actually his trump card that propels him to stay true to his character and surmount traumatic experiences.
A key message that follows a good portion of the novel states, “If you take away the gift of reading, you create the gift of listening. If you bomb a city, you leave behind destruction. But you create a community of remote misses” (275). For a prolonged period of time, Hassan’s rape left him depressed and he isolated himself from his family to cope with the aftermath. However, during his recovery, Hassan still made a visible effort to retain his friendship with Amir despite both betrayals. At any moment, Hassan could have cut all of his ties with Amir and Baba, yet he continued to support his best friend through thick and thin. He is an underdog for protecting Baba’s estate from the Taliban. Hassan stood up to the giants and challenged them because of his unwavering devotion. Although he was murdered, his death impacted Amir to change and come back to Afghanistan. That is one huge battle to win. The moment he entered the resident again, Hassan
acknowledged his place; it takes courage to go back to a place full of negative experiences. Rape and betrayal from his best friend and brother takes its toll, but his never-ending loyalty is what helped him defeat Amir’s battle with self-worth. Amir struggled to come to terms with his identity and Hassan’s devotedness aided Amir in defeating his demons. By the end of The Kite Runner, Amir atones for his sins because Hassan taught him the power of friendship and forgiveness. In addition, in the beginning of the novel, Hassan pulled a slingshot on Assef. Hassan is generally a gentle and docile person, therefore, him threatening Assef conveys how serious he is about protecting Hassan. No one really believed Hassan would pull the slingshot, but that uncertainty caused Assef to back down. Hassan’s loyalty is his best quality because it gives him strength to overcome the most difficult obstacles.