Assignment 3 : Amir & Hassan's Relationship

Amir and Hassan's relationship is one that is deceiving at first glance. When the writer introduces us to Amir and Hassan it looks like they have a mutual relationship, but in actual sense their relationship is actually faltering. In the sense that, Amir actually begins to question whether he really is Hassan's friend or master. This is shown on page 41, when Amir says in an after-thought "...Why did I play with Hassan, only when no one else was around..."In this scene, Assef who happens to be bullying Hassan and Amir, clearly shows the prejudice that he has towards the Hazarajat and when he asks Amir how he can call Hassan his friend, the first thought that comes to Amir was , Hassan is actually more of his servant than friend.This thought actually spurs him into a stance where he questions their relationship, and how much he was willing to sacrifice for Hassan. As a reader, this scene is very important because the characters introduced here, later spur the highlight of the book as depicted on page 1 chapter 1, when the writer says "...I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty six years."It later reveals to us what "alley" he is talking about, and explains the importance of the words on page 2 "...for you a thousand times over."
Hassan however in this relationship gives his best.He is willing to go the whole mile just for the sake of Amir and does not have any second doubts on this, as depicted on page 54. Amir asks Hassan if he would Eat dirt, if he told him to. Hassan then gives Amir a deep searching gaze before telling him "...if you asked, i would."He then asks Amir if he would ever ask him to do such a thing .Amir says no, but his later statement leaves the reader in a catch 22 situation, as the reader questions the foundation of their relationship, is it really fake? ,this is because he says " And that's the problem with people who mean evevrything they say.They think everyone else does to."
Well later on Amir's fear finally comes true when Hassan is trapped in an alley by Assef , Wali and Kamal. Assef assault's Hassan because Hassan wouldn't give him the blue kite which he had swore to get for Amir . In this instance, Amir who is watching does not do anything to help Hassan, infact he runs and while runnning he goes even further to reveal a thought that crushes any hope of their relationship being true.He says,"He was just a Hazara wasnt he?"As if this is not enough . Later, After Assef leaves and Hassan returns with the flag, Amir actually scans the kite for any rips before asking Hassan how he is doing?This goes to show how materialistic his view of Hassan was.And finally quells the suspense spurred by the writer in his introduction.
Personally, I believe that the relationship between Hassan and Amir was a one -sided relationship; Hassan loved Amir as a brother, while Amir loved Hassan in a biased materialistic manner like a master would love a servant.