The Kite Runner Blogsite! - Foundations of World Literature Honors - Period 11
Hi Kids!
Welcome to our class Kite Runner Blogsite!
I am hoping that this amazing new tool will enrich our discussions in class, as well as extend our learning and exploration of the novel beyond the classroom. I will be posting a new question once every day or two. You are required to answer to that post, or to the comments of your classmates.
The only rules and regulations are as follows:
-Respond to each day's discussion question, or to the
comments of your classmates
-Use courtesy, manners, and respect
-Use deep critical thinking and textual evidence to support
your responses (when necessary)
-Have fun!
Please do not hesitate to let me know if you are having any problems with the blog.
Happy Blogging!
First Post!
Why do you think Amir CONSTANTLY tests Hassan's loyalty?
19 comments:
Amir constantly tests Hassan's loyalty, because he wants to see if no matter what he does Hassan will always have his back and assure that Hassan is his servant who will do everything for him.
Amir finds it amazing that each time he tests Hassan's loyalty, Hassan is still as, if not more, loyal than before. I think he feels bad that he doesn't feel that way about Hassan, and hopes that one day Hassan will not be loyal anymore. So basically, guilt.
I think Amir does that because he can. I think he knows that Hassan will love him no matter what, so it really doesn't matter how he treats him... At the end of the day, Amir is of higher social class that Hassan. Amir can treat Hassan any way he wants.
Also, Amir, in a strange way, wants Hassan to get mad at him, to ease his guilt a bit.
I also think that Amir feels guilt everytime Hassan shows loyalty to him. In turn, Amir tests Hassan constantly and he is waiting for that moment when Hassan would not be loyal to him anymore. When that happens, his guilt would finally ease and Amir would be able to supress the terrible incident.
Maybe Amir has some sort of strange insecurity that leads him to tease his most loyal friend. I think he likes to abuse his power over Hassan, like when he told him the wrong meaning of "imbecile".
Amir knows that no matter what he says or does, Hassan will willingly run back to him at the end like a lost puppy.
Amir constantly tests Hassan's loyalty because I believe he feels a little vengeful and testing Hassan's loyalty is a way to secretly torture Hassan. Hassan has been depicted as the child who receives most of Baba's attention and because of that Amir is jealous. I think that Amir acts out through making Hassan feel insignificant by i.e. throwing pomegranates at him, secretly calling him an imbecile, and more. He seems to believe that by making Hassan feel insignificant in life, he will feel better but in the end, all he feels is guilt because he realizes that Hassan's loyalty is not just because servitude but love also.
At first, I think Amir just wanted to see how far he could make Hassan go, just to tease Hassan and make him feel nervous. Amir was fascinated by Hassan's truthfulness and loyalty as well. It was so easy to take advantage of Hassan that Amir could not resist. Since Amir was jealous of Baba's love for Hassan, I think it comforted him to know that Hassan did have a weakness and was even inferior to a point. Later on, Amir wanted to ease his guilt by constantly testing Hassan, secretly wishing that just once Hassan would be unloyal. However, Amir finally realized that Hassan's loyalty would never falter and that Hassan was genuine and pure.
Amir constantly tests Hassan's loyalty because Amir is not confident in himself. So Amir has to make sure that Hassan will do anything for him, especially something degrading so that Amir feels superior. Amir never asked Hassan to prove his loyalty by risking his life in some way; he only asked Hassan if he would degrade himself by eating dirt or some such thing. So, in fact, Amir knows how loyal Hassan really is, but he just wants to feel better about himself so he belittles Hassan.
I believe that Amir knows that Hassan will always be loyal but he really doesn't want that. After he witnessed a horrible event all he could feel was guilt. This guilt led him to not want to play with Hassan and constantly torturing him. In some ways the torture is just because Amir is mad, but the majority of it is to rid himself of guilt. Amir wants there to be one day Hassan will not be loyal because then Amir will be able to get rid of his guilt.
Amir tests Hassan's loyalty because he feels guilty on how disloyal he
is and how Hassan's fidelity is still unwavering. One slip in Hassan's loyalty would take that guilt away from him. This would give Amir leverage on which to compare both their loyalty as even.
Amir constantly test Hassan's loyalty because he is actually insecure about his feelings. Amir always wanted to impress Baba with his courage and always felt that Hassan always took the spotlight. He knows that Hassan is the most faithful, loyal person that he knows and has mixed feelings about him. He is unsure whether or not to consider him a servant, a friend, or a brother. He is confused and does not know whether it is better to be a better son or a better "brother" to H
Amir constantly tests Hassan's loyalty because although he knows that Hassan will always be loyal to him no matter what, this is a way of gaining pride. Amir almost wants to catch Hassan in even a moment of disloyalty because it would be a fault in his character. Amir does not have the personality that Baba had wanted as a son, but Amir does, and Amir is jealous of Hassan because of that. Although he will never admit it, Amir wants Hassan to show any type of disloyalty because revealing this fault in character would give Amir self-satisfaction in believing that Hassan is not just an all around better person than he, which is how Baba makes him feel. If Amir finds a fault in Hassan, it will give him a peace of mind knowing something "bad" about Hassan that Baba will never know, therefore giving Amir the satisfaction of believing that Baba's affection toward Hassan is unjustified.
Amir throughout the book tests Hassan's loyalty. In the beginning, before the kite incident, he probably always tries Hassan's loyalty out of curiousity and as a joke to himself.(he knows Hassan will always do what he says, so it amuses him to do so) Still, everytime he does this, he feels a kind of shame after he does this because he knows he would never return the loyalty...ever. So, after the dark alley kite incident Amir feels extreme shame and guilt. He tests his loyalty then(with the snowballs) in hope for Hassan not to be loyal but to instead fight back...punish him for what he has done(in this case not done).
Amir tests Hassan's loyalty out of guilt, shame, fun, and curiousity.
Amir constantly tests Hassans loyalty because each and every time Hassan never lets him down and always shows him complete and total respect. Amir wants to gain pride and satisfaction from Hassan. He feels disloyal and guilty on the way he's been treating Hassan. Hassan gets the majority of the attention from Baba and Amir is jealous of him because of this. Amir just wants Hassan to stop being loyal to him at some point so therefore he won't feel any more guilt and pain. But doing this would show Amir that Hassan has faults and this would give him more pride. Amir just wants both him and Hassan to forget what has happened even though they are both certainly permanently mentally scarred.
Amir constantly tests Hassan's loyalty because he knows that Hassan will always stay by his side. He will always defend Amir no matter what, but Amir wants Hassan to get back at him for not standing up for Hassan in the alley. He also is pressured into thinking that Hassan is "just a Hazara" and not important, so he wants to make sure Hassan is at a lower level than him. Amir also is jealous of the attention Hassan receives from Baba. Amir is always trying to spend alone time with Baba and if he hurts Hassan's feelings, he will have Baba all to himself.
I think that Amir constantly tests Hassan's loyalty because Amir wants to be reassured that Hassan will always obey him. Amir also finds it interesting that Hassan does everything he says. amir thinks that it is fun to experiment with Hassan's loyalty. I also think Amir discretely wants Hassan to reject an order. he wants Hassan top have some independence.
Amir tests Hassan's loyalty because he wants to see how much control he has over him. When he tells him to, Amir wants to see Hassan do what he says. This gives Amir a sense of power and importance.
He is also testing Hassan because he is jealous of the amount of notice Hassan gets from Baba. Amir highly respects Baba and wants to prove that he deserves the same attention Hassan recieves. This is Amir's way of getting back at Hassan for attracting more of Baba's attention.
I think Amir does this because he is waiting for Hassan to let him down and not show loyalty anymore. Amir feels guilty of Hassan's constant loyalty and knows that he will never be able to return it. By constantly testing Hassan, he is hoping that Hassan will for once not show loyalty and this will make Amir feel better about himself and the way he treats Hassan.
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