Similarities Between Amir And Hassan In The Kite Runner

In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, there are some very intriguing comparisons and stark differentiations between the father and son, Hassan and Sohrab. The two are both victims of sexual abuse, they both save Amir from harm, and yet their childhoods and personalities are very different.
Hassan and Sohrab are sexually abused by the same man, Assef. When Hassan and Amir compete together in the kite flying tournament, everything starts out perfectly. They work together as a team and manage to cut everyone else’s kites out of the sky. The relationship between Amir and Hassan strengthens, with every defeated kite. Amir finally wins his way into Baba's heart, at least for the moment; then everything changes. After the last kite is brought down from the sky, Hassan goes to retrieve the kite for Amir with the parting words “‘For you a thousand times over!’”(Hosseini 67). When Hassan fails to return, Amir goes out in search of his friend. When he finally catches up to Hassan, he witnesses Hassan being raped by their nemesis Assef. Years later, when Amir is on his mission to find Sohrab, Amir eventually finds him at the house of Assef, with Sohrab acting as his

Hassan grows up in Pre-Taliban Afghanistan where things are pretty stable and he has a good life as a servant. He spends his days serving Amir living in a dirt shack until Hassan and his and his father leave. Hassan has a friend in Amir, who teaches him how to read.The Taliban is not radically taking over Afghanistan during Hassan’s childhood so he is not immediately affected by it. On the other hand, Sohrab’s family is killed by the Taliban when he is quite young, so the Taliban has a major influence on his life. Sohrab then becomes an orphan who lives in a cramped orphanage for awhile before Amir comes to adopt him. He is also “borrowed” by Assef to gain money for the orphanage he stays at and sexually abused multiple