Essay About Friendship In The Kite Runner

The worst pain in the world is the betrayal of a friend. This can be said about two boys raised in Kabul. Despite coming from different social standings, portraying strikingly different characteristics, and leading contrasting lives, the novel, “The Kite Runner,” written by Khaled Hosseini describes how the relationship between Hassan and Amir still remained unbreakable. Friendship is a strong bond that can occur between seemingly similar individuals or people who contrast each others personalities.

Amir and Hassan were born into two different social classes that warred against each other for years. Hassan being a lowly Hazara who lived as a servant in, “a modest little mud hut...dimly lit by a pair of kerosene lamps,” (6) while Amir lived

Hassan, on one hand, was brave and did not fear defending people he cared about, like when he, “held the slingshot pointed directly at Assef’s face,” (42) when the bully confronted Amir in an aggressive fashion. When the tables turned and Assef proceeded to rape Hassan, Amir proved to be cowardice by running away because, “[he] was afraid of Assef and what he would do to [him],” (77). Loyalty was also one of Hassan’s prominent qualities as shown when although, “[h]e knew [Amir had] seen everything in that alley,” he was willing to rescue Amir, “once again, maybe for the last time,” (105). Contrastingly, Amir not only betrayed Hassan but attempted to have him and his father dismissed from service by lifting, “Hassan’s mattress and [planting his] new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it,” (104). Yet despite all this, the two boys still had a sincere love for one another, although it may have been temporarily painful. However, even though they are quite different in many respects, they do share a similar passion for kites. It was a strong tradition and foundation in their friendship (48) that was always a reminder of eachother even when they were