Loss of innocence

            The title, The Kite Runner, resembles the fight for the last kite, Hassan and Amir, and the loss of innocence. The kite-fighting tournament was one of the biggest events that Kabul has held. The tournament was a remembrance of the last time Hassan had smiled according to Amir. Hassan loyalty to Amir is demonstrated at the end of the tournament when Hassan chases down the blue kite so Baba would be proud of Amir. It can be assumed that Hassan would risk his own life to save Amir’s but Amir would not. In chapter seven, Amir cowardly stand behind the wall while he watches his most loyal friend lose his innocence and his newly gained smile. Assef, like Hitler, convinced his friends that “it’s just a Hazara” and it was not a sin to rape Hassan (pg 75). Even though Assef had lost his childhood innocence a while back, his friends, Amir, and especially Hassan had just recently lost theirs. This chapter so far is the one that sticks out the most. Even though I had already seen the movie, the way the scene was described had more of an impact. The fact that Amir only paid attention to the blue kite to make sure it was not scratched angered me. Hassan would have done anything to prevent Assef from hurting Amir but Amir would not even step in and to stop Assef from hurting one of the only people who look up to him and truly care for him. The reason Amir did not look Hassan in the eyes after he “bumped” into him was to make sure Hassan did not know Amir had seen the whole thing.

            Amir only thinks about himself and how he feels. In chapter eight, he was only focused on winning the tournament and returning the kite to Baba. Not once did he think about how Hassan must have felt. Amir feels that Baba will only respect him and think highly of him if he is sportier and wins the tournament. Realistically, Baba wants Amir to be more like the other boys. He wants Amir to stand up for himself and for others. If Amir had stood up to Assef on Hassan’s behalf, Baba would have been just as proud of Amir even if he did not bring back the blue kite.

            In chapters 7-8 we are told that this was the last time Amir would see Hassan smile.  It is ironic since Baba had given Hassan a “new smile” for his birthday and after the event that took place in the alley Hassan would never use his new smile. I am looking forward to seeing how Hassan and Amir’s relationship will throughout the rest of the book.