In chapter seven of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the reader is faced with a crucial moment in the novel. This chapter presents an important scene, where Hassan chooses to be raped by Assef rather than handing him Amir’s kite. Hosseini brings the reader a critical moment in chapter seven when Hassan becomes Amir’s sacrifice for happiness, and all aspects of the boys’ childhoods change forever. Chapter seven presents a significant advancement in the plot, a development of the main characters, and the appearance of several important symbols used in the story.
As indicated by the title, Kites play a very symbolic role in the novel and are used by Hosseini as a tool to explore a variety of issues. The kite itself is used by the writer in chapter 7 as a visual depiction of the spiritual journey that Amir is going to take in order to find redemption within himself. Also, the kite competition reinforces an issue that is prevalent throughout the novel- which is the treatment of Hazaras in Afghanistan during the time the novel is set and also the suggestion that Amir and Hassan can never be true friends because of their differing positions is society. Instead of having an equal relationship, due to the discrimination that existed in Afghanistan against the Hazaras, Amir and Hassan's friendship seems to have strong aspects of a servant-master relationship. This is proven by the fact that Amir flies the kite in the competition every year and Hassan acts as his assistant. When Hassan celebrates Amir's victory, 'You won Amir Agha', Amir tries to hide from the obvious fact that he is the superior person in their relationship, 'We won! We won!' By portraying their relationship in this way, Hosseini is aiming to create a mixture of emotions within readers as they try and contemplate the reasons for Amir's decision later in the chapter.
The friendship of Amir and Hassan is a key theme in "The Kite Runner" and Hosseini uses it in chapter 7 to