Kite Runner- Friendship Essay Example
In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, friendship is a recurring theme that is both
important and vital to the story because it helps Amir rid himself of guilt and be good again,
teaches Sohrab how to trust, and allows Amir and Hassan, as well as Baba and Ali, to be friends
although they are on two completely different social levels. Amir, the protagonist in this novel,
tells the story of his life from a young oblivious boy to a man who finally has his life figured
out. At a young age he betrays his servant-friend, Hassan, by leaving him helpless as their
nemesis, Assef, rapes him. Guilt lingers over Amir, bringing out a selfish quality that affects
his friendships and decisions throughout the book from then on.
The story begins to revolve around Amir’s friendships as they help him unshackle his
guilt. Rahim Khan, a venerable friend of Amir and Baba, succors Amir to be free of his guilt
by giving him the duty to travel into the corrupt Afghanistan and bring back Sohrab, Hassan’s
orphaned son, to the safety of Pakistan. This trip helps Amir mitigate, if not completely erase,
his guilt because it compels him not to be selfish and to risk his own life to rescue Sohrab. It
additionally requires Amir to find the self-confidence that he incessantly doubts throughout the
book. Friends like Rahim Khan give one hope that there is something to look forward to in the
future even if you make an irrevocable mistake in your past. “There is a way to be good again”
(192). When Rahim calls Amir in America he assures him that there is a way to make good out
of what happened in the winter of 1975. Smuggling Sohrab into Pakistan was just one of them.
Amir tries to befriend Sohrab once they are in Pakistan. “’…I’d like to be your friend.
I think I could be a good friend to you”’ (306). He tries to be Sohrab’s friend to redeem the
poor friendship that Amir caused between him and Hassan. Amir finds this particularly
important and vital to the story because it helps Amir rid himself of guilt and be good again,
teaches Sohrab how to trust, and allows Amir and Hassan, as well as Baba and Ali, to be friends
although they are on two completely different social levels. Amir, the protagonist in this novel,
tells the story of his life from a young oblivious boy to a man who finally has his life figured
out. At a young age he betrays his servant-friend, Hassan, by leaving him helpless as their
nemesis, Assef, rapes him. Guilt lingers over Amir, bringing out a selfish quality that affects
his friendships and decisions throughout the book from then on.
The story begins to revolve around Amir’s friendships as they help him unshackle his
guilt. Rahim Khan, a venerable friend of Amir and Baba, succors Amir to be free of his guilt
by giving him the duty to travel into the corrupt Afghanistan and bring back Sohrab, Hassan’s
orphaned son, to the safety of Pakistan. This trip helps Amir mitigate, if not completely erase,
his guilt because it compels him not to be selfish and to risk his own life to rescue Sohrab. It
additionally requires Amir to find the self-confidence that he incessantly doubts throughout the
book. Friends like Rahim Khan give one hope that there is something to look forward to in the
future even if you make an irrevocable mistake in your past. “There is a way to be good again”
(192). When Rahim calls Amir in America he assures him that there is a way to make good out
of what happened in the winter of 1975. Smuggling Sohrab into Pakistan was just one of them.
Amir tries to befriend Sohrab once they are in Pakistan. “’…I’d like to be your friend.
I think I could be a good friend to you”’ (306). He tries to be Sohrab’s friend to redeem the
poor friendship that Amir caused between him and Hassan. Amir finds this particularly