The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, is a novel that follows the maturation of Amir, a male from Afghanistan who needs to find his way in the world as he realises that his own belief system is not that of his dominant culture. It is the story of both fathers and sons; and friends and brothers. Through this journey of Amir’s, Khaled Hosseini’s depicts right and wrong and the nature of evil.
The relationship between Amir and his ‘best friend’ Hassan was saddening. Not only is Hassan Amir’s best friend, he is also Amir’s servant and a member of the discriminated ethnic minority. I was saddened because although they were very close, Amir never wanted to be associated with Hassan in public. Often, people would tease Amir for being with Hassan, saying things like, “Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. His people pollute our homeland, our watan. They dirty our blood.” Therefore, Amir would always avoid being seen in public with Hassan. In my mind, this poses the question of whether love for a friend should outweigh the divisions of class and ethnicity. Or are these divisions too far-reaching? In any right mind, love for a friend should outweigh the divisions of class and ethnicity because, who cares as to what blood or skin colour they are? How can you call yourself their best friend if you do not want to be seen with them in public? I found that often Amir wouldn’t even stand up for Hassan. Hassan was the one always standing up for Amir, and Amir was only concerned for his own well-being and appearance to the public eye. When Hassan was getting sexually violated by another man, Amir ran off and hid. It was Hassan that would often tell Amir that he would do anything for him, “a thousand times over.” So, why didn’t Amir do the same for Hassan? It purely comes down to