Essay on kite runner

Submitted By JasonBing
Words: 931
Pages: 4

The Kite Runner Essay

Violence. Shown in many ways. Shown by many people, but affects everyone. In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini two characters are greatly affected by acts of violence, Hassan and Amir. The significance of violence shown towards Hassan, through rape, and Amir, through abuse, affects the two differently. Having violence brought upon you is not a welcoming feeling, or at least it should not be, but to Amir it was. Although Amir feels relieved Hassan feels broken. In the two scenes that demonstrate an act of violence that affects the characters very differently. In the act of rape by Assef to Hassan, Hassan loses his innocence. The way he went around everyday just changed. He did not have fun; all he did was his work and sleep. It took a lot out of him and it took every ounce of pride he had. Amir also has an occurrence with Assef when he tries to rescue Sohrab. He gets what was unfinished from that day with Hassan. Both of these incidents show the many changes in the character throughout the novel. In Hassan’s situation he went from being innocent child playing with Amir to a quiet kid who had his innocence torn away from him while he was protecting his “best friend”. Hassan’s transformation into censurability is shown through his acceptance. He did not whimper; he did not struggle with the look of the lamb on his face. His best friend was not affected by Assef until years later when Hassan’s son brought them together. The battle between the two had relieved all the guilt off of Amir. It is the first time he feels at peace, and oddly enough it is because he is entirely broken. The transformation of these characters represents the change they went through throughout the book. The transformation of Hassan happens through the time of his rape. Hassan was walking home when he was abruptly halted by Assef. Moments later his innocence disappeared, “Hassan didn’t struggle. Didn’t even whimper” (Hosseini 75). Hassan sat there with such a look on his face, “It was the look of the lamb” (Hosseini 76). The look of the lamb is a reference back to the day in Amir’s backyard. The lamb had a look of acceptance and he did not do anything about it, he just sat there and let what was going to happen…happen. His rape stole his innocence; he was different after Assef robbed him of the distinct childhood feature. His father, Ali, noticed the change in Hassan and could not figure out what was going on with his son. He saw the relationship change between his son and his old best friend Amir. Hassan would not hang out with any children all he did was sleep and work. It is unfortunate for Hassan that this happened all because he was doing something for Amir, but Amir got the repercussions years later. Back in 1975 Hassan was stripped of his innocence as a child because of rape. Twenty-six years later Assef strikes back and brutally beats the guilt out of Amir. It took twenty-six years for Amir to finally be relieved from the guilt he had waiting to get out. “ It was the first time since the winter of 1975 he felt...at peace”(Hosseini 289). With every punch Amir was hit with, he felt more and more relieved. It was what he has been waiting for Hassan to do but he would never do it because of his loyalty. He had been waiting so long for this feeling. He strangely