The Kite Runner

The novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is about a child, Amir, with a middle class father, Baba, that seems to show as much kindness to Amir as their servant, Hassan. Before Hassan gets abused by Assef, Wali, and Kamal, Amir doesn't fully realize how much Hassan means to him, and how closely bonded they were, but when it happened, Amir sees how loyal Hassan is to Amir.

“It wasn't fair. Hassan hadn't done anything to earn Baba's affections; he'd just been born with that stupid harelip.” (Page 46)

This quote evidenced how Baba's gifts to Hassan angered Amir. His jealousy of Baba's kindaness towards Hassan felt unfair, and undeserving to him. Amir thought that Baba should love and care more about his own son, and not some servant they had. In total, this shows how Amir thinks that Baba's dislike towards his behavior and preferences has made Baba favor Hassan, a nobody, more.

“Even from where I was standing, I could see the fear creeping into Hassan's eyes, but he shook his head. “Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly. This is his kite.”” (Page 72)

This shows how even when Hassan could have been safe just by giving Assef Amir's kite, Hassan didn't do it because he is that devoted to Amir. When this is happening, Amir is listening to this whole thing, but he doesn't stand up for Hassan. On the other hand, he just runs away, and admits he is a total coward. This section of the book shows how Amir takes Hassan's kindness and trust for granted.

“He knew I'd seen everything in that alley, that I'd stood there and done nothing. He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time. I loved him in that moment, loved him more than I'd ever loved anyone... I wasn't worthy of this sacrifice; I was a liar, a cheat, and a thief.” (Page 105)

This quote shows just how much Hassan will do for Amir. It showed how Hassan gave more love and care than anybody that Amir knew, even Baba, his own father. Amir that Hassan is way beyond his expectations of what a servant would normally do, and how much Hassan really meant to him. He also gets the picture that Hassan will sooner or later give up on him if he kept taking advantage of him and his faithfulness. He admits to himself that he isn't treating Hassan the way he should, and how if he regrets what he did.