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Maeve Hammond AP Literature and Composition Rutan 22 November 2013 Bloodand KitesRun Thicker Than Water . In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, a fraternal relationship is played out during the

childhoods of two Afghan boysand illegitimate brothersAmir and Hassan. They endure social and personal strains to their relationship, which impose life-changing impacts. Socially, the Afghanistan culture disapproves of their friendship because Hassan is a Hazara, a race descended from Mongolians. Higher-society Pashtun Afghans despise Hazaras because they practice Shia, a certain Islamic sect that contrasts Pashtun beliefs. In fact, narrator Amir explains the Pashtuns Amirs ancestorshad quelled [the Hazaras] with unspeakable violence (Hosseini, 23) by kill[ing them], driv[ing] them from their lands, [and] burn[ing] their homes (Hosseini, 23). This historic hatred and prejudice transcends to a group of boys who physically torment and rape Hassan because of his Hazara ethnicity. Amir furtively witnesses Hassans violation and subsequently ruptures their friendship by not standing up for Hassan or fighting off the other boys. After this betrayal, Amir is plagued with the guilt of his perfidy, until he searches for atonement twenty years later and finally absolves his sins. The poem Thy Brothers Blood by Jones Very runs a parallel to the relationship between the boys, and symbolizes Amirs character: Very writes of a man who also betrays his brother and quests to cleanse his bloody stain (Very, 13) of remorse. I have no Brother (Very, 1): the first line of Thy Brothers Blood figuratively and literally describes Amirs emotion after each of the two times he loses Hassan. Amir realizes their friendship is severed after he choses not to defend Hassan against Assef, the ringleader of the boys who attack Hassan. Amirs impartiality evades him as he buys into the hatred of Hazaras and uses Hassans background to excuse his own cowardiceAmir even thinks to himself, he was just a Hazara, wasnt he? (Hosseini, 88) Later in the novel, Amir comes into knowledge that the same person

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fathered him and Hassan. Amir literally loses his illegitimate brother for the second time when he is told the Taliban killed Hassan because of his Hazaran heritage. Amir realizes he not only is his childhood relationship deceased, but so is his own flesh and blood. Amirs betrayal created lifelong implications for both characters, and his culpability is amplified when he considers his actions were somewhat related to Hassans death. This sentiment relates to the line in Thy Brothers Blood, the heart doth tell me its secret deeds to me untold before (Very, 9-10). Amir sees his furtive betrayal and his fathers secret as the monster that dragged [Hassan] to the murky bottom (Hosseini, 97) of his life. Amir believes the disassociation during their late childhood prevented Hassan from moving to the United States with Amir and his father during overthrow of Afghanistans king. Amir thinks things could have turned out differently (Hosseini, 231)implying Hassans life could have been savedif they all had left Afghanistan before the Taliban had been ushered into dictatorial ruling. Similarly, Amirs belief that he impacted Hassans death follows a mildly innate Cain and Abel relationship. Biblically, Cain murdered his brother Abel; this is similar to how Amir spiritually killed his friendship with Hassan and inadvertently led his half-brother to his death by the Taliban. Verys line Abels red blood upon the earth is split (Very, 7) is all the more exemplified in The Kite Runner when Amir saw tiny drops that fell between [Hassans] legs and stained the snow black (Hosseini, 89) after he is raped. Hassans spilt bloodlike Abelssets the wrongdoers sins in motion and forever changes their futures. After living nearly forty years in oblivion of his half-brother, Hassan, and his fathers infidelity, family friend Rahim Kahn brings Amirs truth to light. Like the line in Thy Brothers Blood, Truth can never be beguiled (Very, 4): eventually, veracity had to be spilled in orde r for Amir to face his betrayal and atone not just for [his] sins but for [his fathers] too (Hosseini, 231). Before this revelation, Amir only lived shrouded in the guilt and remorse of his actions towards Hassan; he had never apologized or tried to absolve himself. Rahim Kahn told Amir that Hassan had

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died, but a little part of him lived on (Hosseini, 232): Hassans orphaned son, Sohrab, was still alive in Afghanistan. Amir embarks on a quest to rescue Sohrab andas Very describeswash the hand that still betrays thy guilt (Very, 5). During Amirs expedition to retrieve Sohrab, he endures and surmounts life-threatening feats. He enters the side of Afghanistan he had never before seen: the Taliban inflicts ultimate fear, as people are aimlessly shot in the street, buildings are wasted and desecrated, and perceived wrongdoers are severely persecuted by stoningflogging[and] massacring (Hosseini, 287). In order to rescue Sohrab, Amir must confront a Taliban leader who has him held captivethis leader is none other than Assef, the man who violated and tortured Sohrabs father. Amir and Assef fight nearly to the death, as Amir receives a ruptured spleen punctured lung[and] busted eye socket (Hosseini, 300) after the fight. However, Amir is victorious and claims Sohrab from the Taliban. This violence has great significance: not only did Amir gain a new perseverance, greatness, and nobility about him after his victory, but also he has purged his sins. Amir felt he was deserving of being beaten: he wanted so long to be punished for his sins, and he had finally received penance. As Very says in his poem, the bloody stain (Very, 13) of guilt shall not be seen upon [his] hand again (Very, 14). Both The Kite Runner and Thy Brothers Blood both explore relationships between brothers and the regrettable decisions that can tear them apart. Although pain and guilt may linger for years, there is always a means of atonement. In both this novel and this poem, each brother absolves his sins after his siblings death. Although their deceased siblings may not be able to forgive the wrong committed against them, the brothers can now move on.

Works Cited Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. 2003. Pages 23-300. Print Very, Jones. Thy Brothers Blood. Poets of the English Language. Viking Press. 1950. Print.