Author Khaled Hosseini wrote a famous novella called The Kite Runner, which is about a man who has to risk his life in order to make up for the unspeakable mistake he made when he was a child. This man’s name is Amir. Amir experiences a lot during his childhood. He often had a feeling that his own father is ashamed of him and does not love him. His father’s name is Baba. He feels that Baba is more affectionate towards their servant’s son, Hassan. Hassan and Amir are not enemies because of this, well, at least he doesn’t show it. Amir and Hassan were best friends when they were kids; they did pretty much everything together. It was probably because they were best friends that Amir felt so jealous of him. He wanted his father to care for his son more than his servants. One of the most tragic events happened in Amir’s childhood. It created so much damage in his life as well as in the ones around him. In this particular event, he made the mistake of his life - the error that permanently destroyed everyone’s future. He intruded in the lives of others with a cataclysmic earthquake that took a lifetime to recover from - all because he couldn’t stand up for Hassan. Hassan always stood up for him, he even saved his ass from getting is face deformed by Assef’s fists. And when Hassan was having the definite worst time of his entire life, Amir couldn’t even at least call for help!? He could’ve made one little sacrifice for Hassan, the boy knew for pretty much his entire life. The boy he talked to, read stories to, had dinner with, and helped him win the love from his father in the kite tournament. I’m glad Amir felt guilty for granting Assef the right to rape his best friend, because later, Amir had to pay.
I can sort of understand why Amir didn’t do anything to help Hassan. Amir was very insecure about himself, which could also be why he never defended himself. He may have been insecure because of his father. If I didn’t know Baba I would say he was a very good parent, but unfortunately I do know Baba. Baba wasn’t very good at supporting Amir. However, he supported Hassan very well. At first Amir couldn’t figure out why his father was more affectionate for his friend. But later in his adulthood he found out the truth about Baba. He discovered that Hassan was actually Baba’s son, which made them half-brothers. That was the reason why Baba never showed any love for him, because he had another son. Another life he had to direct and look forward to incase his other one did not live up to his anticipations. That other life was Amir. Amir knew that Baba was not impressed. He knew he wasn’t what Baba wanted. He even heard him talk about him with a friend of his. “Be grateful he’s healthy,” Rahim Khan was saying.
“I know, I know. But he’s always buried in those books or shuffling around the house like he’s lost in some dream.”… “Sometimes I look out this window and I see him playing on the street with the neighborhood boys. I see how they push him around, take his toys from him, give him a shove here, a whack there. And, you know, he never fights back. Nev er. He just…drops his head and…” “…You know what happens when the neighborhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fends them off. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. And when they come home, I say to him, ‘How did Hassan get that scrape on his face?’ And he says, ‘He fell down.’ I’m telling you, Rahim, there is something missing in that boy.” In these quotes, Baba was explaining how he is worried about Amir. He was not satisfied with the fact that he was so into books and poetry. He never defended himself, and when Hassan protected him he was too ashamed to admit it. I think this goes back to Baba caring more about Hassan than Amir. He knew that Hassan was already Baba’s favorite, so he didn’t want to make him prouder. And as for Baba, I think he only wanted his son to be more like him. He wanted him to follow his ways so that he can end up being as successful as him. But every time Amir was too busy being himself, Baba showed a bit of embarrassment. This is what made Amir insecure about himself. He never had to help Hassan out in anything, and when the time came he didn’t know what to do. If Baba would have showed more care for Amir then Amir wouldn’t have been so unsure of himself and he would’ve saved Hassan’s life, along with Ali, Hassan’s father.
Near the end of the book, Rahim Khan called Amir and asked him for a favor. He told Amir that Hassan and his wife were killed, and they had a son named Sorhab. He told Amir to go to Kabul to save Sorhab from the Taliban. Rahim said this would make up for the miserable mistake he made when he was a kid. At first Amir did not want to do this, he realized how dangerous it was and he also worried about his wife, Soraya. He ended up going, the guilty memories in his mind shattered him for long enough.
He went to Kabul and found out that Assef, a bully from his childhood who raped his best friend, Hassan, now “owns” Sorhab. In order to save Sorhab’s life, he had to fight Assef in a bloody battle`. Assef nearly kills Amir; he bruises his face and destroys many of his bones. But that was when Sorhab took out his slingshot and aimed it at Assef’s eye, right before he is about to pound Amir’s face. That was when I visualized Hassan doing the same thing for him back in Kabul. It was the same situation; Assef was ready to punch Amir’s face when he whipped out his sling shot. I remembered him taunting Assef, telling him that if he doesn’t leave they would have to call him “One-eyed Assef”. It’s like Sorhab did both Amir and his father a favor. For Hassan, he did what his father should have done back when he was a kid. He made his father’s words come true; he was now “One-eyed Assef”. For Amir, he saved his life. Not only that, but the fact that Sorhab stood up for him the same way that Hassan did most likely made Amir tear up, it reminded him of his best friend. That event made me think of Sorhab as a miniature version ofHassan, or Hassan in his childhood.
The Kite Runner has been one of the best book I have ever read. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in war or had a tough experience like Amir. I think Hosseini did a splendid job in writing this book. The descriptions of each character in the book and their life experiences really made me care about them as if they were real people. I felt hatred towards Assef and sympathy towards Hassan and Sorhab. It’s really heartbreaking to know that the same person that made a father suffer as a child was now making life miserable for the son. So overall, The Kite Runner is a great book and I really enjoyed it.
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