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Theme Of Betrayal In The Kite Runner

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Theme of Betrayal and Redemption in ‘The Kite Runner’

Hosseini’s ‘The Kite Runner’ exhibits a complicated relationship between the central characters Amir and Hassan. They are being brought up in the same environment, however, driven by strong influence of dividing factors. The novel is set in accordance to real political and social events in Afghanistan in 1990s. There was law and order crisis, a political fall in Afghanistan, and the Taliban in 1994; comprising of Pashtuns came in as a cleansing force to establish law and impose Islam which later lead to violence in the country (Poolos, 2001). Amir was a Pashtun and Hassan a Hazara. This social ethnicity difference between Amir and Hassan underlines the theme of betrayal and redemption in the novel.
Betrayal is featured as an important theme in the novel. The first instance of betrayal is observed in Amir and Hassan. According to Ahang, during those times, Afghanistan was dominated by Pashtoons, where Hazaras were deprived of owning real estates, land and social rights and were treated with violence enforcing a real ethnic cleansing in Afghanistan (2010). Because of this reason, Amir in no other way had to gradually draw difference between them. He refuses to help Hassan being victimized by Assef because he thinks Hassan is the lamb he had to slay to win Baba because Hassan was just a Hazara, (77). Deep in the mind of Amir, he thinks Hassan is illiterate, a servant and a hare-lipped Hazara. In addition, Amir accuses
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