Loyalty

1. Loyalty - 2 examples with support (25 points)
   

       Loyalty is the quality of being loyal to someone or something or a strong feeling of support or allegiance. Throughout The Kite Runner, Hassan shows endless loyalty to Amir, without expecting anything in return. Here are a couple of examples to show Hassan’s allegiance to Amir.

1.    1. During the middle of chapter five, the boys get stopped by the deranged bully, Assef. He starts to talk about how the world would be better off without people like Hassan, or Hazaras and without the people who treat the Hazaras as equals, like Amir and Baba. As Amir almost blurted that Hassan was not his friend, merely a servant, (betraying their friendship) Hassan whipped out his slingshot to defend Amir. Hassan risked himself by stepping in between Assef and Amir. He showed allegiance to Amir and dedication towards the friendship when he refused to let Assef hurt Amir. Even though Amir didn’t show signs of any loyalty in return, Hassan continued to be loyal to him until the day he died.

2.    2. Another example of Hassan’s loyalty is at the end of chapter seven. Although Hassan had shown a tremendous amount of loyalty towards Amir when standing up for him against Assef, he was not repaid for that loyalty when he needed it the most. After the kite race, Hassan promised Amir that he would get the last kite that was cut down, until he was met by the patient Assef. Assef had not forgotten about the earlier episode with the slingshot and demanded to take the kite that Hassan had found for Amir. Hassan, being loyal again to Amir, refused to give it to Assef, and in return got raped. Hassan’s loyalty to his friend went so far as to get physically violated by another person, just so Amir could have his kite.

3.    3. Lastly, another great example of Hassan’s loyalty towards Amir is in the middle of chapter eight. After the incident in the alley, which Amir witnessed, Hassan tried to get things back to normal with Amir. Amir’s guilt was eating him alive, but Hassan did everything he could to try and win back Amir’s friendship. During this scene in chapter eight, Amir threw a pomegranate at Hassan, asking for the same in return. Hassan refused to throw the pomegranate back at Amir, and instead, smashed it on his own head, trying to satisfy his friend. After everything that had happened, Hassan remained loyal to Amir, and showed it when he allowed Amir to fire pomegranates out of frustration and especially when he smashed it on his own head.