Kite Runner Amir and Hassan

¶ … Kite Runner

Amir and Hassan are two hugely contrasting characters in Khaled Hosseini's the Kite Runner. The author says that Hassan was initially the main character in his mind but later Amir's imperfections made him more appealing and he was selected as the lead while Hassan played a foil. The contrasts in their characters are huge and unmistakable. While Hassan is loyal, simple and completely devoted to Amir, Amir has none of those qualities and it is because of him that Hassan actually meets a tragic incident and later loses his house. While they are both brothers, Amir is unbeknownst of this fact and thus treats Hassan like a mere poor playmate. Hassan however remains loyal to Amir throughout his brief life with him and at times, his sheer devotion may make readers hate Amir intensely.

Not only did Amir fail to rescue Hassan in the time of grave need, he also accused him of stealing his watch just to wash away his own guilt. While the author may have thought that Amir's imperfections made him appealing or charming, as a reader, I completely disagree with him. Throughout the novel, I actually hated Amir for his cowardice and for his disloyalty to an innocent friend. I loved Hassan more and feel that author should have given a more positive ending to his character than killing him at a young age. Though Amir is haunted by the incident all his life and ultimately redeems himself by saving Hassan's son, for some odd reason, that did not change the fact that he destroyed Hassan's life and I could never forgive his character despite his heroic act near the end.

Amir admits he was a coward and that he had betrayed his friend. At one point in the novel he confesses this to himself: "how could I, of all people, chastise someone for their past. I envied her. Her secret was spoken out. Dealt with. I opened my mouth and almost told her how I had betrayed Hassan, lied, driven him out and destroyed a forty year relationship between Baba and Ali. But I didn't. I suspected there were many ways in which Soraya Taheri was a better person than me. Courage was just one of them." (p. 144)

Amir had never been able to forgive Hassan. He had always remained very aware of the gnawing guilt that was eating him inside. He had never felt peace for all those years and finally after saving Hassan's son, he again recalled the deep contrasts that defined the two characters and felt that he had finally found the peace he had so desperately sought all his life.

"For the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace. I laughed because I saw that in some hidden nook in a corner of my mind, I had even been looking forward to this. I remembered the day on the hill I had pelted Hassan with pomegranates and tried to provoke him. He'd just stood there, doing nothing, red juice soaking through his shirt like blood. Then he'd taken the pomegranate from my hand, crushed it against his forehead. Are you satisfied now? He'd hissed. Do you feel better? I hadn't been happy and I hadn't felt better, not at all. But I did now. My body was broken-just how badly I wouldn't find out until later-but I felt healed. Healed at last. I laughed." (p. 252-53)

The fact that Hassan had always been enamored by Amir is something that Amir acknowledged. He knew that Hassan had always loved him immensely. "Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same year. And under the same roof, we spoke our first word.

Mine was Baba. His was Amir, my name." (p. 10)

The more Amir recalls the events of his past, the more readers can see how imperfect his character is. He was nothing like Hassan who would have given up his life had rape happened to Amir instead of him. But Amir hadn't done that and that cost Hassan a lot. Though the rape did not kill him but it certainly drove him out of his house as Amir couldn't bear to see him everyday without feeling immeasurable guilt inside. This was another cowardly thing to do- he didn't something worse to wash away something bad. But obviously that never worked.

Hassan had proved he was a far better human being than Amir and a definitely superior friend. He had saved Amir from bullies, pulled him out of fights and boosted his confidence but Amir had not been able to save him on one occasion when he needed to be saved. That was the worst thing a person could do to another and especially to a deeply loyal friend. Amir suffered from guilt all his life till he saved Sohrab. But one wonders if such a victory could actually wash away the past, remove the guilt and cleanse the soul. It doesn't change the fact that Amir had betrayed Hassan and then instead of being more kind to him, he had driven him out of his house and deprived him of Baba's love.