Suffering In The Kite Runner

Colleen Bolger
Mr. Conway
English 4 Honors
February 15, 2023 Suffering in The Kite Runner What is suffering? Suffering is the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship. In the novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, there is a tremendous amount of betrayal and suffering which leads to second-guess who is at fault. Amir and Hassan come from different backgrounds which, in Afghanistan, causes a big difference in their lifestyles. Amir is a Pashtun which is the more favorable tribe and majority of the Afghan population, while Hassan is Hazara which is the minority group. Hazaras, who fall into servitude, are seen as inferior to most, aside from Baba.The cultural dynamic is a key role throughout the novel, and we see Amir begin to

Assef, the main antagonist in the novel, is the character who physically raped Hassan, joined the Taliban, and held Sohrab hostage. He was the perpetrator that repetitively caused harm throughout the book. “Assef knelt behind Hassan, put his hands on Hassan’s hips and lifted his bare buttocks” (Hosseni 75). Amir had the responsibility of helping Hassan, his best friend while Assef did not. Hassan and Amir were best friends and Hassan always protected Amir when needed. Amir did not follow through with the same treatment and left Hassan in the alley and betrayed him. Assef was known as a bully, and someone who caused harm. Amir was the boy with the troubled upbringing who would have done anything to please his father. He lived with Hassan, growing up with him, reading books to him but he still made the decision to betray him and cause suffering. “Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard. And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words” (Hosseini 10). They were close enough to be brothers but Amir let society’s views get to his head and in turn caused Hassan to suffer for many years to come. Nevertheless, Amir was his own person that could have been courageous and chose right over wrong. He knew the decisions that he was making were wrong, yet he continued making them with no consequences except for the guilt that he lived with. Although Assef caused a majority of the physical and emotional suffering, Amir is to blame for causing the suffering of the people he loved. Assef did not have a responsibility to be there for Hassan and Sohrab, but as their loved one, Amir did and he failed to upkeep this