The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a novel about a boy from Kabul, Afghanistan, named Amir. Amir takes us through his life, starting in the 1960s. He constantly mentions his encounters with one of his father’s servants, named Hassan, and we witness them become friends. However, it is hard for Amir to admit to others that he is friends with Hassan because of their wealth and class differences. When Hassan runs after Amir’s kite one day, a school bully rapes him. Amir watches this ordeal go down but does not rush in to help Hassan because he is afraid of getting bullied for being friends with Hassan. He lives with regret for decades to come, even after he moves to the United States. Hosseini really shows the identity struggles of these characters at different points in their lives, and I think this makes quite a compelling story.
As a child, Hassan accepts the fact that he will never be independent and successful in his life because he is an illiterate servant. As a member of the poverty-stricken working class, he is not offered the opportunity to receive schooling nor taught how to stick up for himself. Additionally, Hassan’s inadequate income makes him feel reluctant to have a say in situations. In fact, Amir tries to frame Hassan for stealing his money in order to get Hassan fired, and Hassan does not even deny it. Even though Hassan would never steal money, he feels obligated to take the blame since he has nothing to lose. Hassan suffers from more Othering than this in the novel, and another reason for this is because he is a Hazara. His ethnic group is treated as inferior by the Taliban, and he is given no rights. Hazaras are falsely accused of everything so that the Taliban has an excuse to execute them, and Hassan is no exception. He lacks the mental and physical power necessary to survive, making him the submissive Other in de Beauvoir’s theory as he feels worthless.
Although Amir grew up with a lot of money and was handed everything, he still has many problems beneath the surface. He is torn because he finds true freedom with Hassan, but he is judged for feeling like this. Also, when he moves to America, he has practically nothing and must work from the ground up. As an immigrant, he has to work harder for the same outcome as non-immigrants. His identity is different as he doesn’t receive the praise that he used to receive in Afghanistan. This experience makes Amir realize what it is like to be the Other; he does not have an emphasis placed on him and feels a sense of rejection in turn. I think the story comes full circle by showing that polar opposite people often experience the same struggles. This novel highlights the importance of empathy, and I hope it teaches other readers to understand that people have issues behind closed doors that should be acknowledged.