ipl-logo

Betrayal In John Steinbeck's The Kite Runner

1935 Words8 Pages

The Kite Runner is a story that depicts the unique friendship between Amir and Hassan while they are currently living during a turbulent time in Afghanistan's history. Amir is the son of a wealthy Pashtun man while Hassan is his servant. The novel shows their odd friendship go through betrayal, lies, regret, and forgiveness. The Kite Runner also exhibits the struggles between father and son relationships. This thrilling novel shows the journey amid family and friends during a rough time in the history of Afghanistan.

Image result for kite runner
Character Analysis - In The Kite Runner, the protagonist and the narrator is Amir. During his flashback, he was in his teenage years but during the present time of the book he was in his …show more content…

The main event that betrayal is shown is when Amir did not speak up while Hassan was abused. Hassan has stood up for Amir in every circumstance. That is utter betrayal to do that to someone you consider your brother. To even worsen the situation, Amir said that Hassan stole his watch which led to Ali and Hassan moving away. Another instance betrayal is shown is how Baba is Hassan's father which means that he betrayed his best friend Ali. Another large theme is working for forgiveness. Amir tries to gain redemption for not saving Hassan from rape was saving and adopting Sohrab. Baba's redemption for betraying Ali was creating an orphanage, doing other charitable activities, and giving many gifts to Hassan each birthday. An obvious symbol for The Kite Runner is kites. Kites symbolize Amir's allowance of Hassan's rape. The kite symbolizes his disloyalty towards his faithful best friend. Hassan refuses to fly a kite until the end of the book. He flies a kite with Sohrab because adopting Sohrab was redemption for Amir's betrayal to Hassan. A motif in novel is a lamb. Lamb was brought up multiple times when discussing about sacrifice. The innocent lamb represents innocent Hassan because in a way he sacrifices himself to make Amir impressed by winning the blue kite. There is major historical significance in the novel due to the Soviets invading Afghanistan and the Taliban taking over the country. When the Soviets invaded, Baba and Amir had to flee to Pakistan because the situation back home was rough. When the Taliban took over, they killed Farzana And Hassan. That led to Sohrab being orphaned and physically abused by the Taliban. The authors craft was moderately casual. The words that were different were the words in Pashto (the Afghani language), but the definitions were in the back of the

Show More
Related

  • How Does Amir Use Discrimination In The Kite Runner

    594 Words  | 3 Pages

    Later in the novel, Amir is kite flying with Sohrab when he “look(s) up at those twin kites” and, “thinks about Hassan” (Hosseini 370). While flying, Amir “thought of the life (he) had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made (him) what (he) is today” (Hosseini 370). The kite’s symbol develops into one of redemption and satisfaction as Amir helps Hassan’s son fly the kite, the way he should have helped Hassan in the past. It’s a full circle of Amir’s relationship with Hassan, and now his relationship with Sohrab.

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner And Scarlet Ibis Comparison

    409 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kite Runner is a story about a young boy named Amir and his loyal servant, Hassan. Even though

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Cleft Lip Analysis

    958 Words  | 4 Pages

    The kite represents Amir’s happiness because it connects him with Baba, this is very important for Amir because Baba believes his son is a coward who isn’t strong enough to stand up for himself. Although to impress Baba Amir lets Hassan get raped by Assef so he can bring home the blue kite, he states, “I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba.” Amir has just witnessed Assef rape Hassan and instead of intervening he runs away. Amir says he aspired to cowardice because he believed that what he did was worse than cowardice, he feared that by intervening Assef would hurt him and that was the reason he ran.

    Read More

  • Moral Ambiguity In The Kite Runner

    844 Words  | 4 Pages

    The author puts a lot of moral ambitious character in the story the Kite Runner. Amir is an example of a moral ambitious character. He is evil in the beginning of the story, but as he matures and grows up as an adult. The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini, is a novel about a young boy named Amir and how he grows up in the Afghan war and how life was during the war. Amir's Moral Ambiguity is important to this story because he provides readers to like and hate him.

    Read More

  • Power In The Kite Runner

    1176 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Kite Runner, aggressors evoke guilt and shame in their victims in order to maintain their power, bespeaking the human need to be in control. Characters understand the appeal of power at a young age. Even as a child, Amir manipulates Hassan’s loyalty in order to make himself feel superior. Amir has always felt inferior to Hassan, mainly due to his yearning for Baba’s love.

    Read More

  • Betrayal And Guilt In The Kite Runner

    558 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 'Kite Runner' shows how being overly ambitious leads to the loss of a close relationship, which ends in guilt. The bronze image in the center of the page depicts how Amir abandoned his devoted buddy by fleeing rather than facing his fears. This represents his selfishness in caring for himself rather than the one who has cared for him his whole life, regardless of the circumstance. Above is a dream in which Amir depicts himself as a monster, dragging his devoted best friend Hassan into the depths of the grey and dark lake, killing him. This demonstrates Amir's overwhelming guilt, which weighs him and his life decisions and continues to plague

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Rhetorical Analysis

    484 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini explicates the life of the main character Amir, and his relationship with his childhood best friend Hassan. Throughout the novel, Hosseini uses irony to show the growth and improvement of Amir’s character. Back when Amir and Hassan were little they used to be close. As children, they used to participate in Kite Fighting tournaments. One day, they went to Kabul with Amir’s father, Baba, to buy kites for the new season.

    Read More

  • What Are The Mistakes In The Kite Runner

    871 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Kite Runner is a novel written by Khaled Hosseini, this novel shares the story of a young boy named Amir and his transition from childhood to adulthood. Amir makes many mistakes as a child, but the moral of the story is to focus not on the mistakes he has made, but how he has grown, and become a better man by redeeming himself for the mistakes he has made. The mistakes he has made mostly revolve around his friend Hassan, and his father Baba. Three of the most prominent mistakes are when Amir doesn’t help Hassan when he is being attacked by the village boys, lying to Baba about Hassan, and not appreciating and abusing Hassan’s loyalty to him.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Conflicts In The Kite Runner

    1128 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, there are many different important conflicts throughout the story. These conflicts are brought upon by the recurring motifs, such as redemption and loyalty. The different dissensions support the ideas of characterization by how they react to the sudden adversity in their lives. Amir attempts to redeem himself through Hassan’s son, Sohrab, by saving him and giving him a better life. Further developing the meaning of the story, connoting the mental struggle and the way priorities change over time, keeping readers mindful of the motifs and how they impact each character.

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Betrayal Essay

    688 Words  | 3 Pages

    Betrayal is an issue many can relate to, whether it is done by a family member or a friend. In the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, we witness betrayal play a vital role in the downfall of the main character’s Amir and Hassan’s friendship, and how betrayal was the reason for why Amir sought redemption in hopes to move on. The novel begins with Amir as an adult, recalling an event that took place in 1975 in his hometown Kabul, Afghanistan and how this event was what changed the rest of his life and made him who he now is. Despite this heartbreaking occurrence of Amir’s reluctance to help Hassan while he was being raped, it was the reason for why Amir later decided to be brave and stand up for what he believes in.

    Read More

  • Courage Quotes In The Kite Runner

    489 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel, The Kite Runner, tells a story about two incredibly strong and courageous boys, who have to find their way back from a dreadful thing which they thought they could never forget. The two boys are guided by their father, Baba, who is also looking for forgivness in himself. In the end, all of the boys find redemption for their wrongdoings. One of the boys, Hassan, shows extreme courage from the very beginning of the book.

    Read More

  • Amir Is Selfish And Cowardness In The Kite Runner

    1039 Words  | 5 Pages

    The story ‘The Kite Runner’, written by Khaled Hosseini, takes place mainly during the war in Afghanistan. After the country became a republic instead of a monarchy, the former Soviet Union invaded the country. Many years later, the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist movement , seized power in Afghanistan. This was accompanied by intense violence and the consequences were immense. Not only was Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, almost entirely destroyed, but the cost to human life was also huge.

    Read More

  • Sympathy In The Kite Runner

    666 Words  | 3 Pages

    As The Kite Runner approaches the end of the story, Amir undergoes a change in his characterization which leads to events

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Essay On Betrayal

    1488 Words  | 6 Pages

    Betrayal is seen when Amir cares more about attention than his own friendships. Betrayal is also seen when Baba feels that his son Amir will never be good enough. In contrast, one character who never shows betrayal is Hasssan. In The Kite Runner, Amir and Baba engage in the act of betrayal however Hassan never betrays.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Redemption In The Kite Runner

    1226 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini tells the story of Amir, a young, Afghan boy who learns about what it means to be redeemed through the experiences he encounters in his life. The idea of redemption becomes a lesson for Amir when he is a witness to the tragic sexual assault of his childhood friend, Hassan. As a bystander in the moment, Amir determines what is more important: saving the life of his friend or running away for the safety of himself. In the end, Amir decides to flee, resulting in Amir having to live with the guilt of leaving Hassan behind to be assaulted. Hosseini shows us how Amir constantly deals with the remorse of the incident, but does not attempt to redeem himself until later in his life when Hassan has died.

    Read More

More about Betrayal In John Steinbeck's The Kite Runner

Open Document