Reasons for Betrayal in The Kite Runner, Lord of the Flies, and The Color Purple
Betrayal, a theme that is repeated in a number of literary works, has multiple reasons for motivating literary characters to act in deceitful ways. Those reasons can range from trying to gain approval from someone but at the cost of betraying another, to someone betraying another to assert dominance, to selfishness motivating a character to betray another. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and The Color Purple by Alice Walker all give evidence of various motivations for one character betraying another.
In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir betrays people in seeking the approval of others. The first example …show more content…
Something warm was running down my wrist. I blinked, saw I was still biting down on my fist, hard enough to draw blood from the knuckles. I realized something else. I was weeping. From just around the corner, I could hear Assef's quick, rhythmic grunts.
I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan – the way he'd stood up for me all those times in the past – and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. (Hosseini 77)
Previously, Hassan had stood up on behalf of Amir when Amir was being bullied by Assef. Hassan had chosen not to betray his friend, but in this hideous situation, Amir cannot reciprocate and betrays his friend. Amir continues to reflect:
In the end, I …show more content…
"Why? What can you possibly say to me? I'm thirty-eight years old and I've Just found out my whole life is one big fucking lie! What can you possibly say to make things better? Nothing. Not a goddamn thing!" (Hosseini 190)
Amir feels betrayed by Baba and is upset that he has just now found out this life-changing information. In this case, Baba betrays Amir by lying to him about basically his entire life, in order to get approval from other people so his honor would not be ruined. Baba also betrays Ali, Hassan’s father, by not telling him that Hassan was his, as well as Hassan by not telling Hassan that he is his real father. In this case, Baba betrays both his sons so that he can win society’s approval. Betrayal triumphs once again.
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, betrayal is used as a way to assert dominance. The first instance of betrayal occurs when Ralph tells all the boys Piggy’s nickname, when earlier Piggy asked him not to:
"You're talking too much," said Jack Merridew.
"Shut up, Fatty." Laughter arose.
"He's not Fatty," cried Ralph, "his real name's Piggy!"
Betrayal, a theme that is repeated in a number of literary works, has multiple reasons for motivating literary characters to act in deceitful ways. Those reasons can range from trying to gain approval from someone but at the cost of betraying another, to someone betraying another to assert dominance, to selfishness motivating a character to betray another. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and The Color Purple by Alice Walker all give evidence of various motivations for one character betraying another.
In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir betrays people in seeking the approval of others. The first example …show more content…
Something warm was running down my wrist. I blinked, saw I was still biting down on my fist, hard enough to draw blood from the knuckles. I realized something else. I was weeping. From just around the corner, I could hear Assef's quick, rhythmic grunts.
I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan – the way he'd stood up for me all those times in the past – and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. (Hosseini 77)
Previously, Hassan had stood up on behalf of Amir when Amir was being bullied by Assef. Hassan had chosen not to betray his friend, but in this hideous situation, Amir cannot reciprocate and betrays his friend. Amir continues to reflect:
In the end, I …show more content…
"Why? What can you possibly say to me? I'm thirty-eight years old and I've Just found out my whole life is one big fucking lie! What can you possibly say to make things better? Nothing. Not a goddamn thing!" (Hosseini 190)
Amir feels betrayed by Baba and is upset that he has just now found out this life-changing information. In this case, Baba betrays Amir by lying to him about basically his entire life, in order to get approval from other people so his honor would not be ruined. Baba also betrays Ali, Hassan’s father, by not telling him that Hassan was his, as well as Hassan by not telling Hassan that he is his real father. In this case, Baba betrays both his sons so that he can win society’s approval. Betrayal triumphs once again.
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, betrayal is used as a way to assert dominance. The first instance of betrayal occurs when Ralph tells all the boys Piggy’s nickname, when earlier Piggy asked him not to:
"You're talking too much," said Jack Merridew.
"Shut up, Fatty." Laughter arose.
"He's not Fatty," cried Ralph, "his real name's Piggy!"