Loyalty In The Kite Runner

From a certain perspective the term loyalty is similar to Isaac Newton’s third law stating that for every action, there is an equal opposite reaction. For millennia, people have always perceived the importance of loyalty and the need to have it in one’s life. Loyalty could bring in support and love, but on the other hand, it could also prompt pain and sorrow. Many social institutions in modern society have always demonstrated the shining side of loyalty, without making people aware of the extreme measures loyalty can do to an individual. Khaled Hosseini, an Afghan-born American author explores the dark side of loyalty and its effects on the individual’s life in his most popular novel. In The Kite Runner, loyalty is shown to bring emotional and physical pain and how it corresponds with betrayal and duty. Strongly supporting another individual can cause one to experience intolerable pain

In The Kite Runner, the emotional imbalance in Hassan and Amir’s friendship creates vulnerability and the potential of getting betrayed. Amir felt bitter as he understood the strength of Hassan’s loyalty, “he knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me again” (Hosseini, 114). Amir betrayed Hassan when he didn’t do anything to stop Assef from sexually abusing Hassan. The self-loathing of his helplessness in the situation expanded drastically after he realized Hassan’s unfaltering loyalty. Loyalty can intimidate an individual especially during times of inner conflict. Hassan’s naivety to loyalty led to a higher possibility of getting betrayed and hurt in the process because his loyalty was not returned. The test for loyalty can result in betrayal, as it is always lurking in the shadows, only resurfacing to light when one encounters a difficult and fearful obstacle. Hosseini exhibits the different degrees of loyalty in The Kite Runner, and how betrayal is an easier act than