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A STUDY OF FRIENDSHIP AS REFLECTED IN THE CHARACTER OF HASSAN AS SEEN IN KHALED HOSSEINI’S THE KITE RUNNER
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Yeni Oviana Mamanua 051214107
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
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Proverbs 23: 18
For surely there is an
end; and thine expectation
shall not be cut off.
Dedicated to:
My Beloved Lord, Jesus Christ
My beloved late Dad, Yonas Otto Mamanua
My beloved Mom, Endang Tri Sumbarini
My beloved Brother, Yopi Christhano Mamanua
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I praise my Lord Jesus Christ for His great blessing and gift by giving me this beautiful life and also for His love. I thank Him for being my true friend who is always by my side to face this life. I thank Him also for giving me those people around me who always love me and support me. Therefore I would like to express my gratitude to them.
First, I would like to thank Drs. L. Bambang Hendarto Y.,M.Hum., who has guided me patiently in the writing process of this thesis and has given me the time for consultation on this thesis until it is done. I also thank Sister Margaret and Father Lucianus Suharjanto for being my language consultants.
I thank Sanata Dharma University, mostly the English Language Education Study Program, for giving me a nice place to study. I also express my gratitude to all my lecturers who have shared their knowledge and experiences with me. I thank all the staff of Teachers Training and Education Faculty for the services given since I began studying in this university.
With lots of love, I thank my beloved parents, Yonas Otto Mamanua and Endang Tri Sumbarini for the great love and the great support they have given me every single day of my life. I thank them for the remarkable efforts they made in order to educate me. My gratitude also goes to my brother Yopi Christhano Mamanua for his prayer and for always asking about the progress of my study and also supporting me in finishing my thesis.
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thank all my classmates in English Language Education of 2005, especially Mami
Dini, Teteh Dita, Tim Tim, Mas Dudung, Cik Patrice, Andreas Aris, Rooma, Delfin, Anis, and Galuh. I thank them very much for giving me their support and friendship during my study time in PBI and for giving me motivation so I can finish my duty. I also thank them for the laugher, memories and togetherness that have colored my life.
My special thanks go to my dearest friend, Adi Prasetyo, who always stayed by my side through my ups and down and for the times we have shared together, for being patient with me, for every kindness that sometimes I am not aware of and for everything he has given to me and he has never take them back. Without his support, this thesis would be different.
Last but not least, I would like to thank everyone that I cannot mention one by one, who has given me support and attention in the process of writing this thesis. May God bless them all.
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CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE……….
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4.1 The Description of Hassan and Amir………...
x 4.2 The Meanings of Friendship for Hassan………..
4.2.1 Reasons for Regarding Amir as His Friend……….. 4.2.1.1 Showing His Gratitude……….. 4.2.1.2 Keeping His Status………. 4.2.1.3 Amir as His Only Friend……….... 4.2.2 The Ways of Maintaining His Friendship with Amir…………... 4.2.2.1 Honesty and Trust………..
4.2.2.2 Emotional Respect……….
4.2.2.3 Service and Loyalty………... 4.2.3 The Meanings of Friendship for Hassan..………...
4.2.3.1 Loyalty………...
5.2.1 Suggestions for the Implementation of Teaching Learning
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Process………... 5.2.2 The Implementation of Teaching Prose II Using Literary Work ………
BIBLIOGRAPHY………
APPENDICES………..
APPENDIX 1 Summary of the Novel………... APPENDIX 2 Biography of Khaled Hosseini……….. APPENDIX 3 Lesson Plan to teach Prose II……… APPENDIX 4 Questions for Discussions in Prose II……… APPENDIX 5 Picture of Khaled Hosseini………
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ABSTRACT
Mamanua, Yeni. 2009. A Study of Friendship as reflected in the Character of Hassan as seen in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.
This thesis analyses The Kite Runner, a novel written by Khaled Hosseini. The novel takes friendship as its main issue. The story is about friendship between Hassan, a Hazara servant and Amir. The problem arises when Amir wants to gain his father’s love. Feeling insecure in his placement in his father’s affection for Hassan, Amir creates a way to discredit Hassan and have him removed from the household, hoping that his father’s affections will turn to him alone. Amir accuses Hassan of stealing his watch and cash. After that incident, they are separated for twenty-six years. However, until his death, Hassan remains faithful to Amir and is never angry with him. He maintains his friendship with Amir.
The goal of writing this thesis was to know more deeply about the meanings of friendship for Hassan. To attain the goal, this thesis focused on two questions, namely: (1) How are Hassan and Amir described in The Kite Runner? (2) What are the meanings of friendship for Hassan?
The method which was applied to this thesis was desk study. The primary source was the novel itself, The Kite Runner. The secondary sources were obtained from several books on literature. I combined some theories of character, characterization, motivation and friendship.
This thesis employed the psychological approach which was aimed to describe the character of Hassan and Amir, to find out Hassan’s reasons for regarding Amir as his best friend, to find out his ways of maintaining his friendship with Amir and to understand the meanings of friendship for Hassan. Hassan’s behavior which remains the same after being betrayed by Amir contained certain motivation.
From the analysis I have found that Hassan is characterized as a diligent, loyal, caring and skillful. While Amir is characterized as a rich, nerd, coward and childish. The most important character from Hassan is loyalty. Since Hassan is a servant, he has always shown his loyalty to Amir. His loyalty is also reflected in his friendship with Amir. The meanings of friendship for Hassan cover three main points. They are reasons for regarding Amir as his best friend, the ways of maintaining his friendship with Amir and the meaning of friendship for Hassan. Reasons for regarding Amir as his best friend are Amir as his master, keeping his status and Amir as his only friend. Each of those reasons contained certain motivation and belongs to hierarchy of needs. The ways of maintaining his friendship with Amir reflects characteristics of friendship which are honesty and trust, emotional respect and service and loyalty. At last, the meanings of friendship for Hassan are showing loyalty, understanding, caring and sacrificing.
xiii ABSTRAK
Mamanua, Yeni. 2009. A Study of Friendship as reflected in the Character of Hassan as seen in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. Yogyakarta: Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Ilmu Keguruan dan Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini menganalisa novel The Kite Runner yang ditulis oleh Khaled Hosseini. Novel ini mengangkat tema persahabatan yang bercerita tentang persahabatan antara Hassan, seorang budak Hazara dan Amir. Permasalahan muncul ketika Amir ingin memperoleh kasih sayang ayahnya. Merasa tidak aman dengan keadaan ayahnya yang begitu mengasihi Hassan, Amir merencanakan untuk mengusir Hassan dari rumahnya, dengan harapan kasih sayang ayahnya hanya akan tertuju padanya. Amir menuduh Hassan mencuri jam tangannya dan uang tunai. Setelah kejadian tersebut, mereka terpisah selama dua puluh enam tahun. Meskipun begitu, sampai pada kematiannya, Hassan tetap setia kepada Amir dan tidak pernah sedikitpun marah terhadapnya. Hassan menjaga persahabatannya dengan Amir.
Tujuan dari skripsi ini adalah untuk mengetahui lebih lanjut mengenai arti persahabatan. Untuk mencapai tujuan tersebut, skripsi ini menitikberatkan pada dua pertanyaan, yaitu: (1) Bagaimana Hassan dan Amir dikarakterisasikan? (2) Apa saja arti persahabatan bagi Hassan?
Untuk mencapai tujuan-tujuan tersebut, metode yang diterapkan adalah studi pustaka. Sumber utama dalam skripsi ini adalah novel itu sendiri, The Kite Runner. Sumber-sumber lain yang juga saya gunakan dalam skripsi ini diperoleh melalui buku-buku tentang karya sastra. Saya juga menggabungkan beberapa teori karakter, pengkarakteran, motivasi dan persahabatan.
Skripsi ini menerapkan pendekatan psikologis yang bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan karakter Hassan dan Amir, untuk menemukan alasan-alasan Hassan menganggap Amir sebagai teman baiknya, dan untuk memahami arti persahabatan bagi Hassan. Sikap Hassan yang tidak berubah meskipun telah menerima penghianatan dari Amir menunjukkan beberapa motivasi.
Berdasarkan analisis saya menemukan bahwa Hassan dikarakterisasikan sebagai seorang yang rajin, setia, penuh perhatian dan cekatan. Karakter yang paling menonjol dari Hassan adalah kesetiaannya. Sejak dia menjadi seorang budak, dia telah menunjukkan kesetiaanya kepada Amir. Kesetiaanya juga terlihat dari persahabatannya dengan Amir. Arti persahabatan bagi Hassan mencakup tiga poin utama, yaitu alasan-alasan mengapa Hassan menganggap Amir sebagai teman baiknya, usaha-usaha Hassan untuk menjaga persahabatannya dengan Amir, dan arti persahabatan bagi Hassan. Alasan-alasan mengapa Hassan menganggap Amir sebagai teman baiknya adalah karena Amir adalah majikannya, untuk menjaga statusnya dan Amir adalah satu-satunya temanya. Masing-masing alasan tersebut mengandung motivasi dan termasuk dalam hirarki kebutuhan. Usaha-usaha Hassan menjaga persahabatannya dengan Amir merefleksikan karakteristik persahabatan yaitu, kejujuran dan kepercayaan, hubungan emosional, pelayanan dan kesetiaan. Pada akhirnya, arti persahabatan bagi Hassan adalah kesetiaan, pengertian, perhatian dan pengorbanan.
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of background of the study, objectives of the study, problem formulation, and definition of terms. The background of the study provides information of the topic of the study and the reasons for choosing the topic. The objectives of the study state the focus of the study. The problem formulation describes the problems formulated to make this study more directed. The last is definition of terms. It defines some crucial terms in order to avoid misunderstanding.
1.1 Background of the study
In one side of life, friendship can bring us so many life experiences. It means that friendship is a relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem, affection and respect along with a degree of providing a service to friends in times of need or crisis. A friend is someone who may often demonstrate reciprocating and reflective behaviors. For many people friendship is nothing more than the trust that someone or something will not harm them. Friendship is considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendship and association. The most important thing to maintain a good and healthy friendship is trust and honesty. Some of the characteristics of friendship are openness to our close friends, sharing what we want to share and giving support whenever it is needed.
Unfortunately, although every relationship has its capacity to grow into a self-actualizing third self, many do not realize their full potential. If fear or anxiety enters a relationship, there is often a retreat to every relationship has its capacity to grow into a self-actualizing third self, many do not realize their full potential. If fear or anxiety enters a relationship, there is often a retreat to safety needs and old pattern of relating.” (James and Savary 106). Thus, one needs a friend to help him develop himself because a good friend will give us an honest opinion and support based on what he sees as an outer person who realizes our potential. Friends can help us give a second opinion in developing ourselves. However if a friend feels hurt because of our honest opinion he may stay away from us.
In their book entitled The Heart of Friendship, James and Savary say that close friends like to save prime time for being together and that friendship brings out best and worst in people (140-160). We can also see that sometimes we really need a friend, to whom we could share our love, our feelings, our goodness or badness, our sorrow or happiness, and our thoughts or dreams. It is not easy to maintain a good friendship. If friendship was easy, there would be a lot more of it in the world. It touches almost every feeling and emotion; it calls forth imagination, will, power and action; it can challenge values, test ideas, nurture ideals. In short, we can say that friendship has a significant role in our life.
friend to us. This often takes courage and risk. In friendship, there is no insurance against failure, pain or disappointment. Friendship requires a candid person-to-person relationship of openness and trust, without exploitation and without the psychological games that people usually play (James and Savary 140-155).
In carrying out our friendship in life, the first important thing to understand is that every choice which leads to a certain action will cause consequences. It means that if we choose to build a close friendship and do an action of openness and trust to each other, then, we have to be prepared for the consequences as our openness or honest opinion may hurt our friends. However, as long as our openness and honesty are sincere and dedicated to support our friends’ potential development, presumably everything will be alright.
Paul Peterson states on his website that friendship has some characteristics which differentiate it from any other relationship. They are honesty and trust, emotional respect, and service and loyalty (Peterson 1). Firstly, honesty and trust are the most important since an honest affirmation to a friend can help him to be better. Secondly, emotional respect which deals with love, receiving, and understanding will give forth in the sense of understanding of each character, ways of thinking, emotional atmosphere and behavior. Thirdly, it concerns service and loyalty which refers to some helping action that we can do to our friend and be faithful.
thinking, opinions, expressions, even experiences in life. As a result, a novel can give the readers the knowledge about life or how people face the problem using their feeling and rationale.
The Kite Runner which is written by Khaled Hosseini is one of the novels that takes friendship as its main issue. The story is about friendship between Amir as the main character and Hassan, a Hazara slave. The problem arises when Amir wants to gain his father's love. After the death of his mother in child birth, he and his best friend, playmates and slaves are raised together, often almost like brothers with his father having a special interest in Hassan by providing him with gifts and special opportunities. Insecure in his placement in his father's affections, Amir decides to create a way to discredit Hassan permanently and have him removed from the household, hoping that his father's affections will then turn to him alone. One evening when defending Amir from a threat from Amir’s enemy, Hassan is sodomized by the enemy. Surprisingly, not long after that Amir accuses Hassan of stealing his expensive new watch. After those cruelties, Hassan and his father move back to Hazara’s town. Until his death, Hassan remains faithful to Amir and is never angry with him. He maintains his friendship with Amir.
1.2 Problem Formulation
Based on the previous description, there are three problems that can be formulated as follows
1.2.1 How are Hassan and Amir described in The Kite Runner? 1.2.2 What are the meanings of friendship for Hassan?
1.3 Objectives of the Study
This study aims to analyze the character of Hassan and the meaning of friendship for him as he always shows to Amir. Besides, this study is also to find out the reasons why he still regards Amir as his best friend after receiving some betrayal and the way he maintains his friendship till the end of his life, including what friendship means for him.
1.4 Benefits of the Study
The benefits of the study are to provide some beneficial information for everybody who reads this study especially for the readers and for the students who take the same study. First for the readers, they can learn many things about friendship including how to build good and healthy friendships and how to maintain them. Second is for the students who intend to have a study in literature, especially who have the same study. They can use this study as a reference.
1.5 Definition of Terms
1.5.1 Character
Character is the person, in a dramatic or narrative work, endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialog- and what they do-the action (Abrams 20)
1.5.2 Characterization
Henkel defines characterization as central to the fictional experience. The principle objective of the creation of the characters in novels is to enable the reader to understand and experience people (86). Thus in this study, characterization means the way the author presents the character.
1.5.3 Motive
Worchel and Shebilske define motive in their book Psychology Principles and Applications as the condition that energizes and directs the behavior of an organism (373). Thus, motive is something behind the action. Someone has a motivation in doing an action. In another word, there is no action without motivation.
1.5.4 Friendship
1.5.5 Hazara
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CHAPTER 2
REVIEW ON RELATED LITERATURE
The discussion is divided into two parts namely the review of related theories and theoretical framework. Review of the related theories gives brief explanation of the theories of critical approaches and the theories of literature such as theory of character, theory of characterization, and theory of friendship. Theoretical framework provides an explanation of how those theories are applied in analysis.
2.1 Review of Related Theories
This part presents the theoretical review which contains critical approach, theories of character, theories of characterization, theories of motivation and theories of friendship.
2.1.1 Critical Approaches
From those five approaches, the psychological approach is chosen to reveal the meaning of friendship for a person despite some betrayal that he has received. In Khaled Hosseini The Kite Runner, a friendship is presented by Amir and Hassan. They have different characters and personality that lead them into a peer relationship. This solid relationship drives Hassan to maintain his friendship with Amir. Therefore, some theories on friendship and character and characterization are needed.
The psychological approach employs theories of human psychology. People are developing from birth to death. People experience many things at certain ages and stages. As the framework of this study, the meaning of friendship is emphasized on seeing the reasons why the main character of The Kite Runner, Hassan, still maintains his friendship with Amir after twenty-six years and received some betrayals.
2.1.2 Character
In order to understand how a character in literary work is described, we need to understand the theory of character. Through this theory we will understand the character which is created in a work of literature.
things that could influence their thoughts, ideas, judgments about life and society (Abrams 20).
E.M Foster in Aspects of The Novel (46-51) says that character can also be categorized as flat or round. Flat character is introduced from the beginning until the end of the story in the constant condition and unchanged environment. The author can express the flat character just by one sentence and describes him completely. The advantage of this character is that the readers are able to recognize the character easily whenever he comes out. Since this character does not experience changes, it makes him easily to remember. While round character is more complex in temperament and motivation. Thus, an author will describe the character like real people who can give unpredictable actions.
Characters can mainly be categorized as major and minor characters. Henkle (88-97) states that major character is created to carry out ideas or messages in a story to readers through the character’s feelings, thoughts, actions, and reactions. Minor or secondary characters are those who appear in a certain setting as the background to support the major characters. He also says that we should pay our fullest attention to the major characters in order to comprehend the focal experiences of the novel. He adds that we build expectations and desires upon them to establish our values and to present convincing dramatizations of the human issues of the book. If they fail in their role then the book essentially fails.
may be introduced for some special purpose – to provide comic relief, to act as a mouthpiece for author, or to provide a foil through which some quality of the major character is emphasized (412).
In addition, Henkle (95-99) says that minor characters interact or have conflict with major characters in order to support the crucial roles of the major characters in the story. He also states that the minor characters are limited in ways that the major characters are not. They are generally less complex, or less intense, and drawn in shallower relief. Hence, their responses to the experience are less complex and interesting. Because of their limited human flexibility and range and of their eccentric mold of behavior, their function is to construct a composite picture of the human condition issued in the novel.
Each character in a story has its own characteristics. They have their own personalities and physical appearances that differentiate them from another character. Timmer and Sommers (411) say that a character is used in two senses in literature. First, is to identify the people who appear in the story, play, or poem; and second is to describe the personality of any of these people, especially those traits that affect the development of the work.
2.1.3Characterization
There are two things to be characterized, physical appearance and personality. A character’s physical appearance can be described directly. While a character’s personality can be conveyed through dialogs or actions.
Characterization can be applied into both direct and indirect ways. Each of them serves to show the reader the quality of the character told physically or psychologically. This quality will bring to the reader an image of the character that the author creates. Therefore the reader will have a figure of a character that the author creates and a figure of a character in his mind as to what the author wants.
Barnet, Berman, and Burto (71) in their book Literature for Composition state some important factors that must be considered when we want to see the characters involved in the story. Those are what the character says, what the character does, what other characters say about the character, and what others do.
What character says can give us a clue how the author describes him, for instance, whether he is a kind or bad person, educated or uneducated person, etc. It is different from what the character does which means by seeing what the character does, we are able to know whether he is from upper or lower class, he is a kind or bad person, etc. While what other characters say about the character is needed to get additional information and clear description about his character in the story. Whereas the action of others may help to indicate what the character could do but he does not do. It is very important to know this character such as lazy, wicked, careless person, etc.
2.1.3.1Personal Description
The author describes the character by a person’s appearance and clothes. Most of the time the way a person appears determines his character. Readers can recognize whether he is neat or sluggish, an executive or beggar, even when he is confident or feel inferior.
2.1.3.2Character as seen by others
The author describes the character of the person through the other’s eyes and opinion. Here the opinion may come from people around the person about his personality and daily life which can also determine his characteristics.
2.1.3.3Speech
The character is described by the author through what the person says in his or her conversation and in giving his opinion. What the person speaks is the clue of his character.
2.1.3.4Past Life
The author shows the person’s past life events that help the person in shaping his character. It is because some unforgettable moments in past life can cause some effects to the person’s future life even may change his character.
2.1.3.5Conversation of others
2.1.3.6Reactions
The author also describes the character through the person’s reactions to various situations and events. Here readers can get a clue whether the person is temperamental or patient, or whether he is a smart or slow thinker.
2.1.3.7Direct Comment
The author describes the character by giving direct comment on the person’s character. However, the author will not give a lot of direct comment other wise the novel will be boring and not interesting to read.
2.1.3.8Thoughts
The author directly gives what the person is thinking about to give a clue to the reader about the person’s character.
2.1.3.9Mannerism
It is the way how an author described the character through the person’s mannerism or habit which may tell the reader something about the character.
An author does not employ only one of the methods; rather he or she mixes one with the other methods in order to describe the characters’ traits. Therefore the reader will consider the characters that are described by the author as real people.
This knowledge of methods of characterization may help the readers to understand the characters. Moreover, by knowing the methods the readers can hopefully appreciate the literary work especially a novel (Murphy 173).
2.1.4 Motivation
person to do something continually toward the goal to achieve. “Motivation is broadly concerned with the temporary determinants of choice (direction), persistence, and vigor of goal-directed behavior (Beck 24).
Motivation appears when people want to fulfill their needs, for example, having friends. Stanton (17) states that a character has ‘reason for behaving or motivation’. This motivation is divided into two types, specific motivation and basic motivation. Specific motivation is the immediate reason, perhaps unconscious, for any particular speech or act. Basic motivation is an aspect of his general character.
To sum up, motivation is divided into two types, specific motivation and basic motivation. Specific motivation is only spontaneous motivation and basic motivation is a deeper motivation which is a mixture of some specific motivations. Specific motivation appears to support basic motivation, which has a deeper influence on the person to act.
To act one needs to have motivation either specific or basic one. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a good model for understanding human motivation which drives him to act. Maslow as quoted in Wikipedia proposes a hierarchy of human needs based on five basic aspects of life. Those five aspects are psychological needs, security needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs (Wikipedia). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs states that we must satisfy each need in turn, starting with the first, which deals with the most obvious needs for survival. Only when the lower order needs of physical and emotional are satisfied we move to the higher order needs of influence and personal development.
air, food, and sleep. Maslow believes that these needs are the most basic and instinctive needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met.
After physiological needs are fulfilled, the motivation will rise to the next level called security needs. These include needs for safety and security. Security needs are important for survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Security needs include a desire for security of body, steady employment, health, safe neighborhoods, and security of family.
The next level after security needs concerns social needs. These include needs for belonging, love, and affection from family, friend or people around us. Maslow considers these needs to be less basic than physiological and security needs. Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments and families help fulfill these needs for companionship and acceptance.
After the first three needs are satisfied, esteem needs become increasingly important. These include the need of confidence, achievement, respect of others and respect by others, and self-esteem. Then, the next needs are self-actualization needs.
Self-actualization needs are the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. If people respect us, we have greater power. Self-actualizing people are concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested in fulfilling their potential.
2.1.5 Friendship
A friendship means relation among people based on love, care, and affection between two or more people. We need friends in our life to help us to reach our dreams. We need to have good friends to be healthy emotionally in the process of maturing (Lund 9). Aristotle as quoted in Becker (388) divides friendship into some categories. They are a friendship based on utility, a friendship based on pleasure and a perfect friendship based on goodness.
Friendship based on utility is the worst friendship. It is because utility is an impermanent thing: it changes according to situations. So if the utility which becomes the ground of the friendship disappears, then the friendship will also break up.
Friendship between young people is thought to be based on pleasure. It is because most of young people’s behavior and thoughts are controlled by feelings and their main interest is how to get some pleasure. However, along with the age their experiences are various so that there is a great possibility that they will break the friendship because their efforts to get pleasure change.
However, a perfect friendship is based on goodness. Only the friendship of those who are good is perfect. It is because true friends love the other for what he is and not for any incidental value. Friendship of this kind is permanent because in that kind of friendship all the qualities that friends ought to possess are united.
intimacy. Besides, we need them to help us cope with stress and uncertainty, to take care of our physical needs and even to help us in the development of our personality.
Paul Peterson states on his website that friendship has some certain characteristics which differentiate it from any other relationship. They are honesty and trust, emotional feeling and service and loyalty (Peterson 1). Firstly, honesty and trust are the most important things because an honest affirmation or correction to a friend can help him to be better. This honesty is strongly linked to trust because sometimes we need to share confidential problems. One will not easily tell his secret to a stranger. Most of the time he will tell his secret or confidential problem only to someone close to him, the one whom he trusts and knows well. Friends will also give us an honest opinion about us and may sometimes give an honest and supportive praise.
Secondly, it is an emotional respect which deals with love, receiving and understanding. Emotional respect will give a strong support to a friendship because through love we will not leave our friend who is in trouble. A good friend will stay closer to us when nobody is near. This friend’s love will lead us to receiving and understanding, because a friend will help each other and receive him just the way he is. Through receiving, friendship gives forth, in the sense of understanding of each character, ways of thinking, emotional atmosphere and behaviors.
will give him an honest opinion to help him to change for the better. In friendship each individual can build his or her own feeling about friends. Beebe (439) states that friends are the sources of help and comfort in times of stress. The experience of friendship in life also gives us some contributions in making us into unique persons.
Friends will develop gradually in our life over time and in some stages. Not all friends are good friends. Some of them will be as an acquaintance, others as casual friends and other group will be close friend. Acquaintance concerns people whom we know about but we do not consider them as friends. We know them based on our occupation and daily activities. The communication only tends to be functional and superficial. We just talk with them about work, school, or what we will do over a holiday, but when we speak to them, we limit our self-disclosure to keep our feeling and attitudes to ourselves. Casual friend will be closer than acquaintance. We likely reveal personal information to them. We begin to do such things like studying, having a meal or going to a movie together. Casual friends will help one another in time of need. Close friends are near and dear to us. The communication and conversation will be highly intimate. The relation deals with and includes our emotional feeling. And we trust them more complete information to share about ourselves (Beebe 420).
2.2Theoretical Framework
This part describes some books and references that consist of theories employed to help analyze the novel. The theories support and strengthen the analysis. Each theory will be used to answer the specified questions that have been formulated in the previous chapter.
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CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
Chapter three is divided into three sections; they are objectives of the study, approach and procedures. The first section describes the novel used in this study. The second section focuses on the chosen approach that is used in the analysis. The third section concerns steps taken in completing the study.
3.1 Object of the Study
town. Until his death, Hassan still cares and thinks about Amir and is never angry with him. He keeps his friendship.
I would like to discuss three things in this novel. First, I identified the description of Amir and Hassan’s characters. Second, I discuss why Hassan still regards Amir as his best friend after receiving some betrayal. Third, is about how Hassan maintains his friendship with Amir till the end of his life.
3.2 Approaches
A certain approach is employed in analyzing a literary work to find out some aspects to discuss the study. It gives the writer background knowledge and helps to develop the analysis based on the problem formulation. In this study I will apply the psychological approach in the analysis to discuss the issue stated in the problem formulated.
According to Rohrberger and Woods (12) the psychological approach tries to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent patterns from the knowledge of psychology. Since the presence of friendship, which is the main topic in this study, is related to psychological aspects of human beings, the psychological approach is suitably employed in this study. This is to explain human motivation, personality, behavior or emotion. Since friendship deals with emotion and motivation the use of psychological approach is suitable in discussing the problem formulation.
3.3 Procedure
The second step was focusing my attention on reading about Hassan in the novel, taking some notes and some important points were highlighted. I obtained some information about Hassan both from direct comments and description given by the author, from what another character thought about Hassan, also from his dialog. I used all information about Hassan in my analysis to answer the first problem formulation that is how Hassan and Amir are described in the novel. Then, to answer the second problem formulation, I made use of marks, notes, and highlighted parts which I made, concerning the character’s dialog, behaviors and actions. I observed those problems by looking at direct description as well as indirect description of him.
Third, I looked for literary books that are related to my study and read them. Books about theory on literature and important points to consider about literature absorbed most of my attention. I read those books in order to stay in line on literature frame.
Fourth, I focused my analysis on the character of the novel by making use of psychological approach. I employed the bigger portion of psychological approach to analyze the second question in the problem formulation. In answering the first problem formulation I gathered information from the novel; from the author’s description. In answering the second question, I focused on his motivation which serves as a basis for his action which regards Amir as his best friend till the end of his life. Then, I analyzed how he maintains his friendship after all the betrayal that he receives.
action is conducted as a result of motivation from a person either the motivation comes from inside or outside the person. The books of personalities give explanation to analyze character and books of motivation were employed to observe the reason why certain action is conducted.
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CHAPTER 4
ANALYSIS
This chapter discusses the analysis of Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. It is divided into two sections. The first covers the analysis on Hassan and Amir, the major characters. The second section discusses the meanings of friendship for Hassan. It covers some aspects of motivations which drive him to carry out his friendship, including how he maintains his friendship with Amir and what the meaning of friendship is for him.
4.1 The Descriptions of Hassan and Amir
In Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, Hassan and Amir are major characters. They are the centre and play an important role in the story. They deserve the fullest attention because they have a crucial role in shaping and making up the story (Murphy 121). They appear from the beginning until the end of the story and the story itself is about their friendship.
They are friends since childhood and play together just like a real life-like person. They think, speak, and act as common people do. Those evidences lead me to a conclusion that they are the main characters in the story.
Additionally, Foster (46-51) states that the reader can identify and remember a flat character easily because of its simple image and does not experience changes. A round character is more complex in temperament and motivation. Thus, an author will describe the character like real people who can give unpredictable actions.
In order to understand more about characters in the novel, Murphy (161-173) proposes methods of characterization. Murphy explains that the author may reveal the characters traits to the readers through some of the nine methods of characterization. Those are personal description, characters as seen by other, speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions, direct comment, thoughts and mannerisms. In analyzing The Kite Runner, some of the nine methods of characterization are applied to convey the characterization of Hassan and Amir.
4.1.1 Hassan
Hassan is a flat character because he remains the same from the beginning until the end of the story. No matter what has happened to him because of Amir, he never changes. His personalities are still the same even after twenty-six years separated from Amir. Hassan is described as.
4.1.1.1 Diligent
Hassan is diligent and a good Moslem boy. Amir says that by the time he drags himself out of bed and lumbers to the bathroom, Hassan has already washed up, has prayed the morning namaz with Ami and has prepared his breakfast (Hosseini 23). Hassan never wakes up late because he begins his day with a prayer early in the morning. More over, Hassan never misses any of the daily prayers. Even when he is out playing, he will excuse himself, draw water from the well in the yard, wash up, and disappear into the hut. He will come out a few minutes later, smiling, and finds Amir sitting against the wall or perches on a tree (Hosseini 60). It is a very good habit because he has made himself disciplined to pray since he is a boy.
and Amir reads a story for him, he understands the changing tones of the story. Even sometimes he asks Amir some unique question or critics to the tale.
From his manner and opinion of others, it is clearly seen that Hassan is a diligent boy. He maintains his good behavior as a Moslem since he is a boy and always does his house work thoroughly.
4.1.1.2 Loyal
According to what Amir says about him, Hassan is loyal. “Hassan, never wanted to, but if I asked, really asked, he wouldn’t deny me. Hassan never denied me anything” (Hosseini 3-4). One example is when Amir asks Hassan to hit the one-eyed dog near their house. Though Hassan does not want to do it, if Amir asks, then Hassan will instantly do it. It seems that Amir’s word is his command or it may be because he loves Amir and does not want to disappoint him.
Another proof of his loyalty is when finally Amir wins the kite tournament. As an excellent kite runner, Hassan runs the cut kite for Amir. That cut kite will become the evidence of Amir’s victory in that tournament. He runs for the blue kite without any command from Amir. He knows exactly what to do. Before he runs further, he turns and said to Amir the memorable words “For you a thousand times over!” Then he smiles and disappears around the corner (Hosseini 59).
He also does not tell Baba or his father what had happened to him. He just keeps silent about the incident because he does not want Amir hurt. In that unfortunate situation he still defends Amir and shows his loyalty.
Further more, he is excellent in the way that he is incapable of lying. He is honest and always says what he thinks. For example, one day Hassan and Amir are chasing for a kite, Hassan cannot explain clearly how he knows for sure where the kite will land.
“How do you know?” I said “I know.”
“How can you know?”
He turned to me. A few sweat beads rolled from his bald scalp. “Would I ever lie to you, Amir agha?”
Suddenly I decided to toy with him a little. “I don’t know. Would you?” “I’d sooner eat dirt,” he said with a look of indignation.
“Really? You’d do that?”
He threw me a puzzle look. “Do what?” “Eat dirt if I told you to, “I said. ….
“If you asked, I would,” he finally said, looking right at me. I dropped my eyes. To this day, I find it hard to gaze directly at people like Hassan, people who mean every word they say (Hosseini 47-48).
Hassan’s last answer reflects his honesty and loyalty to Amir. He tries to give Amir a clear answer, but he himself finds it difficult to explain because it is his instinct which tells him where the kite will fall.
raspy voice:” Yes” (Hosseini 91). This event once again is another evidence of Hassan’s unbelievable loyalty.
It can be concluded from Hassan’s behavior and Amir’s opinion that Hassan is loyal. He shows his great loyalty to Amir several times without hoping for anything in return.
4.1.1.3 Caring
Hassan always defends Amir since the first time Amir and Hassan love to play together. When Ali, his father, used to catch them and get mad when Amir asks Hassan to fire walnuts with his slingshot at the neighbor’s one-eyed dog, Hassan will mumble, looking down at his feet, but he never tells that it is Amir’s idea (Hosseini 4). His kindness to Amir reflects his care like a brother who will defend his siblings.
Besides always hiding Amir’s faults or naughty ideas from his father and Baba, he always defends Amir when they play outside. When a neighborhood boy teases Amir, he steps in and fends them off (Hosseini 20). He never lets Amir get hurt or disappointed. His care leads him to be very protective over Amir. He protects Amir not only from the neighborhood boys but also from any uncomfortable feelings. Like what happens one night when Kabul is firstly bombed, and neither of them understands what is happening in that chaotic situation. He tries to calm Amir down and relieve his fear and anxiety. In that situation he asks,
“Amir agha” “What?”
My smile broadened. That was another thing about Hassan. He always knew when to say the right thing” (Hosseini 33).
He tries to relieve Amir’s fear by reminding him of their joy when climbing their tree up the hill. What Hassan does for Amir is much more than a servant’s job. He gives Amir his understanding and kindness. From his behavior, it seems that he always wants to make sure that Amir is in a good condition. Thus, he will do anything or say something to give Amir a secure feeling.
What Hassan does to Amir shows that he is also mature for his age. Even though on the night of the bombing he himself feels fearful inside that “republic” will send him and his father away, still he tries to relieve his fear and Amir’s. What he does is merely based on his care and understanding. Furthermore, the morning when the kite tournament will be held, Amir speaks to him in a rude tone, but Hassan understands that it is just because Amir is nervous. When they are ready to fly the kite and Amir suddenly does not want to do it, Hassan tries to give him support.
Then he stepped toward me and, in low voice, said something that scared me a little. “Remember, Amir agha. There’s no monster, just a beautiful day.” How could I be such an open book to him when, half the time, I had no idea what was milling around in his head? I was the one who went to school, the one who could read, write. I was the smart one. Hassan couldn’t read a first-grade text book but he’d read me plenty. That was a little unsetting, but also a comfortable to have someone who always know what you needed.
“No monster,” I said, feeling a little better, to my own surprise. He smiled. “No monster.”
He closed his eyes. Nodded (Hosseini 53-54)
Another event that reflects Hassan’s care is when finally Amir starts to speak to him again and asks him to climb the hill. However, when they arrive at the hill, instead of reading some story to Hassan, he hits him many times with a pomegranate. However, Hassan is still Hassan. He does not even hit back. He just stands still when Amir hits him like he is a firing squad. When Amir falls on his knees, tired, and frustrated,
Then Hassan did pick up a pomegranate. He walked toward me. He opened it and crushed it against his own forehead. “There,” he croaked, red dripping down his face like blood. “Are you satisfied? Do you feel better? He turned around and started down the hill. (Hosseini 81)
What he does with the pomegranate is a mixture of many feelings. In that behavior, it is clearly seen that he gives in to Amir. It happens as a result of his care and understanding characteristics. He understands that Amir is depressed so he hits him like a crazy man. He does not hit Amir back because again, he does not want Amir hurt.
Based on his behavior and comments of others, it is noticeable that Hassan is a caring person and always defends Amir. He always supports Amir and gives him a secure feeling to face anything in front of him.
4.1.1.4 Skillful
I turned and came face to face with Hassan’s slingshot. Hassan had pulled the wide elastic band all the way back. In the cup was a rock the size of a walnut. Hassan held his slingshot pointed directly at Assef’s face. His hand trembled with the strain of the pulled elastic band and beads of sweat had erupted on his brow.
“Please leave us alone, Agha,” Hassan said in a flat tone. He’d referred to Assef as “Agha”, and I wondered briefly what it must be like to live with such an ingrained sense of one’s place in a hierarchy.
Assef gritted his teeth. “Put it down, you motherless Hazara.” “Please leave us be, Agha,” Hassan said.
Assef smiled, “Maybe you didn’t notice, but there are three of us and two of you.”
Hassan shrugged. To an outsider, he didn’t look scared. But Hassan’s face was my earliest memory and I knew all of its subtle nuisances knew each and every twitch and flicker that ever rippled across it. And I saw that he was scared. He was scared plenty.
“You are right, Agha. But perhaps you didn’t notice that I’m the one holding the slingshot. If you make a move, they’ll have to change your nickname from Assef ‘the Ear Eater’ to ‘One-Eyed Assef’, because I have this rock pointed at your left eye.” He said this so flatly that even I had to strain to hear the fear that I knew hid under that calm voice (Hosseini 36-37).
At that time, Hassan is very frightened to meet Assef but still he gathers his courage to say some words and points his slingshot to defend Amir.
In addition to his skill of slingshot he is also an excellent kite runner. He is excellent because he always knows for sure where the cut kite will fall.
“But Hassan was by far the greatest kite runner I’d ever seen. It was downright eerie the way he always got to the spot the kite would land
before the kite did, as if he has some sort of inner compass” (Hosseini 46). Hassan will run to a certain direction right after he sees a cut kite in the sky. Like what happens in the kite tournament when Amir successfully cuts his last rival’s kite, Hassan runs to get the cut kite before it lands and bring it home.
4.1.2 Amir
In Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, Amir is portrayed as a round character. He experiences several significant changes specifically in his friendship with Hassan. His new environment brings him to a personality change. He tends to change from the beginning to the end of the story. Amir is rich. He loves reading books and he is also a coward. Thus he seems dependent on his father. In the novel Amir is described as:
4.1.2.1Rich
Physically, it is obviously seen that Amir comes from the upper class. For example, one evening when he is looking for Hassan in the market, one of the merchants says that he is too high to look for only a Hazara. “He eyed me up and down. “What is a boy like you doing here at this time of the day looking for a Hazara?” His glance lingered admiringly on my leather coat and my jeans-cowboy pants, we used to call them. In Afghanistan, owning anything American, especially if it wasn’t second hand, was a sign of wealth” (Hosseini 61).
Besides, Amir thinks that everyone agrees that Baba builds the most beautiful house in Wazir Akbar Khan district, a new and affluent neighborhood in the northern part of Kabul. Some people even think that it is the prettiest house in all of Kabul.
“A broad entryway flanked by rosebushes led to the sprawling house of marble floors and wide windows. Intricate mosaic tiles, handpicked by Baba in Ishafan, covered the floors of the four bathrooms. Gold-stitched tapestries, which Baba had bought in Calcutta, lined the walls; a crystal chandelier hung from the vaulted ceiling.” (Hosseini 4)
As a successful businessman, Baba builds that house to give his family a comfortable place to live. Ali, Baba’s servant, helps him to keep the house clean and beautiful. Owning that beautiful house, they do not need to hire a ballroom to hold Amir’s birthday party.
Further more, just like any other rich businessman, Baba also has his luxurious car. He drives his black Ford Mustang- a car that draws envious looks everywhere because it is the same car Steve McQueen drives in Bullitt, a film that played in theatre for six months (Hosseini 23). As we know, one who can buy a luxurious car like in the movie is from the high-class people. It is because most of the time, those cars are imported and sold in limited edition. From Amir’s personal description, manner, and opinion of others we can draw a conclusion that Amir comes from a high-class family living in Kabul. Every side of his life reflects his wealth.
4.1.2.2Nerd
to become a novel writer later when he grows up in California. “I was never much into those, but the novels, the epics- I started spending my allowance on books” (Hosseini 17). He rarely goes outside to play with his friends, but spends most of his time reading books in his room or sometimes he takes a walk with Hassan to the hill and reads there under the pomegranate tree. Since Hassan is illiterate Amir always reads some interesting novels to Hassan and they discuss them together.
However, Baba does not like Amir’s hobby. Baba says that “…he’s always buried in those books or shuffling around the house like he’s lost in some dreams” (Hosseini 19). It is because Baba thinks that as a boy, Amir has to play outside with their neighborhood boys or play soccer, not only reading books.
Here, based on Amir’s speech and Baba’s opinion it can be concluded that Amir loves reading books very much. In the future his hobby leads him to be a famous novel writer in California.
4.1.2.3Cowardly
According to Baba, not only reading books makes Amir different from any other boys at his age, he is also a coward.
Even on the evening when Hassan is threatened by Assef, Wali, and Kamal, he does not do anything to protect Hassan. “I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost. The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn’t. I just watched. Paralyzed” (Hosseini 64). Then, after Amir sees with his own eyes that Hassan has been raped by Assef, he realizes that he has one last chance to make a decision. He can step into that alley and do something to defend Hassan or run away.
“In the end, I ran. I ran because I was coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt. That’s what I told myself as I turned my back to that alley, to Hassan. That’s what I made myself believe. I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (Hosseini 68).
Amir himself admits that he is a coward. He does not dare to defend Hassan though he knows what will happen next. He is afraid of being hurt. Thus, instead of saying something to help Hassan, he just moves back and leaves Hassan.
Based on opinion of others, his speech and his acts, Amir can be categorized as coward. As a boy he has no courage even to defend himself, he seems to depend on Baba and Hassan.
4.1.2.4Childish
I want you to go away” (Hosseini 77). When he says that, he wishes Hassan would break the door open so he will feel better. However, Hassan does not do anything so Amir falls on his bed, buries his head under the pillow and cries (Hosseini 77). Amir’s feeling of guilt and regret grows bigger day after day. When finally he asks Hassan to go up to the hill to read him story, he says:
“What would you do if I hit you with this?” I said tossing the fruit up and down.
“What would you do?” I repeated
The color fell from his face. Next to him, the stapled pages of the story I’d promised to read him fluttered in the breeze. I hurled the pomegranate at him. It stuck him in the chest, exploded in a spray of red pulp.
“Hit me back!” I snapped. “Get up! Hit me!” I said.
I hit him with another pomegranate, in the shoulder this time. The juice splattered his face. “Hit me back!” I spat. “Hit me back, god dam you!” I don’t know how many times I hit him. All I know is that, when I finally stopped, exhausted and panting, Hassan was smeared in red like he’d been shot by a firing squad. I fell to my knees, tired, spent, frustrated. (Hosseini 81)
Amir’s behavior in the hill shows that he is too childish to overcome his feelings of stress and frustration. However, what he does is merely because he has no courage to admit that it is his fault that Hassan is raped and he does nothing to help and he cannot express his feelings. He becomes more depressed when Hassan is still kind to him and never does anything to blame him. Hassan’s loyalty causes him to feel more depressed.
chooses a short way out by sending Hassan away instead of apologizing for his mistakes to Hassan. At that time, Amir understands that he betrays Hassan and realizes that he loves Hassan more than anyone else (Hosseini 92).
Amir realizes the feelings of regret that Hassan knows everything about his betrayal. He understands that at that time when he accuses Hassan of stealing his new-expensive watch and some cash, he feels a strange feeling that actually he is happy. “He had told him everything, about what Assef and his friends had done to him, about the kite, about me. Strangely, I was glad that someone knew me for who I really was; I was tired of pretending.” (Hosseini 92) Though Amir does everything too far to defend himself from his own fault and unrevealed guilt, a little bit part of his heart understands the depth of the pain he causes. When Hassan and his father finally leave the house to go back to their land, Amir’s cowardice again does not let him fix the trouble he makes.
“I was sorry, but I didn’t cry and I didn’t chase the car. I watched Baba’s car pull away from the curb, taking with it the person whose first spoken word had been my name. I caught one final blurry glimpse of Hassan slumped in the backseat before Baba turned left at the street corner where we’d played marbles so many times” (Hosseini 95).
From his speeches it can be concluded Amir cannot overcome his feelings of regret and becomes unfriendly to Hassan. His unfriendly behavior shows that he is childish and cannot rise above his problem wisely.
4.2 The Meanings of Friendship for Hassan
4.2.1 Reasons for Regarding Amir as His Friend
Based on Stanton’s theory of Motivation, a character has ‘reasons for behaving or motivation’. This motivation is divided into two types, specific motivation and basic motivation (17). Here, Hassan has the basic motivation which drives him to do all the things for Amir. Basic motivation is a deeper motivation which is a mixture of some specific motivations. Hassan’s specific motivations are showing his gratitude, Amir as his only friend, and keeping his status.
4.2.1.1 Showing His Gratitude
The first reason why Hassan still keeps his friendship with Amir is that Amir is showing his gratitude to Amir as his master. Here, as a servant it is shameful not to do what his master asks. Even as a servant he has no right to deny what his master wants him to do. Hassan always does what Amir asks. For example, when they sit in the poplar tree in the driveway of Amir’s house, Amir asks Hassan to fire walnuts with his slingshot at the neighborhood’s one-eyed German shepherd. Hassan never wants to, “but if Amir asked, really asked, Hassan wouldn’t deny him. Hassan never denied him anything” (Hosseini 3-4). Since Amir is his master, Hassan will do almost everything for him.
He lets Hassan watch movies in the cinema together with Amir and brings him to Saifo, the famous kite maker, to have his kite. Besides, Baba never forgets to give him a birthday present which the best is he brings him Dr. Kumar from New Delhi, a plastic surgeon to fix his hare lip (Hosseini 39-40). As we know, to have a surgical operation will cost a lot of money and as a servant it is almost impossible to pay. From what Baba does for Hassan it is clearly seen that Baba tries to give Hassan the best he can. Those treatments affect Hassan very much and that is why he regards Amir as his best friend.
His first reason also becomes his motivation to carry out all the good things to Amir. It can be seen from theory of motivation proposed by Maslow that his condition belongs to the second level of hierarchy of motivation which is safety needs. Safety needs which among them covers a desire of steady employment and shelter from the environment drives Hassan to do almost everything that Amir wants to keep him in a safety place. Hassan’s status as a Hazara person puts him in an insecure position. Safety and security is vital for survival.
4.2.1.2 Keeping His Status
Pasthun and Sunni. That religious condition brings a distance to them since Pasthun has higher status than Hazara.
As a Hazara servant who receives good treatment from his master, automatically Hassan will do whatever it takes to keep his status and to show his thanks to his master. One way to show his thankful is by carrying out his household duties diligently. In the morning he begins his day by praying the morning namaz with Ali and then prepares Amir’s breakfast neatly on the dining table. When Amir complains about his homework, Hassan has made Amir’s bed, polishes his shoes, irons his outfit for the day and packs his books and pencils (Hossesini 23). He does all of his duties happily and sometimes with an old Hazara song.
Analyzing his second reason for regarding Amir as his best friend, Hassan’s reason can be categorized also in the second level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs which is security and safety needs. His motivation to keep his status affects him to do his best for Amir. There is a possibility that if he does his best besides to show his gratitude to Amir and Baba, he will also keep his status as a servant. What he does in keeping his status reflects his efforts to fulfill his needs of safety and security which take account of security of employment, morality and property.
4.2.1.3 Amir as His Only Friend
During his twelve years of childhood with Amir, Hassan has no other friend except Amir. Though Hassan and Amir sometimes play together outside, but Hassan has no other friend. It may be because he is a Hazara boy and the people around him in Kabul are Pasthun who have higher status. Hassan spends most of his daily life with Amir even sometimes their entire childhood seems like one long lazy summer day.
..chasing each other between tangles of trees in my father’s yard. Playing hide and seek, cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, insect torture-with our crowing achievement undeniably the time we plucked the stinger off a bee and tied a string around the poor thing to yank it back every time it took flight.
One summer day, Amir uses one of Ali’s kitchen knives to carve their names on a tree:” Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul”. Those words make it formal that the tree is theirs. After school, Hassan and Amir climb its branches and snatch its blood red pomegranates. Then, Amir will read Hassan a story (Hosseini 24). All of those happy times bring Hassan to experience beautiful times as a Hazara boy.
The feeling that he only has one friend drives him to keep his friendship with Amir. Since he has only one friend he will not hurt his friend and do almost anything to make Amir happy to be with him. His sense of belonging affects him to do all of the good things to Amir. He is always the one who can protect Amir especially when they play outside (Hoseeini 37). Most of the time he also tries to make Amir happy with him.
The reason that Amir is his only friend takes Hassan to keep his friendship even after receiving some betrayal from Amir. If we take a look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Hassan’s third reason can be categorized in the third level which is love and belonging needs. In this third level which covers the needs of friendship and family Hassan put his efforts and loves to Amir and their friendship. Here, in his third reason Hassan put his motivation for regarding Amir as his best friend one level upward from the two previous reasons. It is because he feels that his needs of safety and security are fulfilled by respecting Amir as his master and keeping his status.
4.2.2 The Ways of Maintaining His Friendship with Amir
described in the novel that Amir and Hassan never experience any quarrel between them except the most painful betrayal that Amir does to Hassan. It is unbelievable that one can maintain a friendship after a betrayal if he does not have a perfect friendship which is based on goodness as what Aristotle as quoted in Becker (388) states that a true friend loves the other for what he is and not for any incidental value. Friendship of this kind is permanent because in that kind of friendship all the qualities that friends ought to possess are united. In this part of discussion, Hassan’s ways of maintaining his friendship with Amir are seen from the characteristics of friendship. Peterson (1) states that they are honesty and trust, emotional respect which deals with love, receiving and understanding and service and loyalty.
4.2.2.1 Honesty and Trust
What Hassan does to maintain his friendship reflects some characteristics of friendship stated by Peterson (1). The first characteristic of friendship which is clearly shown by Hassan concerns honesty and trust. They are the most important things because an honest affirmation or correction to a friend can help him to be better. Here, Hassan never lies to Amir (Hosseini 47-48) and he trusts Amir. He trusts at the time when Amir actually creates his own story instead of reading the book for Hassan (Hosseini 29). He always has a good thought about Amir.
“Amir agha and I are friends,” Hassan said. He looked flushed (Hosseini 63-64).
Despite what Assef says is true or not Hassan trusts Amir. He trusts that Amir regards him as his best friend, not a pet. And what Assef says does not affect his loyalty to Amir. He still does not give the blue kite to Assef because it is for Amir (Hosseini 64).
What Hassan does for Amir reflects his honesty and trust, one of the characteristics of friendship that is important in making a good friendship. Honesty and trust are important elements in friendship since through honesty and trust one can measure the quality of friendship. It is also important because honesty is closely linked to trust and together they build a base of friendship to be strong and healthy. One will try to be honest with his close friend in giving affirmation or correction in order to develop his potency and character. He will also trust his friend to share his feelings whenever he wants to. In summary, honesty and trust are strongly needed in building a good quality of friendship. 4.2.2.2 Emotional Respect
love for Amir affects him greatly in almost everything that he does for Amir. His love also motivates him to have the feelings of receiving and understanding. He receives Amir just the way he is. He loves Amir since they grow up under the same roof and yard and because Amir treats him not like any other servant.
Besides, his feeling of receiving and understanding appear because Amir is not violent, but he tends to be a coward and afraid of getting hurt (Hosseini 19), and so Hassan always defends him. Hassan’s feelings of love, receiving, and understanding bring a comfort feeling to Amir. In the morning before the kite tournament Amir admits that he feels it comfortable to have someone who always knows what he needs (Hosseini 54). On the night of the bombing, for example, Hassan asks Amir to climb their tree and read a tale under it (Hosseini 33) and before the kite tournament when he feels fear and anxious, Hassan gives him some support by telling him that there is no monster (Hosseini 53-54) so that Amir will feel better and confident to fly his kite.
4.2.2.3 Service and Loyalty
Besides honesty and trust and emotional respect, other characteristics of friendship stated by Peterson (1) are service and loyalty. Here service refers to some helping action that we can do to our friends. Service may also appear when our close friend wants to share his feelings or problems and we play our role as a good listener to him. While loyalty means that a friend will not speak badly about him when he is not around.
In the novel, Hassan shows service and loyalty not merely because he is a servant and it is his duty to serve Amir but what Hassan does is more than what a usual servant will do. For example when Amir eats and complains about his homework, Hassan listens to him. He sings to himself in the foyer as he irons, singing an old Hazara song in his nasal voice (Hosseini 23) and also he always defends Amir many times when they play outside (Hosseini 20). Everything that he does is sincere. It seems that he does all things for Amir because he is his true brother. What happens at the bombing night when Hassan tries to remind Amir of their favorite things in order to calm him down shows that he wants to gives Amir a secure feeling like a brother to his younger (Hosseini 33). Even though they actually are half-brothers, Hassan dies without ever knowing this truth. His loyalty when keeping the cut kite at the tournament shows he is not only a Hazara servant, but a true and faithful friend.
