RubberDucky
New Member
The Effects of Power
Joey Hall
Language A
Ms.Ward
4/18/07
In Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner” there are many themes that are prevalent, one of which is power. Those who have power have a duty to those under them, that duty being to use that power in a responsible manner and in a way that will benefit the ones below them. In “The Kite Runner” Amir, the protagonist had a certain power over his childhood friend, Hassan. For comparison purposes, there is Jesus, the most powerful person to ever walk this Earth as shown in the Bible. Amir and Jesus both had power over peoples lives, but they used that power for different goals.
The first example of Amir’s abuse of his power would be how he would misguide Hassan. Hassan was like Amir’s servant. It is important to note the relationship between Amir and Hassan. Hassan would trust Amir to the end of the world with an unconditional love. Amir would abuse this quality like the time that he made Hassan promise he would eat dirt if Amir asked him to.
“‘Would I ever lie to you, Amir agha?’ Suddenly I decided to toy with him a little. ‘I don’t know. Would you?’ ‘I’d sooner eat dirt,’ he said with a look of indignation. ‘Really? You’d do that?’ He threw me a puzzled look. ‘Do what?’ ‘Eat dirt if I told you to,’ I said” (Hosseini 54).
Amir made Hassan promise this just because he felt like it, but Hassan really meant it. Then there is Jesus. Jesus Christ had the most power anyone could ever imagine and then some. Jesus could have come like a king and ruled the earth, and yet Jesus came as a humble baby and was raised as the son of a carpenter.
“They said this, tempting Him so that they might have reason to accuse Him. But bending down, Jesus wrote on the ground with His finger, not appearing to hear.
But as they continued to ask Him, He lifted Himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.” (John. 8:6-7). “They” refers to a group of people who were trying to trap Jesus into saying things that they could use again him. Here is one sharp contrast between the uses of power between the individuals. Jesus held the fate of this woman in his hands and he saved her. Amir held Hassan’s undying loyalty in his hands and he abused it, along with Hassan’s naivety. The situations may have had different outcomes and circumstances but Amir may have hurt Hassan just as badly as if Jesus had let the stones fly. True, Amir was a child but he did this to Hassan in full mind of what he was doing and with malicious intents at heart. Jesus did what he did because he wanted to save this woman who was being persecuted.
Later in the book a bully catches up with Hassan with the intent of revenge. Hassan could have escaped the bully’s punishment if he gave in to the bully’s demands, but he wanted to stay loyal to Amir and so he had to sacrifice his purity. Amir watched this happen and did nothing, Amir kept in mind what was being gained instead of what was being lost. This is a gross example of Amir’s abuse of power. Amir could have done something but decided to stay his actions due to the fact that his actions may cost him the prize, he didn’t think about what it was costing Hassan only what he could gain from it. Jesus died for us. His entire purpose and life was for Him to die. Similar to Amir he could have done something to stop it, but his motives for inaction were not as greedy as Amir’s. Jesus stayed on that cross because he knew what the gain of his death would be. Similar to Amir, Jesus could have done something.
Jesus could have just floated down from the cross, but he stayed for a very selfless reason. Jesus stayed for our salvation, thinking what we would gain from his loss and He could have become selfish and just jumped off the cross because it hurt so much. Instead he stayed up there thinking of the pain that he was saving us, thinking of how better off we would be due to His payment of our debt. Jesus and Amir both had the power to do something but they used their inaction to different goals, Amir for himself and Jesus for us. Both men had a great choice and great power but they used their power differently and their choices have made all the difference in many peoples lives.
Further on in the book, Amir feels guilty about his actions and what it cost Hassan as what he gained from it faded. He framed Hassan for theft, knowing that Hassan would take the blame and would be sent away from the house. Amir believed that this would end his pain and torment. Again Amir used Hassan for his own personal gain, in this case freedom from the reminder of the horrible thing that he had let happen to his childhood friend. In the end his feeble attempt at peace does not work and only deepens his pains and regrets. In contrast, after braving three days in Hell, Jesus came back from the dead and comforted those who were mourning his loss. Jesus’ actions did not cause pain but rather obliterated it and any sorrow that there was. Whereas Amir’s actions caused many people grief and sadness while not curing his own but actually adding on to it. Here Jesus used his power to dispel any hurt or sorrow where Amir used his to spread it and worsen its affects on him.
There are just a few examples of how Amir abused his power and Jesus used his for the greater good. The fact that Amir was a child does not excuse his actions, if he was old enough to know that those actions were wrong he was old enough to understand that nothing good can come from works sewn with an evil or selfish intent. Jesus’ works always helped others, he never thought of himself.
Amir was not perfect like Jesus, by no means close, but that doesn’t excuse his actions, or in some cases the lack thereof. Jesus’ actions had as big an impact on our lives and Amir’s did on Hassan’s life. Amir and Jesus both had power over people’s lives, but they used that power for different goals.
tell me what you think.
Joey
Joey Hall
Language A
Ms.Ward
4/18/07
In Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner” there are many themes that are prevalent, one of which is power. Those who have power have a duty to those under them, that duty being to use that power in a responsible manner and in a way that will benefit the ones below them. In “The Kite Runner” Amir, the protagonist had a certain power over his childhood friend, Hassan. For comparison purposes, there is Jesus, the most powerful person to ever walk this Earth as shown in the Bible. Amir and Jesus both had power over peoples lives, but they used that power for different goals.
The first example of Amir’s abuse of his power would be how he would misguide Hassan. Hassan was like Amir’s servant. It is important to note the relationship between Amir and Hassan. Hassan would trust Amir to the end of the world with an unconditional love. Amir would abuse this quality like the time that he made Hassan promise he would eat dirt if Amir asked him to.
“‘Would I ever lie to you, Amir agha?’ Suddenly I decided to toy with him a little. ‘I don’t know. Would you?’ ‘I’d sooner eat dirt,’ he said with a look of indignation. ‘Really? You’d do that?’ He threw me a puzzled look. ‘Do what?’ ‘Eat dirt if I told you to,’ I said” (Hosseini 54).
Amir made Hassan promise this just because he felt like it, but Hassan really meant it. Then there is Jesus. Jesus Christ had the most power anyone could ever imagine and then some. Jesus could have come like a king and ruled the earth, and yet Jesus came as a humble baby and was raised as the son of a carpenter.
“They said this, tempting Him so that they might have reason to accuse Him. But bending down, Jesus wrote on the ground with His finger, not appearing to hear.
But as they continued to ask Him, He lifted Himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.” (John. 8:6-7). “They” refers to a group of people who were trying to trap Jesus into saying things that they could use again him. Here is one sharp contrast between the uses of power between the individuals. Jesus held the fate of this woman in his hands and he saved her. Amir held Hassan’s undying loyalty in his hands and he abused it, along with Hassan’s naivety. The situations may have had different outcomes and circumstances but Amir may have hurt Hassan just as badly as if Jesus had let the stones fly. True, Amir was a child but he did this to Hassan in full mind of what he was doing and with malicious intents at heart. Jesus did what he did because he wanted to save this woman who was being persecuted.
Later in the book a bully catches up with Hassan with the intent of revenge. Hassan could have escaped the bully’s punishment if he gave in to the bully’s demands, but he wanted to stay loyal to Amir and so he had to sacrifice his purity. Amir watched this happen and did nothing, Amir kept in mind what was being gained instead of what was being lost. This is a gross example of Amir’s abuse of power. Amir could have done something but decided to stay his actions due to the fact that his actions may cost him the prize, he didn’t think about what it was costing Hassan only what he could gain from it. Jesus died for us. His entire purpose and life was for Him to die. Similar to Amir he could have done something to stop it, but his motives for inaction were not as greedy as Amir’s. Jesus stayed on that cross because he knew what the gain of his death would be. Similar to Amir, Jesus could have done something.
Jesus could have just floated down from the cross, but he stayed for a very selfless reason. Jesus stayed for our salvation, thinking what we would gain from his loss and He could have become selfish and just jumped off the cross because it hurt so much. Instead he stayed up there thinking of the pain that he was saving us, thinking of how better off we would be due to His payment of our debt. Jesus and Amir both had the power to do something but they used their inaction to different goals, Amir for himself and Jesus for us. Both men had a great choice and great power but they used their power differently and their choices have made all the difference in many peoples lives.
Further on in the book, Amir feels guilty about his actions and what it cost Hassan as what he gained from it faded. He framed Hassan for theft, knowing that Hassan would take the blame and would be sent away from the house. Amir believed that this would end his pain and torment. Again Amir used Hassan for his own personal gain, in this case freedom from the reminder of the horrible thing that he had let happen to his childhood friend. In the end his feeble attempt at peace does not work and only deepens his pains and regrets. In contrast, after braving three days in Hell, Jesus came back from the dead and comforted those who were mourning his loss. Jesus’ actions did not cause pain but rather obliterated it and any sorrow that there was. Whereas Amir’s actions caused many people grief and sadness while not curing his own but actually adding on to it. Here Jesus used his power to dispel any hurt or sorrow where Amir used his to spread it and worsen its affects on him.
There are just a few examples of how Amir abused his power and Jesus used his for the greater good. The fact that Amir was a child does not excuse his actions, if he was old enough to know that those actions were wrong he was old enough to understand that nothing good can come from works sewn with an evil or selfish intent. Jesus’ works always helped others, he never thought of himself.
Amir was not perfect like Jesus, by no means close, but that doesn’t excuse his actions, or in some cases the lack thereof. Jesus’ actions had as big an impact on our lives and Amir’s did on Hassan’s life. Amir and Jesus both had power over people’s lives, but they used that power for different goals.
tell me what you think.
Joey
