Initially, at the start of the novel, we learn that Amir and Hassan are partners in crime, ‘Hassan and I used to annoy our neighbors by reflecting sunlight into their homes with a shard of mirror’ and their relationship seems to illustrate a brotherhood. This brotherly love is sealed when they carve ‘Amir and Hassan – The Sultans of Kabul’ on a tree where Amir usually reads a story to Hassan. This relationship between them is conflicted by the society they live in.
Kabul is divided between Pashtuns and Hazaras.Pashtuns are the higher class, whereas Hazaras are the lower class, which is indicated by the fact Hassan is the son of Ali; the servant of Amir’s father’s home. There are also racial slurs towards Hazaras in the novel, which in a way has influence on Amir’s and Hassan’s relationship. For instance; Amir was trying to bury his guilt after teasing him and he states: ‘He was just a Hazara after all wasn’t he? ’ The racism implies that Hassan doesn’t mean anything, he’s inferior, and he doesn’t matter.This is a completely unethical way of dealing with guilt. We also learn that Amir doesn’t actually include Hassan in any of his games or activities with his other friends, which is again, reflected by society.
We can confirm Amir’s love for Hassan through his guilt when Hassan states he stole Amir’s watch, when he actually didn’t. “Hassan knew I’d seen everything in that alley. He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again. I loved him in that moment, loved him more than I’d ever loved anyone.”Amir is displaying his brotherly affection for Hassan because he knew if Hassan stated he did steal the watch, his father and himself would be on his way, allowing Amir to ease his guilt and move on. We can also infer that Hassan loves Amir, he is completely devoted to him; For instance, Amir took Hassan up to the pomegranate tree and threw pomegranates at him, and demanded Hassan to hit him back.
Instead, Hassan picks up a pomegranate and squishes it into his head and says “Are you happy now?”This shows a complete gesture of loyalty. We can also certify Hassan’s love and allegiance to Amir when Assef confronts him, and demands the kite which Hassan ran for Amir in return to let him go. Hassan states “Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly. This is his kite.
” Hassan was well aware that he would receive a severe physical punishment from Assef if he refused, but his loyalty to Amir and courage takes over. Additionally, in The Kite Runner, we also understand that Amir loves his father, Baba.This is presented through his guilt for “killing his mother” as Amir referred, - as he feels responsible for her death after childbirth. This guilt is reinforced later on in the novel when we learn in Chapter 11 that Baba was like the widower who remarries but can’t let go of his dead wife. We also acknowledge that Amir’s affection towards his father is also clear through his jealousy of Hassan.
For example, Baba took out Hassan and Amir in the antique Black Ford Mustang which drew envious looks as it was in Hassan’s and Amir’s favourite film they watched in the cinema.Baba, not only buying Amir a kite from the best kite maker in Kabul, but he also buys Hassan one too. Amir stated “I wish he didn’t do that”. Furthermore, Amir’s love for his father is also visible through his father’s disapproval.
Baba doesn’t see much of himself in Amir because Amir isn’t courageous, and normally avoids physical confrontation, he would never stand up for himself or his friends; a complete contrast to Baba. In Chapter 3, Baba expresses his feelings towards Amir to Rahim Khan: “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.”And here, Baba has revealed one of Amir’s major flaws in his personality: his cowardice. We know how much Baba values standing up for what is right; for instance, in Chapter 10 Baba stands up to a Russian soldier who wanted to rape a married woman and said “tell him I would take a thousand bullets before I’d let this indecency take place”.
This contrast in traits between Amir and his father is also shown at this very moment. Amir stated in the narrative “’Do you always have to be the hero?’I thought, my heart fluttering. ‘Can’t you just let it go for once? ’”. The lack of courage leaves Baba reluctant to praise Amir, and leaves Amir constantly craving Baba’s approval. Amir’s desire for Baba’s love also costs him mentally when his cowardice gets the better of him; when he lets Hassan get raped by Assef. We know that Amir believes firmly that he can win his father over if he wins the kite tournament in Kabul.
To his luck, he wins the tournament – and Hassan manages to run the last kite he cut.However, out of Amir’s faintheartedness, rather than sticking up for Hassan – and this would inevitably, ironically, make his father worship him as well as winning the kite tournament – he just simply does nothing. He even admitted that he stared at the blue kite in Hassan’s hand when Assef and his two disciples close in on Hassan. Amir’s cowardice is also reflected in chapter 17 when Amir refuses to go to Kabul.
Rahim Khan echoes his father’s words “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.I wonder, is that what you’ve become? ” We can also talk about another link to love in The Kite Runner. In Chapter 18 we learn that Baba is actually Hassan’s father. This explains why Baba treated Hassan equally, and approved of Hassan more than Amir, as Hassan could stand up for himself. It explains why Baba paid for a plastic surgeon to correct Hassan’s cleft lip for his birthday. It explains why Baba wept and begged Ali and Hassan to stay.
It explains why Baba bought Hassan and Amir a kite. Everything falls into place. Baba knew that Hassan was his son.The reasons he didn’t disclose it were because of his pride; Baba had stated to Amir that theft was the only sin: Baba had betrayed Ali who Baba referred to as a brother by stealing a husband’s right to a wife. The other reason is because Hassan’s mother was a Hazara, which would reflect badly on Baba in society if this knowledge was made public.
Amir now realises that he and his father aren’t as different as he originally thought. They had both betrayed their genuine friends. To summarise, we can certainly say that love is the most important emotion in The Kite Runner.Without love, there would be no novel.
Baba’s love for Hassan as he knows Hassan is his son, and there is more of himself in Hassan than there is in Amir (Hassan stands up for Amir and himself). This makes Baba disregard Amir, his other son, as he doesn’t share these traits. Baba also treats Hassan like his son, which causes Amir’s extensive jealousy. Amir desires intensely his father’s love and approval, and believes he can win it by winning the kite tournament, which consequently, caused Hassan to get raped due to Amir’s cowardly nature.
Amir loves Hassan as a brother, ironically we find out he actually is his half-brother. His love for Hassan fortifies his guilt, relating to the rape, the “unatoned sins” and his “peaking in the alley for the past 26 years”. The whole novel backtracks to these sins, and reflects how badly Amir treated Hassan. Out of love and guilt, we finally learn that Amir tries to repent for his father’s and his own sins by rescuing and raising Hassan’s son with his wife as his own child.
