to sacrifice their happiness.
All throughout the beginning of his novel Hosseini develops the plot for one large
sacrifice Hassan chooses to make for Amir.

After Amir wins a kite fight for the first time Hassan offers to retrieve it for him. After Hassan gets the kite he is confronted by the neighborhood bullies who demand the kite. Hassan is aware that the kite will improve Amir’s relationship with his father so he refuses to give up the kite and is ultimately raped. After this sacrifice Amir is too guilty to continue living near Hassan and he frames him for theft. In Hassan’s final act of sacrifice he admits to theft and leaves Amir and his father. Although Hassan’s rape is foreshadowed it still has a large emotional impact on the audience and allows the reader to gain a full understanding of all that Hassan is willing to sacrifice for Amir.
Both authors detail physical evidence of their character’s sacrifices. After the rape, Amir reveals that he had seen droplets of Hassan’s blood falling in the snow. The speaker in Those Winter Sundays recounts seeing her father’s hands “cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather” (Hayden 3). The authors providing physical evidence of the sacrifices made in their works furthers the emotional impact of the works on the

audience.
Another character that is forced to make a sacrifice for Amir in The Kite Runner is his father, Baba. During the wars Amir and Baba fled from Afghanistan to Peshawar where Baba was happy. They then moved to America so Amir could have greater opportunities. Baba and Amir both recognized this as a sacrifice that he was making for Amir. The Kite Runner is able to relate to Those Winter Sundays in this example despite the subject matter of the works being completely different. Both fathers are willing to sacrifice their comfort and happiness for their children’s happiness. Although many parents do not have to make a sacrifice as great as Baba many parents could identify with the everyday sacrifices shown in Those Winter Sundays.
After Amir witnesses Hassan’s rape he avoids talking to him. When Hassan tries to reconcile with him, Amir asks him to go away. After this incident Hassan stops trying to reach out to Amir and accepts the fact that their friendship is permanently changed. In Those Winter Sundays the speaker recounts their father waking early to start a fire and polish his family’s shoes. The speaker says he would wake and speak indifferently to him (Hayden 10).
Hayden and Hoseini use metaphors, anecdotes and, textual evidence to convey the magnitude of the sacrifices made by their characters. While Hassan and Baba make large, life-changing sacrifices for Amir in The Kite Runner, Those Winter Sundays focuses more on mundane sacrifices made everyday by the speaker’s father. Both authors are able to convey a sense of sadness in their works and influence their audience to think of the sacrifices made in their own lives.