Betrayal In The Kite Runner

In the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the characters make decisions that alter their lives, causing their relationships with other characters to be changed. A decision that some of the main characters have is to choose between betraying or not betraying their friends or family. This choice presented to the characters redefines their lives and changes how they interact with each other. Few characters live to regret what they did, while others never show any emotion in the situation. Primary examples of betrayal are both Amir, who betrays Hassan, and Baba, who betrays Ali, while Hassan is an example of someone who never betrayed anyone.
Because Amir was introduced to the fact that Hazaras were inferior at such a young age, he never

Baba lives most of his life a lie because he is supposed to be a respectable man. He leaves some of the closest people around him in the dark because he is ashamed of what he did in the past. The only person to know about his most shameful act is Rahim Khan, who is Baba's best friend. The secret was that he betrayed Ali by having a child with Ali’s second wife, Sanuabar, who turned out to be Hassan. “‘Please think, Amir jan. It was a shameful situation. People would talk. All that a man had back then, all that he was, was his honor, his name, and if people talked…We couldn’t tell anyone surely you can see that’” (Hosseini 223). Back then, Baba and Rahim Khan knew what he had done was shameful, but they both believed that protecting Baba's reputation was more important than letting Ali learn the truth. They chose to value Baba’s face to the public over Ali’s right to know the truth. When Amir first discovers the truth, he is fuming because he thinks Baba is a hypocrite, but then Amir realizes he, of all people, doesn’t have the right to be mad because he also betrayed Hassan, which, in turn, leads to both Hassan and Ali dying. “As it turned out, Baba and I were more alike than I’d ever known. We had both betrayed the people who would have given their lives for us. And with that came this realization: that Rahim Khan had summoned me

No matter what the situation was, Hassan always stayed faithful to Amir. It never mattered what Amir had done previously, as Hassan would always be there and stand up for who he thought was his friend. Hassan's dedication to Amir is shown toward the end of the kite tournament. “‘Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly. This is his kite.’ ‘A loyal Hazara. Loyal as a dog,’ Assef said” (Hosseini 72). Even while cornered by Assef and his minions, Hassan only thinks about bringing the kite back to Amir. He believes Amir deserves it and will do anything to make it happen. The second time Hassan displays his loyalty is almost thirty years later in the letter he sends to Amir through Rahim Khan after he learns how to read and write. "And I dream that someday you will return to Kabul to revisit the land of our childhood. If you do, you will find an old faithful friend waiting for you” (Hosseini 218). After many decades and betrayals from Amir, Hassan still thinks of Amir as his friend. This is pointless by the time Amir reads the letter because Hassan is already dead. Hassan died standing up for Baba’s house, and in a way, he died protecting Amir’s inheritance. In a way, staying loyal to Amir and never betrays him. Hassan died for