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How Does Hosseini Use Cruelty In The Kite Runner

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Aggarwal 1
Gesna Aggarwal
Ms. Duran
Period 4B
5 April 2017
The Kite Runner
In literary works, cruelty often functions as a crucial motivation or a major social or political factor. Select a novel, play, or epic poem in which acts of cruelty are important to the theme. Then write a well-developed essay analyzing how cruelty functions in the work as a whole and what the cruelty reveals about the perpetrator and/or victim

Cruelty: The Motivator To Be Good Again
In reality, everyone possesses a certain degree of cruelty. It is this aspect of human nature that Khaled Hosseini explores in The Kite Runner. Hosseini vividly depicts the cruelty of human nature by using anecdotes of Amir and Hassan’s childhood and by describing a Taliban-led Afghanistan. Both instances, despite the difference in magnitude, illustrate how cruelty can affect individuals and the society as a whole. Hosseini employs cruelty to serve as both a motivator as well as source of guilt for the protagonist, Amir. Hosseini cleverly explores the breakdown of Amir and Hassan’s relationship and the historical events within Afghanistan by using cruelty to highlight the contrasting themes of redemption and betrayal, as well as showing hope for the future.

Aggarwal 2
Cruelty is introduced very early in the novel through Amir. His cruel nature …show more content…

By leaving Hassan defenceless against Assef, Amir’s disloyalty and inability to stand up for his friend truly emphasises his cruel nature. Amir physically and mentally turns away from the rape. He justifies his decision to leave Hassan by saying “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.” (Hosseini, 77) This correlates how Amir’s selfish nature convinced him to “sacrifice” Hassan to gain his father’s respect. In that

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