Signifcant Quotation Analysis

“He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time…I wasn’t worthy of his sacrifice; I was a liar, a cheat, and a thief. And I would have told, except that a part of me was glad. Glad it would all be over with soon” (Hosseini 111).

                Amir has just framed Hassan for stealing his money and his watch, but instead of rightfully accusing Amir, Hassan takes the blame and stands up for Amir once again. It is here that Amir makes this very significant, personal realization: this is his last time to decide what type of person he will be.  Back in chapter seven, in the alley scene, Amir makes the comment that “[He] had one last chance to make a decision…[he] could stand up for Hassan…Or [he] could run” (82). In hindsight, the adult Amir, the narrator, realizes he made the wrong decision by running; it was not his last chance to decide what type of person he would be, he still had two more chances to reconcile his friendship. Unfortunately, he wastes both of these opportunities, and instead uses them to betray Hassan further.  The first of these occasions is when Ali, Hassan’s father asks if something is wrong with Hassan. Amir lies and says he does not know what is wrong with Hassan (86). He betrays Hassan, lying out of the fear of the shame that would be brought upon him if anyone knew how cowardly he had acted. When this quotation comes up, Amir has one final opportunity to fix what he has done. But he does not; because of this, he spends the next twenty-six years of his life living in guilt (1).

            One of the most significant elements of this quotation is the sheer depth of character that is revealed. The young Amir written about in the novel is shown to be very selfish and cowardly. He is too afraid to face his problems, and would rather make Hassan suffer for him. Amir shows that he knows what the right thing to do is, but does not do it. The worst part is that Amir realizes Hassan’s sacrifice was almost pointless, as Amir’s objective was to gain Baba’s love, and finally make him proud. Amir realizes that with Hassan around, he would never have “Baba all to [himself]” (14), so he comes to the conclusion that “one of [them] had to go” (108). With this in mind, Amir decides to betray Hassan one last time, framing him, and hoping to get rid of him, so he could have Baba’s love to himself. Hassan’s character is also shown in this quotation; he is depicted as the loyal, loving friend; a friend who would do anything for Amir, anything but betray him.

            In conclusion, this quotation is extremely significant. It provides insight into Amir and Hassan’s characters, and acts as a turning point in the novel. As well, it helps to provide a little insight into Amir’s journey to make things good again (2).

Amir and Hassan: a Glimpse of Their Complex Relationship

In the novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the introductory chapters establish the main character, Amir and his friend, Hassan’s complicated relationship. Their relationship is made up of the activities they share, their treatment of each other, their words, and actions, which causes a very strange relationship.  Through these aspects of their relationship, Amir takes advantage of Hassan, which is especially evident in the activities they share.  Amir and Hassan partake in very strange activities, such as reflecting the sun with a mirror to annoy people and shooting walnuts at their neighbour’s one-eyed German shepherd (Hosseini  3-4), which often gets them in trouble. When reprimanded, Amir does not ever take responsibility, and instead allows Hassan to take the blame for him, “But [Hassan] never told on [Amir]…[that it] was always [Amir’s] idea” (4). Hassan loves Amir, and would do anything Amir asked. He would never betray Amir, and Amir takes advantage of that. Their relationship is also portrayed by their treatment of one other.  Amir tends to be rather rude to Hassan, making fun of him, and teasing him regularly.  One occurrence of this is when Amir makes fun of Hassan for not knowing the definition of the word ‘imbecile’. Amir proceeds to call Hassan an imbecile, lying to Hassan, and telling him it means smart and intelligent (31).  Even their words and actions have a significant role in displaying their complicated relationship.  The first words of an individual are very important; they are a sign of deep affection. This theme of first words comes up in the novel: “[Amir’s] was Baba. [Hassan’s] was Amir” (12). Amir looks up to his father, and Hassan looks up to Amir, leaving them with a very one-sided relationship. Every day, Amir would get ready for school, while Hassan would do chores for Amir (29). Hassan’s family are servants to Amir’s family, and that is exactly the way Amir treats them. Amir thinks of Hassan as nothing more than a servant, and the odd time acts like a friend, whereas Hassan lives to please Amir, wanting him to be his friend. All in all, Amir and Hassan’s relationship is very complicated, as introduced in the commencement of the novel.  Their relationship is one-sided.  Hassan wants to be Amir’s friend, doing everything he can to make that happen, but Amir treats Hassan very poorly, teasing and making fun of Hassan, just because he can. This exceedingly strange relationship between the two will probably be the root of many problems in the chapters to come.