The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, is a thrillingly emotion stirring book. With its undertones of racial discrimination, family secrets and battles with ones own conscious. Amir the main character struggles with the relationship between him and his father and also him and his so-called friend Hassan. The book shows us that jealousy, and not cowardice as Amir claims, leads Amir to reject the one true friend he has. Though in the end Amir isn’t always controlled by his horrible jealousy towards Hassan.

In the begging we see that Hassan has always stuck up and covered for Amir no matter how much trouble Hassan knew he would have to face for it. Like in this passage where Amir suggests that Hassan fire walnuts into their neighbor’s one eyed German shepard's eye, “I talked Hassan into firing walnuts with his slingshot at the neighbor’s one-eyed German shepard. Hassan never wanted to, but if I asked, really asked, he would never deny me. Hassan’s father, Ali, used to catch us and get mad . . . ‘yes, father,’ Hassan would mumble, looking down at his feet. But he never told on me. Never told that the mirror, like shooting walnuts at the neighbor’s dog, was always my idea.”(4) From this Amir should believe that Hassan is a good friend but because of Amir's failure to accept Hassan because of his standing in society and more focused on his standing with Amir's own father.

You see not only was it because of Hassan’s looks and where he stood under the eyes of Amir’s peers , but it was the distinct fact that Amir felt as if his own father treated their servant boy just the way he treated his one and only son. This pushed Amir to detach himself from considering Hassan a friend. Amir’s jealousy towards his father’s fondness for Hassan is made clear when his father’s orphanage first opens. Amir states,” I was eight by then. I remember the day before the orphanage opened, Baba took me to Ghargha Lake, a few miles north or Kabul. He asked me to fetch Hassan too, but I lied and told him Hassan had the runs. I wanted Baba all to myself. And besides, one time at Ghargha Lake, Hassan and I were skimming stones and Hassan made his stone skip eight times. The most I managed was five. Baba was there, watching, and he patted Hassan on the back. Even put his arm around his shoulder.”(15) Even early in the book Amir’s jealousy towards Hassan is eminent, but it is later that we see Amir’s true distaste for Hassan.

Amir’s total disregard for Hassan is shown at one point in the book when he is looking for Hassan; after Hassan ran the blue kite for him because Amir had won the contest. Amir went looking for Hassan but then finds out that Hassan was being chased by Assef. Finding this out Amir frantically searches for Hassan when he finds Hassan his cowardice stop him from going any further. Even at the sight of Hassan suffering on Amir’s behalf, Amir still doesn’t stand up for him. Assef and his boys had stopped Hassan and told him that for Hassan to pass on without any trouble it would cost him Amir’s blue kite. Hassan of course fights for Amir and that is when Asef attacks Amir’s loyalty. He enlightens Hassan by exclaiming,” A loyal Hazara. Loyal as a dog . . . But before you sacrifice yourself for him, think about this: would he do the same for you? Have you ever wondered why he never includes you in games when he has guests? Why he only plays with you when no one else is around? I’ll tell you why, Hazara. Because to him, you’re nothing but an ugly pet. Something he can play with when he’s bored, something he can kick when he’s angry. Don’t ever fool yourself and think you’re something more.”(72) Even after Assef points out Amir’s true colors Hassan still exclaims “Amir agha and I are friends.”(72) In addition to saying that even after Assef’s attack on Amir’s loyalty to Hassan, when Assef tries to take the kite by force, Hassan fights back and slingshots a rock at Assef to stop