Price Of Acceptance

Within the first 80 pages of the book there is an on going rivalry between Hassan and Amir, its a friendship rivalry but also one of acceptance. Amir wishes so deeply that his father would only care for him and only do what was best for him, but Baba also does the same for Hassan. This attention that Hassan receives from Baba bothers Amir because, Hassan is only a servant; he is not the son of Baba. The overwhelming goal to try and reach a level of success is continuously drowning Amir's daily thoughts. This is a large pressure that can either allow Amir to come to the conclusion that he does not need this kind of acceptance and to look elsewhere for a void to fill his hole, or to turn evil bitter and cruel. When Amir comes face to face with helping Hassan fight their enemy’s (Asef, Kamal, Wali) he decides to run, run away and avoid the issues all together, this shows Amirs cowardly behavior. Amir readily admits that he " .. ran because [he] was a coward." Amir ran because deep down he questioned how much he loved Hassan, the boy who "coated [his] naan with marmalade,[and] placed it on a plate." All Amir ever really wanted was to be the center of attention and " Hassan was the price [he] has to pay, he lamb that [he] had to slay to win Baba." Hassan was nothing but kind, gentle and a loyal friend to Amir and yet Amir betrays him. Amir could care less about Hassan because " He was just a Hazara wasn't he? Hassan had been belittled so much in front of Amir that not only did the world see Hassan as "Just a Hazara" his best friend did too. I am personally outraged and disgusted by the character of Amir and the lengths at which he goes to for acceptance. Amir proudly buries his "face in the warmth of [Baba’s] chest." Although Amir had done a terrible thing to Hassan “in [Baba's] arms, [he] forgot what [he'd] done. After all the love and kindness Hasaan had put into their friendship all he received was abandonment. Amir sacrificed Hassan so that he could have his kite and his glory all for himself. The selfishness Amir attains drives him to extents that he does immoral and inhuman things. Even after Amir left Hassan in the ally to be beaten, he still proceeded to pretend he had no idea what happened and had no sympathy for Hassan, and was angry at "the way [Baba’s] brow furrowed with worry," for Hassan.
Amir soon finds out that his lustful acceptance and irrational trade of a long lasting frienship doesn’t solve his inner need with Baba. He is still not loved by his father the way he wants and will only realize that he gave up something far more valuable then acceptance, unconditionally kindness and love.