Amir and Hassan

The relationship between Amir and Hassan is a complicated one.  It is like they have two relationships, one when they are alone together, and another when they are in public. I believe the reason for their relationship is all due to their class difference and distinct backgrounds.  Due to the fact that society views people like Amir at a higher status than people like Hassan, Amir gets carried way by the hierarchical difference and always has the belief that he has the right to stand over Hassan. However, the problem is that Amir also understands and accepts that Hassan over powers him in many aspects, being his athleticism, or way of thinking, aspects that Amir admires and is not able to have. The battle between believing that he has the right and should be above Hassan but is not able to is what troubles Amir.

The brass knuckle scene with Assef, for example, demonstrates how Hassan is able to overpower Amir once again and stand up for them. At that point, I asked myself whether Amir would do the same for Hassan, and unfortunately, I don’t believe so. Amir and Hassan are best friends, they enjoy their moments together, however, Amir will always have that though lingering in his mind telling him that he stands above Hassan, a thought that allows him to take advantage of Hassan when he shouldn’t. 

His jealousy toward Hassan still prevails from the beginning of the book. The jealousy is a significant aspect of their relationship.  In their society, Amir should never be jealous of a Hazara, his class should have them as servants and therefore, have no room for jealousy. However, Amir is indeed jealous, of both Hassan abilities and the way Baba treats him.  Unfortunately for Amir, his dad recognizes that Hassan’s abilities are greater than Amir’s abilities, and having his dad treat Hassan the same way as he treats his son gets Amir irritated and jealous. Every child wants his father to admire his son, and whenever they see admiration towards another child, envy is inevitable.  Therefore, I do not blame Amir for his jealousy over Baba’s actions, however I do blame him for the way he treats his best friend.

Amir recognizes when he is taking advantage of Hassan, and recognizes when he is mean, however, he never apologizes for it. He knows its wrong and he feels bad about it, but again, due to fact of how society sees Hazaras, he persuades himself that he has the power to do so. This problem needs to be taken care of, consequences will follow.