Betrayal In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

In the novel Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini tragically displays betrayal from a so called friend. In the beginning, Amir and Hassan were the best of friends and did everything together. But things turned out for the worst for Amir and he betrayed Hassan to get Baba’s affection. Amir redeemed himself of his horrible past by taking in Hassan’s son, so he can have a future sin free. Hosseini portrays that the guilt does eat a person up, and that Amir couldn’t stand the guilt but was too late to fix his horrible deed. Was Amir really Hassan’s friend considering everything that Amir did to him? In the novel Kite Runner, Hosseini shows that Amir didn’t think of Hassan as his friend which he shows through his betrayal and the point that his redemption

Amir watched the whole scene of Hassan getting raped and stood there and did nothing to help him. “From just around the corner, I could hear Assef’s quick, rhythmic grunts (77).” First of all, the only reason Hassan got in this position was because he was faithful to Amir and didn’t give Assef the kite because Amir told him to hold on to it. If Amir saw that Hassan was being attacked because of the kite then he should have stepped in and told him to just give Assef the kite. “In a moment of cowardice, however, Amir betrays his companion, leaving him in the hands of a violent bully who rapes him (Smith).” He’s a coward and self-centered to pay back Hassan when he risked his life to save Amir from getting attacked from Assef. Then Amir had the nerve to act like nothing happened when Hassan looked horrible and beaten up. “Just like I pretended I hadn’t seen the dark stain the seat of his pants (78).” Amir obviously knew that Hassan wasn’t okay, but Hassan didn’t want to Amir to worry and said he was okay. This kind of “reassured” Amir that he didn’t do anything wrong and that it’s totally okay since he says he’s okay. Just because he says he’s fine doesn’t mean he’s actually fine. Baba’s comfort can’t make Amir forget about his mistake that ruined someone. Assef wasn’t the one that ruined Hassan, but it was Amir for not saving him when he’s in distraught when he

Amir suddenly comes back home even though his life was going great. “In keeping with tradition, Soraya was not present (168).” He got married to his dream girl that he spent a large amount of time to woo, so why would he suddenly want to revisit his path. He left to get away from the memories and so to come back is very suspicious. “In America, Amir feels he can forget his past, pretend his mistakes don't exist and start fresh. To an extent, Amir does put his past behind him (Antonucci).” He spent all this thought on Soraya that he doesn’t remember the past. His wife got a miscarriage which Amir thought that this was karma and his sins are getting to him. He wanted to fix this and meet up with Hassan for his own benefit so his sins and guilt can leave him and that he can be free. He didn’t even know that Hassan died but knew that Amir would come back because guilt beats all. “ ‘Is Hassan still in that house now?’ I asked (214).” He was hoping that if he would just talk to him then everything will be okay. He still belittles Hassan in not being considerate with Hassan’s feelings. He would just barge in suddenly to Hassan’s life, talk about the past ,and expect Hassan to be okay and be friendly to him. He’s only trying to make things right because karma is getting to him. “Amir writes novels, gets married and continues to bury the guilt he has had as the back to his mind for what has turned into almost two decades, until he receives a letter from an old