The Kite Runner Betrayal Analysis

Ash Sweeney stated, “The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies. It comes from friends and loved ones.” In Khaled Hosseini’s book, The Kite Runner, a recurring theme is betrayal. Throughout the book, friendships and trust are lost due to the betrayal of one person. Innocence is stolen and lives are changed forever.
As the book begins, the reader can see how strong Amir and Hassan's friendship is, and how Hassan is willing to do anything and everything to ensure Amir’s happiness. Unfortunately, the friendship comes to an abrupt end when Hassan is brutally raped by Assef, and Amir, who knew what had happened, refuses to tell anyone. Amir attempts to continue his life like normal, while Hassan has to suffer through what happened alone. This ultimately ended their friendship. Even though Amir tries to act like nothing has …show more content…
After traveling to Afghanistan and rescuing Sohrab from Assef, Amir promised Sohrab that he could come and live with him in America. Unfortunately, one of the only ways that Amir knew to get Sohrab into America was to put him into an orphanage and then file an orphan petition. When Amir told Sohrab the news, he was heartbroken and later tried to kill himself. After leaving the hospital, Sohrab said he no longer wanted to go to America with Amir, and did not speak a word to anyone for an entire year. Amir betrayed Sohrab by breaking his promise to him and therefore, almost lost a child who trusted him. Thankfully, Amir did not give up on Sohrab. He tried to make up for his betrayal by trying to talk and interact with Sohrab, and eventually he earned that trust back.
As can be seen, betrayal is prominent in Khaled Hosseini’s, The Kite Runner. The friendship between Amir and Hassan is destroyed and a child attempts suicide as a result of these acts. The effects of that betrayal had a negative impact and changed the course of lives