Tuesday, August 21, 2012

In The Kite Runner, what is the significance of the statement "For you, a thousand times over"?

There is also a class and ethic dynamic in The
Kite Runner 
that I believe is reflected in the use of this statement, first
by Hassan to Amir and then later by Amir to Sohrab.  Amir and Hassan are not from the
same class or ethnic group, and this difference is central to the plot and themes.
 


Amir is a Pashtun, and Hassan is a Hazara.  The Pashtuns
are the ruling class in Afghanistan, and it is clear that the Hazaras are a lower class
and ethic group, historically treated quite poorly, and also shown as treated quite
poorly in the setting of the novel. Hassan and his father Ali are servants in the
household of Baba and Amir, and while Amir and Hassan are raised together, there is a
clear line in Amir's mind of their differences.  Amir
notes,



But in
none of his stories did Baba ever refer to Ali as his friend. ... I never thought of
Hassan and me as friends either
(25).



Amir looks down upon
Hassan, and the relationship is such that Hassan saying "For you, a thousand times over"
is really what Amir expects from Hassan, because he perceives him to be an inferior
servant.  He really does not see that Hassan is a true friend and is saying this out of
love, not out of duty as a servant.  


On his long journey
of learning and repentance, as Amir finds himself and his father looked down upon in the
new land, the shoe is on the other foot. They are subject to small, daily humiliations
in the United States, for example, Baba's humiliation at collecting any kind of benefits
and Amir's concern about not being quite good enough to wed Soraya, whose father is a
general. Amir begins to understand what it feels like to be regarded as inferior.  By
the time he rescues Sohrab and says to him, "For you, a thousand times over," this is
meant to represent not only his repentance for what he had done to Sohrab's father, but
also his understanding that we must all be servants to one another and that class and
ethnicity should play no part in our willingness to do so. He is saying this out of love
and friendship, as Hassan had said it to him. 


So, while
there is no question that the use of this declaration represents Amir's repentance for
all he has done wrong to Hassan (and Ali), I do think that the class and ethnic tension
are part of the meaning behind its use, too.

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