A STUDY OF AMIR’S DISLOYALTY TO FRIENDSHIP WITH 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
Robertus Vembry Mahartantyo 061214157
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
A STUDY OF AMIR’S DISLOYALTY TO FRIENDSHIP WITH 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
Robertus Vembry Mahartantyo 061214157
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswi Universitas Sanata Dharma: nama : Robertus Vembry Mahartantyo
Nomor Induk Mahasiswa : 061214157
demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul
A STUDY OF AMIR’S DISLOYALTY TO FRIENDSHIP WITH HASSAN AS SEEN IN KHALED HOSSEINI’S
THE KITE RUNNER
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan. Dengan demikian, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data,
mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta izin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Yogyakarta, 30 September 200 Yang menyatakan,
“Everytime I get into silence, I am
transforming into a new shape ready to
move on”
Dedicated to: The Air I breathe everyday
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express thanks to my only Lord Jesus Christ for having been good to me. I thank Him for His blessings during many moments I have been
passing until today. Without His given silences, I will not make my life.
Firstly, I would like to thank Drs. Bambang Hendarto, M.Hum. who has mostly guided me in composing this thesis. I would like to thank him for giving
me supports. I would not get this thesis done well both in the content and the language without his assistance. My gratitude also goes to Bapak Sasmoyo Hermawan, S.Pd. I would not know my grammatical mistakes without his help. Also, this deep gratitude is for all PBI Lectures and Staffs who have been part of my life for the past four years as a student of Sanata Dharma University. I have
been having a great life as Sanata Dharma University family member.
Secondly, I would like to say thanks to my parents. They have been so patient waiting for my progress in doing this thesis even though sometimes the
progress was not good to hear.
Thirdly, I believe that my struggle in making this thesis is also because of
my dearest friends’ help, namely, Onel, Yan, Mbak Ophie, Yola, Lucy, Mas Kenthung, my cousins, Kimberly and all of my PBI friends. I thank them all because of the place, the time and motivation that they all have given me so that I
me in a form of this thesis. They are such irreplaceable heroes of this university,
indeed.
Last but not least, I would like to thank everyone that has prayed for me
regarding both for my thesis progress and life. I can feel that they have been sincerely good by praying for me. May God bless them all.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ……… i
PAGES OF APPROVAL ……….. ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ……….. iv
PAGE OF DEDICATION ………... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………. vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………. viii
ABSTRACT ……….. xii
ABSTRAK ……….. xiii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ………. 1
1. 1 Background of the Study ……….. 1
1. 2 Problem Formulation ………... 4
1. 3 Objectives of the Study ……… 4
1. 4 Benefits of the Study ……… 4
1. 5 Definition of Terms ………... 5
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW ON RELATED LITERATURE ……… 7
2.1 Review of Related Theories ……… 7
2.1.1 Critical Approaches ………... 7
2.1.2 Character ……… 8
2.1.4 Motivation ……….. 12
2.1.5 Friendship ……….. 12
2.1.6 Family ………. 15
2.1.7 Children ………16
2.1.8 Historical Background of Afghanistan ……….. 18
2.1.8.1 The People ……… 18
2.1.8.1.1 The Pashtuns (The real Afghans).. 19
2.1.8.1.2 The Hazaras ……… 20
2.1.8.1.3 Sunni and Shia in Afghanistan 22 2.1.8.1.4 Situation between Pashtuns and Hazaras in Afghanistan…………. 24
2.2 Theoretical Framework ……….. 25
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ……….. 27
3.1 Object of the Study ……… 27
3.2 Approaches ……… 28
3.3 Methodology ………. 29
CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS ……… 32
4.1 Description of Relationship between Amir and Hassan..……….. 32
4.1.1 The Relationship between a Master and a Servant….. 33
4.2.1 Family factor ………..……… 44 4.2.1.1 Hassan’s true position in Amir’s family ….. 46
4.2.1.2 Baba’s treatment to both ……….. 49 4.2.2 Social factor ………..……… 53
4.2.2.1 The Pashtuns and The Hazaras in
Afghanistan ………... 54 4.2.2.1.1 The General Trait of The Pashtuns
and The Hazaras……….. 54 4.2.2.1.2 Sunni and Shia in
Afghanistan ………. 59 4.2.2.1.3 The Socialization among the Pashtuns
and the Hazaras in
Afghanistan ………. 60
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS …..………….. 65 5.1 Conclusions ………..…... 65
5.2 Suggestions ………..……….. 68 5.2.1 Suggestion for Future Researchers ……….. 68 5.2.2 Suggestions for the Implementation of Teaching
Learning Process ……….. 68 5.2.3 The Implementation of Teaching Prose II Using
Literary Work ………. 70
APPENDICES ……….….... - APPENDIX 1 Summary of the Novel ……….. -1- APPENDIX 2 Biography of Khaled Hosseini ……… -6-
ABSTRACT
Mahartantyo, Robertus Vembry. 2010. A Study of Amir’s Disloyalty to Friendship with 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.
Friendship is built when some people realize that they can find joy and happiness in a relationship. However, friendship can also go unwell. Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner tells about a friendship between two main characters, Amir and Hassan. The friendship is broken because Amir acts disloyally to Hassan when Hassan is in need of his assistance. Amir’s disloyalty is quite severe.
This thesis is aimed to answer the two problems formulated, namely: (1) how is the relationship between Amir and Hassan described? and (2) how could family and social factors influence Amir’s disloyalty to Hassan?
This study used library reasearch. There are two sources of data used in this study namely the main sources and the secondary sources. The main source is Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. The secondary sources are psychological books, historical books, and some related articles from the internet. This study used psychological approach and the sociocultural-historical approach because they deal with Amir’s disloyalty which is related to the psychological concepts and sociocultural-historical background.
Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that the relationship among Amir and Hassan can be categorized into three types. They are relationship between a master and a servant, a Pashtun and a Hazara, and friends. These three types of relationship do not work well among them. There are factors which trigger Amir to be disloyal. Those are family and social factors. The family factors reveal Hassan’s true position in Amir’s family and Baba’s treatment to Amir and Hassan. The social factors discuss how the general traits of the Pashtuns and the Hazaras are, how Sunni and Shia in Afghanistan like, and how the socialization among the Pashtuns and the Hazaras happen.
ABSTRAK
Mahartantyo, Robertus Vembry. 2010. A Study of Amir’s Disloyalty to Friendship with Hassan as seen in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Persahabatan terjalin ketika orang – orang menyadari bahwa mereka dapat menemukan kegembiraan dan kebahagiaan dalam sebuah hubungan. Namun begitu, persahabatan juga dapat berjalan dengan tidak baik. Novel The Kite Runner menceritakan sebuah persahabatan antara dua karakter utama, Amir dan Hassan. Persahabatan tersebut hancur karena Amir berlaku tidak setia pada Hassan ketika Hassan memerlukan bantuannya. Ketidaksetiaan Amir tergolong parah.
Tujuan dari skripsi ini adalah untuk menjawab dua pertanyaan, yaitu: (1) Bagaimana hubungan antara Amir dan Hassan digambarkan? (2) Bagaimana faktor keluarga dan sosial dapat mempengaruhi ketidaksetiaan Amir terhadap Hassan?
Skripsi ini menggunakan metode studi pustaka. Ada dua sumber data yang digunakan dalam skripsi ini, yaitu sumber utama dan sumber lain tambahan. Sumber utama dari skripsi ini adalah nove The Kite Runner. Sumber – sumber tambahan lain adalah buku – buku psikologi, buku – buku sejarah, dan beberapa artikel dari internet yang berkaitan. Skripsi ini menggunakan pendekatan psikologis dan sosial budaya dan sejarah karena keduanya berkenaan pada ketidaksetiaan Amir yang mempunyai hubungan dengan konsep psikologis dan latarbelakan sosial budaya dan sejarah.
Berdasarkan analisis, dapat disimpulkan bahwa hubungan antara Amir dan Hassan dapat simpulkan bahwa hubungan antara Amir dan Hassan dapat dikategorikan kedalam tiga jenis. Mereka adalah hubungan antara seorang majikan dan seorang hamba, seorang Pashtun dan seorang Hazara, dan antar teman. Ketiga jenis hubungan ini tidak berjalan dengan baik di antara mereka. Terdapat faktor – faktor yang memicu Amir untuk menjadi tidak setia. Mereka adalah faktor keluarga dan sosial. Faktor keluarga mengungkap kebenaran akan posisi Hassan yang sebenarnya dalam keluarga Amir serta perlakuan Baba terhadap Amir dan Hassan. Faktor sosial membicarakan hal – hal berupa seperti apakah watak orang – orang Pashtun dan Hazara pada umumnya, seperti apakah Sunni dan Shia di Afghanistan, dan seperti apakah pergaulan antara orang – orang Pashtun dan Hazara terjadi.
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 a nation, there are obviously several ethnics which live within. Nowadays, ethnicity is a tool used by most people to decide how they should
behave to others. The problem occurs when people from one big ascendant tribe perceive themselves living a higher status than other minor tribes. An ethnic can
oppress and torture minor ethnics in a form of slavery because its members are bigger in numbers and power.
Afghanistan is a republic country where different ethnic groups live there,
like the Pashtuns and the Hazaras. The separation between two major tribes, the Pashtuns and the Hazaras, is really obvious (Hosseini 5). Most of the Pashtun are having a prosperous life with their own family and are educated. Their gap with
what happens in Afghanistan. Some historical books say that the Hazaras mostly
become servants of Pashtun families. They are employed by the Pashtuns and taught to be loyal and silent. In the novel entitled The Kite Runner, it is portrayed
that the Hazaras live a low social class status which makes them suffer from many Pashtuns’ inhuman treatment. By looking at the background of the tribes’ relationship fact, it becomes clear that there are somehow invisible walls blocking
them to live a kinship wholeheartedly. The Pashtuns have presecuted and oppressed the Hazaras because they are both Shia Muslims and Mogul
descendants (Hosseini 8-9). Hence, the Pashtuns could possibly think to break their social relationship with the Hazaras by behaving rudely to the minority.
The Kite Runner reflects a bitter life reality in which people are admitted
by the society only if they come from the massive and powerful tribe. According to Milligan (3-4), a work of literature is close to reality in life hence it can portray such an ethnical issue. It can assist a reader to reflect numbers of things as they
really are. Readers can find many similar events to their real private experiences when reading. By writing a novel, an author is attempting to speak up his way of
thinking, opinions, expressions, even experiences in life. Ultimately, a work of literature like novel can provide its readers the lesson about life and how the characters within the story solve the trouble using their reflection of feeling and
rationale.
The story of The Kite Runner rises up a theme of friendship to disloyalty
remains stable until Amir accidentally knows that his father, Baba, does not seem
to fully accept him as a son because of Amir’s unusual character as a boy. However, Baba is really attracted to their low servant, Hassan. Amir directly feels
threatened by Hassan even though actually he is glad of Hassan’s loyal personality and his outstanding self-sacrifice to him. One day, Hassan is blocked by a group of Pashtun boys urging to ask for a precious kite Hassan dedicates to
Amir. Hassan meekly gets sodomized merely because of his persistence in keeping the kite. Amir is actually there at the moment, but he does not have any
courage to act. Since that day, Amir does not want Baba to know that Hassan is so brave to defend his kite because Baba’s love to Hassan will grow even more if he does. Hence he plants a watch and money to allege Hassan a robber. Hassan, then,
leaves with Ali (Hassan’s foster father). Since then, Amir gains all of Baba’s heed but cannot escape from Hassan’s figure shadowing and recalling him to the guilty he has made viciously.
The Kite Runner is interesting to discuss because Amir, as one of the main
1.2 Problem Formulation
Based on the previous description, there are two problems that can be formulated as follows.
1.2.1 How is the relationship between Amir and Hassan described?
1.2.2 How can family and social factors influence Amir’s disloyalty to Hassan?
1.3 Objectives of the study
The first objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between
Amir and Hassan in The Kite Runner. The second objective is to explain how Amir’s family situation and social condition around him can trigger his disloyalty
to Hassan.
1.4 Benefits of the study
The benefit of this study is firstly on the writer’s self. The writer can gain an important value of life which is called disloyalty. The writer can explore more on how a disloyalty occurs and what can become the factors of someone betraying his closest friend. By knowing these factors, the writer can learn to be careful while engaging in a friendship to avoid disloyalty.
Secondly, for readers in general, they can learn many things about causes of destructed relationship including how it processes to happen in a relationship,
even the closest one. Thirdly, the students of PBI can also gain the benefit from this study because they can use this study as a reference if they are conducting
relationship among Afghan’s ethnic groups is developed, as additional
information.
1.5 Definition of terms
There are some terms in this study that need some clarification to avoid
misunderstanding. They are defined as follows. 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 dialogue-and what they do-the action (Abrams 20). Throughout one’s actions dialogue-and speeches in the novel, it can be discovered how profound his personal quality is. The process of knowing the personal quality will become so much help of finding personal description of a character.
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
1.5.4 Friendship
In The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychology, friendship is defined as a special, familiar and highly valued type of human social relationship
(Manstead and Hewstone 250).
1.5.5 Disloyalty
In The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychology, disloyalty is defined as the condition or an instance of being unfaithful or violation of allegiance or duty, as to a government (Manstead and Hewstone 250).
1.5. 6 The Pashtuns
The Pashtuns are people living in Afghanistan and Pakistan numbering an
estimated 13 million. In Afghanistan they inhabit an area extending from north of Jalalabad to Qandahar and westward to Sabzawar. They believe in Sunni Mulisms
and speak the Pashto language belongs to the eastern subgroup of the Iranian branch of the Indo-European family (Musawi 3).
1.5.7 The Hazaras
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW ON RELATED LITERATURE
The discussion is divided into two parts namely 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, theory of friendship and disloyalty, and historical background of Afghanistan. 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
According to what Rohrberger and Woods Jr. (6-15) have proposed, there
are five types of critical approaches used to analyze a work of literature. First is the formalist approach that searches only on the work based on its aesthetic value. Secondly, the biographical approach is an approach in understanding a work of art
through the biography of the author. Third is the sociocultural-historical approach that sees a work of literature which is referenced on sociocultural-historical
Fourth is the mysthopoeic approach that uses myth beyond the work of art as the
reference. Fifth is the psychological approach works which is based on the psychological theories. The psychological approach explores a work of art by
using some psychological theories as the framework.
The psychological and sociocultural-historical approaches are chosen as tools applied in this study, particularly in revealing the factors why Amir can turn
into someone disloyal to his best friend.
2.1.2 Character
In order to understand how a character in literary work is described, we need to understand the theories of character. Through these theories we will get
the understanding about the character which is portrayed in a work of literature. Characters experience many things that could influence their thoughts, ideas, judgments about life and society (Abrams 20). They seem to have the same
dynamic emotion which can be seen through their speech and action. Abram adds that characters have some characteristics which are similar with human beings’.
Sometime it comes to them to get angry, and to show some moral and social values that ultimately become their motivation in saying and doing something.
E. M Foster in Aspect of The Novel (46 – 51) says that character can also
be categorized as flat or round. Round character is introduced from the beginning until the end of the story in a inconstant and changed environment. The author can
way (Forster 54). A character can change his personality description by acting and
saying something crucial.
According to Henkle (88 – 97), characters can mainly be categorized as
major and minor characters. He 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. In the other side, minor or secondary characters are those
who only appear in a certain setting to support the major characters. Henkle says
that it is necessary for us to pay a heed to the major characters in order to
understand the novel profoundly. As an addition, he says that we build
expectations and desires upon them to establish our values and to present
convincing dramatizations of the human issues of the book.
Once again, these theories of characters are used in this study on a purpose
to interpret real human life characters which are used by an author in his own
novel. We use them by logically and possibly analyzing the novel’s characters
with our skills of personal interpretation.
2.1.3 Characterization
Rhorberger and Wood Jr. in Reading and Writing about Novel (20) define
characterization as the process by which an author creates character, it is the
devices that he makes the readers to believe a character in the particular type of
person he is. An author does this way to make a stereotype of someone existing in
According to Murphy (161 -173), there are nine methods by which the
readers can understand the character. They are:
2.1.3.1 Personal Description
The author describes the appearance of a character in details such as the
face, the skin color, the hair, etc.
2.1.3.2 Character as seen by others
The author describes the character of the person through the other’s eyes
and opinion. There the opinion may come from people around the person about
his personality which can also determine his characteristics.
2.1.3.3 Speech
The author gives the readers some clue about the character through what
the character says.
2.1.3.4 Past Life
In certain events of the character’s past life, the readers will know the
characteristic of him/her. Here we learn that a character’s past experiences,
particularly those which are really meaningful can cause several effects to the
person’s future life even may change his character.
2.1.3.5 Conversation of others
Through the conversations done by other people, the readers will know
2.1.3.6 Reactions
The readers will know what kind of person the character is by seeing how
he/she reacts to various situations in the story. The readers here can conclude if a
person is temperamental or patient and etc.
2.1.3.7 Direct Comment
The author gives direct comment to the character. However, the author will not give lots of direct comment otherwise the novel will be uninteresting to deeply read.
2.1.3.8 Thoughts
The author directly gives what a person is thinking about. By knowing
what in the character’s mind, the reaers will know his characteristic.
2.1.3.9 Mannerism
The author creates the character’s behaviors where each and every one of the behaviors will show the characteristic of the character. A person’s habits of
idiosyncrasies may also tell us something about someone’s characteristic.
Murphy (161) also adds that characterization is the presentation of the
characters’ personalities including their attitudes, appearance, motives, and actions, which are created to be life like. This is in order that the ideas of what kind of people they are in the story are conveyed to the readers.
have some differences. It means that we use these theories by trying to know how
the author characterizes his characters’ personalities and characteristics.
2.1.4 Motivation
Beck explains that motivation is a factor that causes a 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). Then it is clear that motivation
always appears when people want to fulfill their desire, for instance, having parents’ attention.
Motivation itself is divided into two types i.e. specific motivation and
basic motivation (Stanton17). Specific motivation is merely a spontaneous one and basic motivation is a more profound motivation which is a compilation of several specific motivations. The role of specific motivation is to support the
basic, which shows a deeper influence on the person to act.
These motivation theories are relevant to the topic of disloyalty because it
is related to a character named Baba in the story of The Kite Runner. Baba’s motivation in treating his children unfairly gives Amir a strong influence to be disloyal to Hassan.
2.1.5 Friendship
Aristotle as quoted in Becker (388) divides friendship into several categories. They are friendship based on utility, friendship based on pleasure and
Friendship based on utility is considered the worst one. If people base their
relationship on utility, it is doubted that the relationship will last forever or even in a long period. Utility always changes based on our own circumstances. The
poorest thing is if we realize the utility is gone, then we will logically end the relationship because we find no reason to continue it any longer.
The other form of friendship is the one which is based on pleasure.
Sometimes when someone meets someone else having the same hobby, they will
excitingly become friends because they find that the pleasure always give them a
time or chance to see each other either frequently or seldom. Most of people who
are included in this kind of friendship are those who are still at a young age. Most
of youth’s behavior and thoughts are controlled by feelings and their main interest
is how to get some pleasure. However, as they are getting older, they find that
experiences they have in life are various and suddenly they feel that there is no
other reason to meet their friends anymore. If the interest of pleasure is changed,
the friendship will also be broken down.
A perfect friendship is then based on goodness. Only the friendship of those who are good is perfect. A true friend loves the other for what he is and not
for any incidental value. This kind of friendship is permanent because in that kind of friendship all the qualities that friends ought to possess are united.
Further, there are some reasons why relationship has to be ended up. One of the worst problematic things is betrayal. Before understanding a betrayal, it is necessary for us to comprehend the characteristics of friendship itself which are
According to him, the first characteristic concerns honesty and trust. These are two important things which tend to appear among two friends relationship. They are linked because sometimes we need to share confidential problems. A person will not become so easily to trust anyone except to somebody he knows very well. He will only tell about his personal problem to certain people close to him.
The second characteristic includes emotion and feeling. Friendship will be a relationship which is colored with emotional respect namely love and care. A friend will offer a strong support felt differently by the other friend than a support from someone else he does not get close too much. Instead, a good friend will stay closer to us when nobody is near. We will gain so much understanding and receiving which lead us to a relief. Through receiving, friendship gives forth, in the sense of understanding of each character, ways of thinking, emotional atmosphere and behaviors.
The third characteristic concerns service and loyalty. A friend will do some helpful action when he sees his friend falling. The action can even be a little
effort of helping such as being ready to listen to our friend when they need us. A helpful action will show how far we can understand our friend on what he needs. The loyalty here means that we always stick around someone no matter how badly
people tell about him. If he is even really an annoying person, then what we are to do is to help him change for the better. As an addition, Beebe (439) states that
friends are the sources of help and comfort in times of stress.
breach or violation on those characteristics, most especially on the third
characteristic telling about loyalty and service. By acting disloyal, it can somehow hurt our friend’s feeling particularly when we do the disloyalty at the time when
he needs us so badly.
These friendship theories are relevant to this study because the writer sees a disloyalty as a breach or violation of friendship’s characteristics. A breach of
service and loyalty will be just the same as acting disloyal.
2.1.6 Family
Every person has been born in a family. This starts from a relationship and intercourse of two people namely a father and a mother. A father and a mother
grow and educate their child using whatever life moral and emotional values they have in mind. Dr. Murray Bowen argues that a family is an emotional unit and uses systems thinking to describe the complex interactions in the unit (Bowen
theory, web). His theory continues that it is the nature of the family that its
members are intensely connected emotionally. Family members so profoundly
affect each other’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. Therefore, people solicit each other’s attention, approval and support and react to each other’s needs, expectations, and distress. Bowen gives example that once a person takes too
much responsibility for the distress of others in relationship to their unrealistic expectations of him, they will feel anxiety. This anxiety can cause family
According to Moira Eastman in Family: The Vital Factor, families are one
of the most valued aspects of life, and membership of a family is associated with personal happiness. It can be understood here that family is one of the factor
having a big influence on its member’s personal happiness. The reason why it is the most valued aspect of life is that because a child’s personality and behavior are formed inside a family by the sufficiency of the happiness.
2.1.7 Children
According to Kagan in Child Development and Personality, interactive experiences with other children facilitate cooperate play later on (qtd. in Mussen et al 189). It means that children who like to meet each other and having
communication will naturally determine their own play. Mussen et al adds that it is a play that brings children together and provides a setting for the formation and maintenance of social relationships, including friendships (426). It seems here that
play time can bring a positive effect among children that they will find somebody else out to whom they can share time and enjoyment of thing.
Beside, Lewis and Saarni as quoted in Child Development and Personality suggest that thoughts and memories, and even previous emotional experiences, can also elicit feelings, particularly as children get older (408). Petti in the same
book adds that depression is associated with family disruption and loss or unpredictability of important people in the child’s life (416).
relationship between two children and covers it with the description of culture and
race. There are some opinions suggested by some authors regarding the relationship between children and races.
Bogardus as quoted in Milner’s Children and Race reasserts that the origins of racial prejudice lay in ‘direct’ and ‘derivative’ personal experiences (22). Direct experiences are explained to involve either physical repulsion due to
appearance, smell, habits, living environment or social behavior. The derivative experiences are the second-hand experience and attitudes culled from friends,
relations, public speakers, newspapers, and the like. Therefore, it can be seen now that rejection of someone else comes from two different ways. Bruno Lasker’s opinion in his book Race Attitudes in Children as quoted by Milner gives a
reassertion that how the child is certain to have his mind canalized, even before he starts going to school, into habitual acceptance of the prevailing (racial) attitudes of the group within which he lives. Based on the study of development done by
Lasker, the average child is made to notice outer differences and to accept them as signs of inner differences in value. Furthermore, he identifies the role of the
parents in transmitting attitudes, by accident or design, and the importance of the school, and other social institutions in reinforcing the children (Milner 23).
Milner divides the number of factors which account for discriminating;
there are obvious physical and cultural differences between racial groups which may be used as a reason for discriminating; there can be real or perceived
may pre-dispose them to this kind of behavior; and (iv) the participants in the
discrimination are often not known to each other, so there is no real social relationship to mitigate the discrimination (41).
Milner also explains that children inhabit social realities such as the home, the street, the school and the recreation ground with correspondingly few identities (65). Starting from the existence of those social realities, Milner
continues that children absorb an idea of their standing in terms of qualities, that is, a rudimentary sense of identity.
Related to the culture of the Pashtuns in Afghanistan Paul Hockings (Ed) says that a Pashtun man tends to be indulgent toward their children culturally (Encyclopedia of World Cultures 232).
2.1.8 Historical Background of Afghanistan
2.1.8.1 The People
According to Jamalludin Ahmad (37) in his book entitled Afghanistan: A
Brief Survey, the people of Afghanistan are mainly of the original Indo-European
stock that has absorbed various other racial elements. They are a fine, healthy, manly race of hardy, clean-living, abstemious mountaineers. The unending
struggle with the forces of nature, the position, climate and nature of the country, the pastrol life and the historical influences have all tended to develop remarkable
qualities of resistance endurance and self-confidence.
of ready obedience to those, whom they elect to place in authority over
themselves, coupled with an intolerance of domineering. They may be led but never driven (Jamalludin Ahmad 38).
According to Tate in The Kingdom of Afghanistan: A Historical Sketch, Afghanistan population can be divided into three main big tribes namely the Pashtun (the real Afghan), the Hazara, and the Tajik (14). This thesis concerns
only to the two first tribes of Afghanistan. The followings are their explanation. 2.1.8.1.1The Pashtuns (The real Afghans)
The Pashtuns, also called Pathans, are an Eastern Iranian ethno-linguistic group with population primarily in Afghanistan and in the North-West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan provinces of
Pakistan. The Pashtun are typically characterized by their usage of the Pashto language and practice of Pashtunwali, which is an ancient traditional code of conduct and honor (Miller 1-2). The Afghans pride themselves on their nomadic
proclivities, and on those qualities, which they complacently regard as military virtues, but which others may stigmatize, with good reason, as brutality (Tate 15).
It seems that not all tribes in Afghanistan who are cultivators of the lands they occupy can use Pashto language. Tate (15) further makes clear of this fact by stating that the name Afghans (the Pashtuns) are applied to the tribes collectively,
and also to the pastoral tribe among them only. For over 250 years, Pashtun people have reigned as the dominant ethnic group in Afghanistan. Peshawar,
population or 13.3 million people (Miller 3). Tytler suggests that chief among the
peoples of Afghanistan are the Pathans or true Afghans, rulers of the country, and principal element in its diverse population (48). It means that the massive
Pashtuns vote for themselves to be declared a leader of the people of Afghanistan. Even the kings of Afghanistan have not ever been chosen from other tribes beside Pashtun (Miller 1).
Tate explains that individuality has a greater field for its expression among Afghans than among other races (16). The Pashtun’s character seems to be
thoroughly tough. It is a pride for them to take a success by their own hand. As can be observed from the story of The Kite Runner, Baba, as a Pashtun, is recognized and honored by many people in Kabul because he has made his own
success (Hosseini 15).
The overwhelming majority of Pashtuns follow Sunni Islam, mainly the Hanafi School (One of the former schools in Afghanistan). A sizable minority
population of Shi’a Muslim Pashtuns exists in eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan.
2.1.8.1.2 The Hazaras
The Hazaras are a Persian-speaking people who reside mainly in the
Hazarajat region. They seem to have partial Mongolian origins with some admixture from surrounding indigenous groups. They speak a dialect of Persian which is known as Hazaragi. It is commonly believed by many Afghans that the
the area and remaned there after the Mongol empire dissolved in the 13th century,
converting to Islam and adopting local customs (Miller 24).
According to History of Afghanistan: From The Earliest Period to The
Outbreak of The War of 1878 written by Colonel G. B. Malleson, it is said that
The Hazaras are Tartars by decent, simple-hearted, and differ much from the the Pashtuns (44). Tytler in his book entitled Afghanistan: A Study of Political
Developments in Central and Southern Asia reasserts that the Hazaras are honest,
courageous, good natured, and simple. He adds that the Hazaras make excellent
servants, first rate soldiers and cheerful laborers (57). Furthermore, Malleson explains that the Hazaras are from whom the Afghan artillery is principally recruited (45). So, as the assumption of the Hazaras is taken, they are hardy,
strongly built and industrious, and the ranks of servants and laborers throughout the country are recruited from them (Tate 15).
Based on an official census numbers from the 1960’s to the 1980’s, as well
as information found in mainly scholarly sources, the Encyclopedia Iranica gives a list showing that the Hazaras gained 8,0 % of the entire numbers of the Afghans.
They are even smaller than the Tajik who own 33,7 % of the Afghans. The next census of Afghan tribes was conducted by CIA in 2006 and reported on the CIA World Factbook. It says that the Hazara’s total percentage was around 9 %. The
increasing number of the Hazara’s population is just around 1 % if we observe it from 60’s. The most recent fact of tribes population as reported by Miller was
that the Hazaras could only increase their population number to 10 % after the last
number in 2006 which was 9 % (Miller (Ed.) 29-30). According to Frederic P. Miller, a sizable Hazara communities can only be found in Pakistan, Quetta and as
well as Iran (24).
Unlike most Afghans the Hazaras are Shias, who have often set them apart from their neighbors. The physical traits of the Hazaras have also rendered them
easily distinguishable. They do not coalesce socially or politically with either the Tajiks or the Pashtuns. They are located to the west of the road from Kandahar to
Kabul.
2.1.8.1.3 Sunni and Shia in Afghanistan
A book entitled Afghanistan of the Afghans explains that the State religion
in Afghanistan is Islam. The Majority of the inhabitants belong to the Sunni sect, while the Afghans of Persian origin, the Hazaras, and the Afghan Turis of the Kurram border are Shiahs (Shah 210). In Modern Afghanistan, Shah adds that the
State religion is Islam of the Hanafi School, but freedom of worship exists for all religions and sects (263). A paragraph of sufficient information about some
religion regulation in Afghanistan is quoted as follow:
killed, for preaching the gospel of the Ahmedi sect. The whole really meant that there was no religious toleration in Afghanistan.” (Shah-b Modern Afghanistan 211-212)
Malleson explains that the women of Moghol (Mongol) origin (including
the Hazara) go unveiled (44), which is one of the causes makes Sunni and Shia go different way. There is information which can be retrieved from the web showing that firstly Sunni and Shia differ in the point of religious belief. Shia Muslims
believe that the Imam is sinless by nature, and that his authority is infallible as it comes directly from God. Therefore, Shia Muslims often venerate the Imams as
saints and perform pilgrimages to their tombs and shrines in the hopes of divine intercession. Sunni Muslims counter that there is no basis in Islam for a hereditary privileged class of spiritual leaders, and certainly no basis for the veneration or
intercession of saints. Sunni Muslims contend that leadership of the community is not a birthright, but a trust that is earned and which may be given or taken away by the people themselves (What’s the difference between Shia and Sunni Muslims,
web by Huda).
According to Huda, former the leaders of Sunni Muslim that finally had been chosen by the Sunni alone made some traditions (hadith) and spiritual life of
the Prophet’s life by their own perspective. Shia people, until now, reject those things because they believe that religious practices do not base on the testimony of
Muslim through all over the world to the Battle of Siffin (Shi’a-Sunni relations,
web).
To understand the separation among Sunni and Shia better, Pierre Tristam
gives us an additional explanation. He thinks that, at heart, Sunnis and Shiites are like Catholics and Protestants in the commonality of some fundamental beliefs. But their differences, especially in nations where the Sunni-Shiite split is
exacerbated by each other's proximity (as in Iraq and Lebanon), run so deep that intolerance and violence shadow the two groups, making coexistence difficult
(The Difference between Sunnis and Shiites, web). Tristam’s statement is reasserted by Jeff Stein, the author of an article in the New York Times on October 17, 2006 who says that in a remotely similar discord between Catholic
and Protestants but far more lethal vein, the 1,400-year Sunni-Shiite rivalry is playing out in the streets of Baghdad, raising the specter of a breakup of Iraq into antagonistic states, one backed by Shiite Iran and the other by Saudi Arabia and
other Sunni states (Can you tell a Sunni from Shiite?, web).
Afghanistan has 84 % of Sunni followers comparing the 15 % of the
Shiite. As how Catholic and Protestants cannot get along until now, Sunni (the Pastuns) and Shia (the Hazaras) experience the same situation because of doctrinal and historical differences (The Difference between Sunnis and Shiites, web).
2.1.8.1.4 Situation between the Pahstuns and the Hazaras in Afghanistan
between the two tribes is not pretty good and safe. Assef, one of the notorious
characters in the story gives us small information of the situation between them. He says that Afghanistan is the land of Pashtun. It always has been, always will
be. He asserts that he is the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, and not Hassan, a “Flat Nose”. Assef thinks that Hassan people pollute his watan (homeland). The Hazaras has dirtied the Pashtuns’ blood. In the end he states that Afghanistan is
only for Pashtun. And that is his big vision (Hosseini 36).
The Hazaras are just casted away and forced to stay in a restricted area like
Hazarajat (Hosseini 37-38). Tytler (57) explains clearer in his book about what has happened between the Pashtuns (the true Afghans) and the Hazaras during the history. He explains that the Hazaras differ radically from the Afghans, with
whom they have been constantly at feud, and retain many of the traits of their Central Asian ancestors.
The Pashtuns have tortured the Hazaras until the fact now, like what the
web says, Sunni Muslim gain 80 % of their population which far more enormous than Shi’a Muslim population 19 % (Afghanistan, web).
2.2 Theoretical Framework
This study focuses on the discussion about Amir’s disloyalty to Hassan.
To reveal the factors which influence Amir to be disloyal to Hassan, firstly it is needed to know what kinds of relationship that they have and how they live the
In order to discuss the kinds of relationship Amir and Hassan have, the
theories of character and characterization are needed. These theories first assist to determine how a character acts based on their personality and self-character.
Further, kinds of the relationship Amir and Hassan can be possibly explained by knowing each character’s act and trait. These theories are asserted by some other theories namely theory of children, theory of friendship and theory of motivation
which make the explanation on each kinds of relationship clearer.
In order to analyze the first factor of Amir’s disloyalty, two theories are
used in this thesis. Theory of character, characterization, family, children and motivation are used in analyzing the family factor of why Amir is disloyal to Hassan. The social factor of Amir’s disloyalty to Hassan is entirely discussed
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
Chapter three is divided into three sections. First is object of the study. The
second section focuses on the chosen approaches which are used in this analysis. The third section concerns the steps taken in completing the study.
3.1 Object of the study
The object of the study is a novel by Khaled Hosseini entitled The Kite
Runner. It was originally written in English and first published in Great Britain
2003. The novel has been translated into many languages like Indonesian. This study used the original English version which was published in 2004. The novel
has 324 pages in 25 chapters.
The story of The Kite Runner tells the reader about fraternity of Amir and
Hassan, two young Afghan children who have been grown up together. They are friends. However, there are some threatening fundamental things shadowing their strong relationship. The problem pops up when Amir knows that his father, Baba,
never really cares much about what he has done. He thinks that Baba hates him because he causes his mother died when giving birth to him. Instead of admiring
his own son, Baba prefers to take a heed on Hassan, a low Hazara servant but one full of loyalty, guts, struggle and strength. Amir feels threatened by Hassan's existence. His inconvenience begins to be worse when in one evening Amir
children group in Kabul. Amir finds himself a complete figure of cowardice not
able to stand for his best friend. He fully realizes that Hassan plunges into that situation for his best Pashtun friend alone. The kite which Amir has been longing
for a long time is a key to his Baba's heart. Hassan has helped Amir a lot. However, not long after that, when his fear of losing Baba grows rapidly, he accuses Hassan for stealing his new high-priced watch by planting it in Hassan's
room under his pillow. Hassan leaves the household because of the wrong allegation. Amir realizes later on that he has done a cruelty to Hassan. He finds
himself not able to live peacefully until he becomes a mature one despite his strong effort to forget what he has done.
3.2 Approaches
In this study I will apply the psychological approach and the socio historical approach in the analysis to discuss the issues stated in the problem
formulated. Rohrberger and Woods Jr. (12) in Reading and Writing about Literature state that the psychological approach tries to locate and demonstrate
certain recurrent patterns from the knowledge of psychology. As the main topic in this study is disloyalty that deals with emotion, motivation, personality and behavior are related to psychological aspects of human beings, the use of
psychological approach is suitable in discussing the problem formulation.
Concerning to the socio historical approach, Rohrberger and Woods Jr.
has something to do with analyzing civilization, and it means that it concerns to
the society including the condition of the society and historical background of the story. It encompasses the attitudes and actions of specific people that a work of
literature takes as a subject matter. Therefore, it can help this thesis in finding the causes of disloyalty by the society and historical background themselves.
The combination of the two approaches above are considered appropriate
as this thesis attempts to find the relationship between the novel, the main figure’s character, and the society history reflects in the story.
3.3 Methodology
There were some steps in analyzing this novel. The first step was reading
the novel for several times to understand carefully the whole story. At one chance of reading I put my attention on Amir and Hassan’s relationship and the factors which may cause Amir’s disloyalty to Hassan.
The second step was focusing my attention on the focus discussion which was unraveled through problem formulation. The first one was about Amir and
Hassan’s relationship. I tried to search any information that directly and indirectly provide information about these two main characters particularly their relationship. In the process of analyzing their relationship, I gave some questions
on opinion about Amir and Hassan’s character to those who have ever read the story. I obtained some information about Amir and Hassan mostly both from
instead. I took some notes and some important points were highlighted. I used all
information about Amir and Hassan in my analysis to answer the first problem formulation that was how Amir and Hassan’s relationship was described in the
novel. Then, in the purpose of answering the second problem formulation, I made use of marks, notes, and highlighted parts which I made, concerning the characters’ dialog and narration, actions and thoughts.
Third, I continued to work on literary books that are related to my project. I went through some new fields new for me namely History, Psychology and
Letter. I went to Mrican and Paingan Sanata Dharma library to find worthy input about psychological theory such as theory of children, motivation, family and character and characterization. I also went to Gajah Mada University Centre
Library to look for several important books talking about Afghanistan’s historical background, most particularly in the Hatta Corner. Books about theory on the history of Afghanistan, its people, its state religion and important points about
Sunni and Shia absorbed most of my attention a lot because they contain sort of sensitive interesting issue to discuss today. I needed to be careful of what I read
and depended thoroughly on my mind to filter any misled information.
Fourth, I focused my analysis on the character of the novel by making use of psychological and socio historical approach. I employed only one approach i.e.
psychological approach to analyze the first problem formulation. I focused on the analysis on Amir and Hassan’s relationship. In answering the second problem
approaches to answer the second problem formulation. The basis of the
psychological approach was Amir and Hassan’s relationship and the family factors. And the basis of the socio historical approach was the historical
background of Afghanistan.
Fifth, I tried to compare my analysis to some points in the previous theories to ensure that it matched. Finally, I made a conclusion about the analysis
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 description of Amir and Hassan, the major characters and the relationship. The second section discusses
the factors which influence Amir to be disloyal to Hassan. It covers family and social factor which trigger Amir to be disloyal to Hassan.
4.1 The Description of the Relationship between Amir and Hassan
Every novel has always been written with the importance of characters in
it. They have the important point that makes up the plot of the novel. Abrams says that characters are the persons who are life-like, portrayed in a story and
interpretable by the reader from their speeches, dialogues and actions (20). In the novel of The Kite Runner we can see that Amir and Hassan are two major determining characters of the story. Murphy (121) says that a major character has
a crucial role in shaping and making up the story. A touching relationship of the two Afghan kids forms the plot of The Kite Runner. This shows that both of the
children are clearly the major characters.
According to what Foster has stated, there are two sorts of character (46 – 51). Amir is a round character based on Foster’s theory. In the beginning, he feels
fine with Hassan’s existence as his loyal, beloved and closest friend. However, he then becomes so intruded by Hassan because of his worry if Hassan will take
loves him so much and ready to do anything as he wishes upon him. It is Amir’s
feelings, thoughts, and actions changing which make him considered a round one. Hassan himself is a flat character because of his unchanged act of loving Amir as
his dear friend during the story.
The relationship of Amir and Hassan can be observed from three main things. Those are between a master and a maid, a Pashtun and a Hazara, and the last is friends. This following explanation will encompass those three aspects of Amir and Hassan’s relationship.
4.1.1 The Relationship between a Master and a Servant
According to Murphy (161 -173), there are nine methods by which the readers can understand the character, one of them is by the character’s speech. Amir is a young boy who comes from a royal family in Kabul, Afghanistan. He is a son of Baba, a successful trader that owns some businesses. Baba is known as one of the richest merchant in Kabul. Baba and his close friend, Rahim Khan, build a massive carpet exporting business, two pharmacies and restaurants (Hosseini 13). It is said that Amir and Baba have the prettiest and huge house in 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)
In taking care of both his beautiful house and daily needs, Baba, like what can be seen in a life of a royal family, hires some people. He needs some people
sweeping the house and else. Baba has two servants who are in charge of such
jobs. They are Ali and Hassan.
Hassan is indeed a maid in Amir’s family as it is generally described that
he has to help Ali in taking care of Baba’s house. He prepares Amir’s needs every day and doing it as a maid daily. Hassan makes Amir’s bed, polishes his shoes, irons his outfit for the day, and packs his books and pencils (Hosseini 26).
As a servant, Hassan is loyal to his master, Amir. Amir once says: “Hassan, never wanted to, but if I asked, really asked, he wouldn’t deny me.
Hassan never denied me anything” (Hosseini 4). Hence, it seems true that Hassan serves Amir more than just in his daily household tasks in Amir’s house. He serves Amir in many ways including to obey all that Amir asks him for. Once
Amir asks Hassan to hit the one-eyed dog near their house, though he does not want to do it, merely because Amir asks him to, then Hassan does hit it. Each and every word which comes from Amir has always become Hassan’s command.
Furthermore, Hassan understands his destiny as a maid very well because he does not need ordering about what he should do. At the time when Amir wins
the kite tournament, Hassan runs the cut kite for Amir. He does it voluntarily by saying “For you a thousand times over!” (Hosseini 66). He really gives all that he has got as a maid to his master in order to make his master happy. An incident
which happens in a market alley proves that Hassan even knows exactly what his master needs. Hassan knows that Amir longs for the blue kite that they both have
sacrifice his body to be raped by a notorious group of Pashtun children because he
merely does not want to give in the blue kite (Hosseini 70-71).
As a Hazara servant, Hassan receives good treatment from Baba, who is
also his master beside Amir. Baba never forgets to give him a birthday present like bringing him Dr. Kumar from New Delhi, a plastic surgeon to fix his hare lip (Hosseini 43). Thus, as a servant of Amir’s family, it is shameful not to do what
his master asks. Automatically Hassan will do whatever it takes to keep his status and to show his thanks to his master. One way to show his gratitude is by carrying
out his household duties diligently. He tries hard daily to begin his day by praying the morning namaz with Ali and continuing to have Amir’s breakfast neatly ready on the dining table (Hosseini 25).
As a master of Hassan, Amir only knows that everything has already been prepared for him daily. Through the story of The Kite Runner, we know that it is only Hassan who serves as Amir’s personal maid. As a master, Amir can
complain if he feels what his maid has braced for him is not appropriate to his desire. After hearing secretly what Baba and Rahim Khan have talked an evening,
Amir gets angry at Hassan because he knows that Baba has considered him lower than their servant (Hosseini 20-22). As the result, Amir becomes rude to Hassan next morning. Lewis and Saarni as quoted in Child Development and Personality
suggest that thoughts and memories, and even previous emotional experiences, can also bring forth feelings, particularly as children get older (408). Amir’s
Based on what we can see through the facts within the story of The Kite
Runner above, it can be seen that Hassan is a very loyal and humble servant while
Amir is a bit superior with his dynamic emotion which is frequently hard to
control. These traits of both show that the relationship between Amir and Hassan is between the superior and the inferior or more specifically, among a master and his servant. Amir has ever even said deep down in his heart that Hassan is just an
illiterate Hazara. He thinks that Hassan will never be anything better but a cook. Amir even argues that Hassan should have not critized him (Hosseini 32).
These show that Amir tends to show that he has more power than Hassan because of his status as Hassan’s master, as well. Instead, Hassan, however, keeps showing to Amir his respect because it seems that he has other expectation i.e. to
make Amir admitting him as a best friend as it is explained in other following subchapter.
4.1.2 The Relationship between a Pashtun and a Hazara
Amir is born as a boy from a pure Pahstun family. They live in a prosper
environment and are respected by society of Kabul. From all people that have ever been in Amir’s house within the story, it seems that they are all Pashtuns excluding Hassan and his father, Ali.
Rhorberger and Wood Jr. in Reading and Writing about Novel (20) define characterization as the process by which an author creates character, it is the
the readers can understand the character. Two of them are how the character as
seen by others and how the character’s past life is. Furthermore, we can imagine a figure of a Pashtun man according to Amir’s description of Baba:
“Lore has it my father once wrestled a black bear in Baluchistan with his bare hands… But no one ever doubted the veracity of any story about Baba. And if they did, well, Baba did have those three parallel scars coursing a jagged path down his back… I have imagined Baba’s wrestling match countless times, even dreamed about it. And in those dreams, I can never tell Baba from the bear” (Hosseini 12)
Aside from Amir’s admiration to Baba, what he describes is the right
image of a Pashtun man. He is strong and full of bravery to whatever challenging them. Baba even dares to face a black wild bear without anything in his hands.
Rahim Khan, who is Baba’s closest friend and colleague, refers to him as a Toophan agha which means Mr. Hurricane (Hosseini 12). Amir explains more
about Baba that he is a force nature, a towering Pashtun specimen with a thick
beard, a wayward crop of curly brown hair as unruly as the man himself, hands that look capable of uprooting a willow tree and a black glare that would “drop the
devil to his knees begging for mercy” (Hosseini 12-13). This description of Baba by Amir becomes really obvious if it is compared with what has been explained by Jamalludin Ahmad and M. Abdul Aziz that the Pashtuns are born soldiers and
display a dash in battle and courage and an utter contempt for death that has become proverbial in the East (37-38).
According to Abrams, characters experience many things that could influence their thoughts, ideas, judgments about life and society (20). He adds that characters have some characteristics which are similar with human beings’. Amir
so much in a bad temper when Baba compares him with Hassan who looks having
more guts than him. In a conclusion, Amir can also turn into someone who is really mean, even to his closest friend, especially the one he hates. He can start to
show his rudeness and bad tricks anytime he gets angry with someone as a characteristic of a Pashtun.
Further, Amir is also a Sunni Muslim because of his origin as a Pashtun.
There is not much description talking about this issue in the novel but one explanation is quite enough to say how important this issue in Amir’s growing
time, and i.e. perceiving other people around him. Bogardus as quoted in Milner’s Children and Race reasserts that the origins of racial prejudice lay in ‘direct’ and
‘derivative’ personal experiences (22). Direct experiences are explained to involve
either physical repulsion due to appearance, smell, habits, living environment or social behavior. The derivative experiences are the second-hand experience and attitudes culled from friends, relations, public speakers, newspapers, and the like.
Therefore, Amir can be categorized into a child having more derivative experiences because he gets most of his races behaviors from what he sees and
learns in his surroundings. The surroundings can be the neighbor children around Amir namely Assef with other racist children, Amir’s school teacher and Amir’s late mother’s book.
Milner in Children and Race explains that children inhabit social realities such as the home, the street, the school and the recreation ground with
of qualities, that is, a rudimentary sense of identity. In Amir’s case, the book that
he has been reading will make him aware of his position and identity in Afghanistan society as a Pashtun. Therefore, regarding a Pashtun is superior in the
society, it thus can be logically thought that Amir has a big reason and opportunity to abandon Hassan when Hassan is in need of his assistance.
One night, Amir and Hassan go through a military barrack to take their
way from Amir’s house to Cinema Zainab that a soldier shouts to Hassan and calls him the Hazara (Hosseini 7). That moment does not only deliver the fact that
people of Afghanistan perceive the Hazaras as a different separated people but also tell the readers that they are usually treated uncivilized. The Pashtuns behave very rude to the Hazaras. Tate explains that the ranks of servants and laborers
throughout the country are recruited from the Hazaras (15).
Once, Amir and Hassan are enjoying their free time near a residential street and Assef, a son of other wealthy man in Kabul, with his gang come
approaching them. At the moment, Assef says a bit expression which concerns who Hassan is. He says that Amir is bothering him very much. Assef questions
that how can Amir talk to a Hazara, play with him, and let him touch Amir (Hosseini 38). Assef addresses Hassan with the term Hazara which means humiliating.
Another proof which shows that Hassan is a low class Hazara comes directly from Amir’s mouth. Amir says that he is both a Pashtun and a Sunni and
by their tribal status in the society and Amir’s appraisal as someone living in a
higher status regarding the situation among the Pashtun and the Hazara (Hosseini 24).
4.1.3 The Relationship between Amir and Hassan as Friends
Amir and Hassan have been physically close since they are born. They have been living in the same town and place but merely under different roof.
Hassan is born in a hut located inside Amir’s house in 1964 (Hosseini 5-6). Amir himself is born one year before. Because of this, they could find some similarities
such as hobbies which make them seem very close more than just a friend. Murphy says that character as seen by others is one way to understand characters’ personality (161 -173) and also his self-background information.
“Then he would remind us that there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break… Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard. And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words.” (Hosseini 10)
Kagan says that interactive experiences with other children facilitate cooperate play later on (quoted in Mussen (et al) 189). Amir and Hassan have
been like brothers. They love to play together and do several things together. Amir says that they are kids who learn to crawl together. Chasing each other between
tangles of trees in Baba’s yard, playing hide and seek, cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, insect torture, chasing Kochi and others are sorts of things that Amir and Hassan like to do in a long summer day (Hosseini 24).
