Truth and Lies

The Kite Runner is a novel about two young boys growing up in Afghanistan.  One is rich, the other poor.  One is the son of a respected businessman, the other a servant.  One grows up in a home surrounded by luxuries and yet constantly struggles for self-worth and recognition.  The other has almost no valuables but is rich with inner strength and integrity.   Author Khaled Hosseini illustrates what happens to friends and family when the truth is hidden for the benefit of happiness.  The lies that develop create a life of their own and end up destroying happiness in the end.

“When you kill a man, you steal a life,” Baba said. “You steal his wife’s right to a husband; rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth. When you cheat you steal the right to fairness. You see?” (Hosseini 19)

This quote caught my attention when I read the first few chapters of the novel. Throughout the book these lines become even more significant as the reader learns that the main characters are living lies. Baba makes this ironic statement to his son Amir.  He is trying to teach him important values in life and the difference between right and wrong.  At this point in the novel, the readers think that Baba is a highly respected businessman and father.  His son Amir is constantly trying to impress him and live up to his high standards.   It later becomes know that Hassan is actually Baba’s secret son, whom he gave away at birth because he was born with a harelip.  In his own way, Baba is trying to help Amir so that he does not make the same mistakes that he did.  What he does not realize is that by allowing himself to be seen as perfect, results in Amir lying and perpetuating the cycle of deceit to build himself up in his father’s eyes. Baba is not the hero everyone thinks he is.  In reality he is a coward, just like his son Amir whom he always criticizes for not standing up for himself.  The person with the admirable qualities is the son he gave up.