When I first began reading the Kite
Runner, I did not know exactly how I felt about Amir. I decided to look over
many of his bad qualities, my excuse being he is just a young kid and probably does
not know better, but after reading this section I have completely changed my
mind about him. Hassan is probably one of the best characters in this novel, he
is very genuine and as Amir described “pure”. Amir is very selfish and only
looks out for himself. He purposely uses Hassan’s love for him to be able to
manipulate Hassan. He also enjoys being cruel to him, similar to the way that
they tortured the ants. He constantly tries to put down Hassan especially when
he feel like Hassan is doing anything better than him. Rather then feeling happy
for him, he is constantly jealous and finding ways to make him inferior. I feel
bad because Hassan seems to really love him, and, as we see, will clearly do
anything for him. It completely broke my heart when Hassan was raped. There is
clearly a connection between the lamb and Hassan. In both cases they are
sacrificed for a “greater good” (A greater good from Amir’s perspective because
I thought this was horrible). Amir states that the lamb when being executed his
face looks as if he has accepted his fate and understands why he is being
killed similarly this is the same expression he views on Hassan’s face. In the
end Amir clearly lets Hassan be “sacrificed” so that his father can love him.
This part also relates to an earlier section in the novel when Hassan states
that he would eat dirt for Amir, but Amir says that he would never make him eat
dirt. Amir then says, “that’s the problem with people who mean everything they
say, they think everyone else does too”. Clearly Amir had been lying because by
allowing Hassan to be raped he is “making him eat dirt” meaning he is putting
him through something horrible clearly knowing the consequences.
I agree that Amir is selfish, but I do not think he intentionally wishes to hurt Hassan. I think throughout the novel so far, most of Amir’s love for Hassan as a best friend is genuine. Amir truly loves spending time with Hassan, and sees him as his best friend. I think the problem stems not from inside Amir, but from Baba, whose great appreciation for athletics leaves Amir feeling unlived, unappreciated, and at times unwanted. Amir’s desperation to fit in as his father’s “true son’, causes him to act in selfish ways to Hassan. When Hassan gets raped, you can tell that it mentally scars Amir. If Amir didn’t care about Hassan in any way, and only acted in self-interest, he would not have any guilt for Hassan, and he would not have been devastated when he saw Hassan getting raped. I do not believe that Amir is a bad kid; just his situation with his father has caused him to make regrettable decisions towards Hassan. I do not think Amir realized at the time that he was ever going to actually make Hassan eat dirt. I think he thought that he would never himself do anything to Hassan that was degrading. And although Amir realized the consequences of his decision to not stand up for Hassan, he still retained a deep, painful guilt for this, and I think he will pay for it later down the road.
ReplyDeleteNatalie,
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is hard to tell how one feels about Amir. He seems like a great kid but then lets Hassan, who he claims is his best friend and/or brother, get raped. I agree that Hassan is definitely the purest character and the fact that Amir would let other people take away that purity is despicable. I understand being afraid of getting hurt but there is absolutely no harm in calling the police to help and clear out the alley. In this way, the situation would be way less dangerous for all parties. Hassan would remain pure and Amir would be left untouched. Instead, Amir is left with nothing but his guilt which will haunt him for the rest of his life. If he had called the police or found any other way to deal with the situation, he would not have to have that recurring memory of Hassan's corduroy pants being thrown on the bricks. This is constantly referred to as a flashback at later points in the story.
I also agree that Amir made Hassan eat dirt knowing full well that Hassan would never do this to him. Hassan is so loyal and tries his hardest to do whatever is best for Amir. This is not only because Hassan is Amir's servant but it is also because Hassan values Amir's friendship. Hassan truly cares about Amir and everyone else around him. He is one of the only characters I have seen that is truly selfless.