The Kite Runner Rhetorical Analysis

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The Kite Runner goes hand in hand with the theme in Macbeth: not all things are as they seem. This novel is about an Afghanistan boy named Amir and his friend Hassan. Hassan is Amir’s servant’s son, they always play together, but when guests come over Amir completely forgets about Hassan. They have the annual kite competition and Amir wins; Hassan goes to catch the losing kite for Amir. After awhile Amir searches for Hassan and sees him in an alley, trapped by bullies. Amir runs away instead of helping his so called “friend.” I believe that the author’s message throughout the first few pages is to allude at the irony between Amir and his dad, and to turn your stomach with the heart-wrenching betrayal. The author uses a slight play of irony …show more content…

While Amir is watching Hassan getting beat up he remembers hearing someone say: “Did you know Hassan and you fed from the same breast” (Hosseini 73). Even after this recollection Amir still does nothing to help Hassan. He just sits there, paralyzed in a fear of getting hurt. He sits there while his friend gets raped, and the only thing that Amir does is hurt him even more. The only reason Hassan is in this situation is because when he was asked to give the kite up he stated: “Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly. This is his kite” (Hosseini 72). Hassan could have gotten away unharmed if he would have given up the kite, but instead he stayed loyal to his friend and kept it. Because of Amir, Hassan is in this horrendous situation. After reading this part of the novel readers have compassion for Hassan and antipathy for Amir. The author intended this; he is purposeful in making your stomach turn. He wants you to feel the pain that Hassan felt, and the worst part of it all is that Hassan does not know Amir could have saved him. Hassan doesn’t know that Amir could have saved him from the raping, saved him from the humiliation, and saved him from the eternal pain. Amir stood fifteen steps away from Hassan and yet he stayed there without helping. He had the potential to be

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