Kite Runner Essay Essay

â€Å"There are only really a few stories to tell in the end, and betrayal and the failure of love is one of those good stories to tell†- Sean Lennon. Khaled Hosseini’s ‘The Kite Runner’ is a story that really is quite relevant to this quote. People might say that it isn’t, but there betrayal in almost every nook and cranny of the story. Betrayal is simply defined as being disloyal to someone, yet it is so much more than that. Betrayal can cause the greatest sadness in life. It can cripple a man’s heart and could be the cause of one’s death. Amir’s betrayal towards Hassan; Baba’s betrayal towards Amir, Hassan and Ali; Rahim Khan’s betrayal towards Amir when he told him to get Sohrab and send him to John and Betty Caldwell. All of them terrible betrayals, but in the end, the reason for each and every person’s weaknesses, but more importantly, their strengths. These are probably what makes the book so interesting. â€Å"†¦The failure of love†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is also a main topic throughout the book, how characters repeatedly disappoint each other, creating hatred, anger, sadness, and eventually even loss. In this book betrayal is the main action, the dominant style and the prevalent idea. I suppose it makes it a lot like real life. The first betrayal mentioned in the book, and possibly the most important one is Amir’s betrayal towards Hassan when he silently watches as Hassan is raped. Throughout the book, Amir remembers, and reminds us of this betrayal towards Hassan and how it was his fault that Hassan was raped and eventually, how it was his fault Hassan was killed. In his letter, Rahim Khan says, â€Å"What you did was wrong, Amir jan, but do not forget that you were a boy when it happened. A troubled little boy. † He was right, it didn’t excuse the mistake Amir had made but it gave him a reason to feel just a tiny bit better about himself. But he didn’t, Amir blamed himself for Hassan’s death, and over time in helped him grow as a person and even become a lot like Baba. He regrets the deed he did and tried to make things right by adopting Hassan’s son and giving him a better life after Hassan was killed. Even then, he goes back on his promise to Sohrab, Hassan’s son, that he would never put him back in an orphanage, causing Sohrab to attempt committing suicide, probably the darkest scene in the entire story. After being discharged from the hospital, Sohrab and Amir go back to San Francisco and from then on Sohrab lives on the periphery of Amir and Soraya’s life. Then finally, Amir is given a chance at redemption at the afghan gathering at the Lake Elizabeth Park in Fremont, when he started flying a kite and Sohrab decides to join him. After cutting down the last kite, Amir asks Sohrab whether or not he wants him to run that kite for him, and Sohrab nods. Then Amir says,’ For you a thousand times over’, the last Hassan had said to Amir before he was raped. The second most important betrayal mentioned in the book, which we find out about near the end of the book is Baba’s betrayal towards Amir, Hassan and Ali. After learning about this Amir’s entire viewpoint of Baba changed. He no longer saw him as a towering figure of Pashtun might and began to see him as a thief, the very thing Baba had said to be the worst sin in the world. Baba’s betrayal had been that he was Hassan’s actual father, because Ali was actually sterile. Amir and Hassan had both grown up unaware of this and Hassan had even died unaware of this. This betrayal caused many unfortunate events. If Amir had known about them being brothers, he might not have let him get raped. If Hassan had known he might not have left with Ali and might not have died. And most importantly Sohrab wouldn’t have to be an orphan. This betrayal caused Amir to travel to Afghanistan and get beaten up greatly by Assef. It was probably the betrayal that caused the most pain to the characters in the book. But it was a necessary act. In Afghan society, honor was and important factor to one’s reputation, and if people had learnt that Hassan, the child of a Hazara woman, was the son of Baba, a greatly respected and highly reputed man, then he would most likely have lost all credibility in his community. Unfortunately the solution he had found for to let Ali think that he was the child’s father. This act took all of Ali’s nang and namoos, his pride and honor, without his even realizing it. The third and of the listed, probably the least important betrayal in the book was Rahim Khan’s betrayal towards Amir when he lied about John and Betty Caldwell saying that Sohrab would be in a safe place with them. After the trauma both Amir and Sohrab go through, it turns out that the Caldwell’s don’t even exist. This was the start of problems for Amir. After he no longer could send Sohrab to the Caldwell’s due to their lack of existence, he had no choice but to adopt him. When he asked, Sohrab didn’t answer just cried into Amir’s shirt. Later when Sohrab has to go to an orphanage so that Amir can complete the adoption process, Sohrab attempts suicide. Finally they make it back to San Francisco where Sohrab is always silent and eventually people begin thinking he is mute. Amir near-death experience and Sohrab’s attempt at suicide could both have been avoided had Rahim Khan not called Amir, but then Amir would never have solved his emotional crisis. So even though it was a betrayal, it was a betrayal that benefitted the people it betrayed. Betrayal and love are two factors that affect almost every emotional decision we make. The decision might benefit one while putting others at a disadvantage. Amir, Baba and Rahim Khan, three of the most influential characters in the story are the ones to tell the biggest lies and cause the most pain. Baba and Amir cause emotional and psychological pain while Rahim Khan’s lie causes Amir a great deal of physical pain as well. But in the end Amir’s lie hurt the people he loved, while Baba and Rahim Khan told lies that benefitted someone in one way or another. In Baba’s lie, Hassan had to make his identity into that of a hazara, causing him to face taunts all the time, but it made it easier for him to be accepted, as much as a hazara is accepted in Afghan society, and saved his own reputation. If he had accepted Hassan as his second son, he would have been ridiculed and they would have to face shame together. Rahim Khan’s lie, while it physically caused Amir a great deal of pain, eventually ended his psychological turmoil and gave Sohrab a new home in which he would be loved. But Amir’s lie only caused pain and suffering for both him and Hassan. Hassan eventually had to leave the house as Amir could no longer tolerate the consequences of what he had done and therefore tried to frame Hassan. After their leaving, every time Baba brought up the topic of Hassan, Amir felt a pang of jealousy and began to have trouble breathing. All in all, all the betrayals in the book, make it better in one way or another because after there are only a few good stories to tell, and the ones of betrayal and the failure of love are the best ones.