Kite runner

Friendship in the Kite Runner
Every child makes a vow to be best friends with another child at least once in their life. Some girls by necklaces with matching half hearts to signify their friendship and some boys carve their names into trees. In the bestselling novel The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, two boys, Hassan and Amir, have a friendship that is not as typical as other children's. In every friendship there is always at least one loyal friend. The friendships between: Amir and Hassan; Baba and Ali, and a developing one between Amir and Farid at the end of the novel are all categorized by loyalty but each relationship has unique differences.
In the novel the main character Amir describes his life including his troublesome friendship with Hassan. Hassan is his Hazara servant and best friend. Throughout the novel Hassan expresses his unwavering loyalty to Amir and does everything he can to protect him. The two constantly involve themselves in mischief such as; shooting walnuts at dogs and playing with mirrors, and Ali, Hassan’s father usually scolds Hassan. Amir acknowledges Hassan’s loyalty by stating,” He never told on me, he never told that the mirror along with shooting walnuts at dogs was always my idea” (Hosseini 4). This foreshadows later events in the novel that Hassan will protect and defend Amir. He is willing to do anything to insure Amir’s safety. This also establishes Amir as the leader of the friendship. Hassan follows Amir’s lead.
The relationship between the two is unique; although Hassan is involved in a life threatening situation he continues to put Amir first. Hassan is raped by Assef a half Afghan, half German Sociopath. This creates a rift in the friendship because the incident causes Amir extreme grief after witnessing the rape and doing nothing to help Hassan. Hassan is able to forgive Amir, but Amir is not able to forgive himself. After Hassan dies, Amir travels back to Kabul to rescue, Sohrab, Hassan’s son. This is his way of repenting and clearing his conscious. Amir and Hassan are two merciful and loyal friends.
Another friendship in the novel involves Baba and Ali. Ali is a hazara servant also like his son Hassan. Ali has been with Baba’s family since they were young boys. Although, Baba and Ali always share stories from their past; Amir notices and states that, “in none of his stories did Baba ever refer to Ali as his friend” (25). This is due to historic and cultural differences that the afghan society inflicts on its people. Their relationship parallels to Amir and Hassan’s because Baba is the leader and Ali is loyal to Baba just as Hassan is loyal to Amir, but Ali puts his child and himself before their relationship. This occurs after Amir tries to frame Hassan of stealing his birthday money and watch in order to get Baba to fire them. Amir accuses Hassan because he cannot handle the grief of seeing the rape and doing nothing to help Hassan. Unlike Hassan, Ali does not let his loyalty put him or his family in jeopardy. Baba and Ali are both loyal in their relationship to a certain extent, but neither one of them are as loyal as Hassan.
One relationship Hosseini develops in the novel is a small one between Farid and Amir. Farid transports Amir to Kabul to retrieve Sohrab. When they first embark on the journey Farid is short with Amir. He states, “That’s the real Afghanistan, Agha Sahib. That’s the Afghanistan I know. You? You’ve always been a tourist here, you just didn’t know it” (231 – 232). After they stay the night with Farid’s brother the two begin to talk more and Farid becomes more open with Amir. Amir is badly beaten by Assef while trying to rescue Sohrab, and is admitted to the hospital. Farid takes care of Sohrab in his own home until Amir heals. Farid exhibits the common loyalty found in friendships by helping Amir safely rescue Sohrab: even though, it was very dangerous due to the Taliban inhabiting Kabul. Farid and Amir’s relation was a very short one, but it proves that strenuous situations cause people to become dependent on other people, and a person’s loyalty to be tested.
Every friendship contains some trace of loyalty. Whether it has extreme loyalty such as Amir and Hassan’s friendship, loyalty to a certain extent like Baba and Ali’s friendship, or it was started out of a need to help one another. Loyalty to a certain extent is present in all relationships, but it’s up to the friends to expand on it.

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Penguin Group, 2003. Print.