Sociopaths In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

It is unfathomable to think that an animal species would kill, torture, or steal from each other by the thousands just to get what that animal would want. While killing for food is one thing, the human species kill each other to get what they wish. Sometimes it is because of territory or protecting loved ones, but other times it is just for fun. These people are called sociopaths, and it is exactly what Assef is. He is someone who enjoys hurting others physically, emotionally and mentally; however there are inhumanities that happen because there is evil found in all of us. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a novel that shows life before and after the many wars in Afghanistan and its surrounding countries. Hosseini shows and argues that

Assef appears to be a sociopath and is even told to us by Amir that he is a sociopath. Amir from childhood knew that something was wrong with Assef and his thoughts are confirmed after Assef’s first and worst inhumane act to Amir and Hassan. “I’m letting you keep the kite, Hazara. I’ll let you keep it so it will always remind you of what I’m about to do” (73). Sexually assaulting Hassan was not only cruel to him, but it also damages and creates long-lasting grief in Amir. The grief in Amir causes him to want to drive out Hassan. Another example of an inhumane act by Assef is after many years later, when the Taliban takes over Afghanistan. Assef, at the football field, executed two people with no visible remorse: “The tall Talib with glasses walked to the pile of stones they had unloaded from the third truck. He picked up a rock and showed it to the crowd … The Talib, looking absurdly like a baseball pitcher on the mound, hurled the stone at the blindfolded man in the hole” (271). Assef is clearly lacking morality and does not care for the death of others as it shows that he treats it as more of a game and not an

While Amir is normally seen as a timid or timorous, this was the second dangerous situation against Assef, however it is his first without Hassan. It shows his true nature when he does not have Hassan to protect him. Amir’s first inhumane act was towards Hassan when he was being sexually assaulted: “In the end, I ran. I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt. That’s what I told myself as I turned my back to the alley, to Hassan” (77). The act of abandoning a friend in a dire situation is inhumane under these situations. It is like watching a crime and not reporting it, crime that one will be liable for if it was not reported. It shows Amir’s nature at the time: a coward. Hassan always had Amir’s back in any kind of trouble he got into, and the one time Hassan needed him the most Amir abandoned him out of fear from