The Kite Runner Prac Essay

The Kite Runner demonstrates that people are motivated more by self-interest than by honour. Discuss.

In the novel ‘The Kite Runner’ By Khaled Hosseini, people are motivated by self-interest rather than by honour. There are many instances throughout the book where the characters take actions that are selfish and only benefit themselves. They know what the right thing to do is but don’t do it because it may hurt their own reputation. Amir frames Hassan, Baba keeps a huge secret and Assef treats people like dirt. All these examples show how self-interest at one point plays a bigger role in these characters lives.

After Amir witnesses the rape of Hassan, he can’t stand being with him let alone looking at him. It only reminds him of what happened and how he stood by and did nothing about it. In order to stop himself from feeling bad he frames Hassan with a theft so that him and Ali leave forever, leaving Amir no longer having to look at the guilt that was eating him up inside. ‘I lifted Hassan's mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it. I waited another thirty minutes. Then I knocked on Baba's door and told what I hoped would be the last in a long line of shameful lies.’ Amir knew how horrible what he did was but felt like he needed to do it to rid himself of some of the guilt he had bottled up inside. He took this action only for the benefit of himself. He didn’t care to honour Hassan or what was right; he only cared for his feelings at the time. Amir is angry with himself but takes it out on Hassan and tries to make it out like he is the bad guy so that he feels less guilty. Hassan knows what is going on and despite the way Amir treats him, pretends he in fact was guilty of theft. Hassan was a true friend and always honoured Amir, something Amir didn’t do. ‘He was already turning the street corner, his rubber boots kicking up snow. He stopped, turned. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "For you a thousand times over!" he said. Then he smiled his Hassan smile and disappeared around the corner.’ Hassan said this after just after Amir had won the kite tournament. It shows how loyal and caring he was towards Amir. Hassan later on understood Amir didn’t want to be around him anymore and that is why he decided he should just leave. Amir was selfish and care-less to the one person that was always loyal to him. He was concerned only about the well being of himself and was ridden with only self-interest. He chose this path over the path of honour towards Hassan.

All his life Baba kept a huge secret from the people closest to him. Every day he lied about the truth. When Baba was younger he slept with the wife of Ali and got her pregnant. She was still with Ali at the time and he didn’t know she had been unfaithful. When Hassan was born Ali thought it was his son when it was actually the son of Baba. Baba knew this was the case but kept it to himself so he didn’t ruin his relationship wit Ali. Life would have been much different for everyone if Baba had let out the truth. Amir would of known that Hassan was his half-brother, and in turn would have treated him differently and maybe with more respect. The wife of Ali was lower class compared to Baba, that’s another reason he kept it a secret. Baba didn’t want to been seen to be a lesser human and to be brought down to a lower standard. He did this only for the benefit of himself. Baba was a very respected person in his day, that’s why this was such a bad thing to do. ‘I think that everything he did, feeding the poor, giving money to friends in need, it was all a way of redeeming himself.’ In a way Baba thought that if he did a lot of good in the community, it would make up for the sin he committed, but it didn’t change anything. The action he took by not telling people the truth was driven only by self-interest. He didn’t want to damage his social standing nor did he want people to think less of him. He didn’t honour the people that were important to him by letting them know the truth. Ali, Hassan and Amir all lived their lives oblivious to reality. The child Ali called his son wasn’t, the one Amir called his friend was actually closer than he thought and the person Hassan thought was his father wasn’t. ‘Hassan's not going anywhere. He's staying right here with us, where he belongs. This is his home and we're his family. Don't you ever ask me that question again!’ Baba said this after Amir suggested Hassan should leave. He was furious at the thought of his own son leaving that’s why he reacted in such a manner. It was wrong that Baba deprived the people he cared about with the truth; it was selfish and completely dishonest.

Assef is a perfect example of how the characters in the novel take actions only for the interest and benefit of themselves. He was a very bad person from the beginning till the end of the novel. He always bullied Amir and Hassan and treated them like insignificants. ‘Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. His people pollute our homeland, our watan. They dirty our blood.’ This was said before the rape of Hassan, when Assef was bad mouthing him and all people like him. This shows how disrespectful and downright rude Assef is. The rape of Hassan also showed how little he cares about people other than himself. He did these things to make himself feel powerful, and to make the people around him believe he was powerful. The last this Assef cared about would be the well being of other people. Assef becomes the head of the Taliban later in his life. He was always going to turn out a horrible person and he did. ‘We left the bodies in the streets, and if their families tried to sneak out to drag them back into their homes, we'd shoot them too. We left them in the streets for days. We left them for the dogs. Dog meat for dogs.’ Assef said this to Amir when they saw each other in Afghanistan. It shows how disgusting Assef really is inside and out. He would never think of honouring people other than himself.

Overall the characters in this novel are a lot of the time motivated by self-interest over honour. They tend to put themselves before others no matter the consequences. These instances show how the actions they take are selfish and only benefit themselves. They choose to save their own reputations than to do the right thing.