The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini shows a lot about what friendship means. In this story it is between two boys, named Amir and Hassan, who grew up and grew up together. It's about the guilt, betrayal and redemption that comes with it. The Kite Runner covers many themes throughout the book, but the one I will talk about in this essay is friendship. I looked online for what the Merriam Webster definition of a friend is. The definition of a friend is “a person who has a strong liking and trust in another person”. We all know that some friends are not meant to stay in our lives forever. Some friendships come and go from our lives. What we keep are the memories we made with that person and the lessons we learned from them. In The Kite Runner Hosseini shows very well throughout the text what a true friendship is, with ups and downs. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayAmir and Hassan grew up together like brothers. In the book it says: “...nourished by the same breast. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same backyard. And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words." This quote right here shows how close the bond was between the two boys. They did everything together. However, Amir never considers him and Hassan friends. Both are different classes. Hassan is classified as part of the lower class. So, Amir has a lot of confidence because he and his family belong to the upper class. It never includes Hassan when I'm in public. Instead, Amir acts as if he doesn't like Hassan. He looks at Hassan, as if he were following him everywhere. Amir feels this way about his friendship with Hassan because he knows that they are both different. He feels conflicted because of their social class. Isn't that sad to hear? That their background can influence whether or not they can be friends. For example, it's like a fox and a hound. The hound cannot be friends with the fox because it would have to be hunted. He is seen as the prey. Like the fox, he considers the hound the enemy. We all know that the fox and the hound do not clash, but they should be able to be friends. Who made this decision? Our society shapes our decisions about what we can and cannot do. This friendship shows how societal pressure can affect how people look at each other based on social class alone. At this age, there is a lot of peer pressure and eyes watching you if you are friends with someone who is not the same race as you. Suddenly, there's a breaking point in The Kite Runner. This is when Hassan is brutally beaten and raped in the alley by Assef and Amir sees everything, but does absolutely nothing to help Hassan. I think this is what defines a true friendship. A true friend would defend his best friend, because that's just what friends do. In the book it even says: "A boy who doesn't defend himself becomes a man who can't resist anything." This is a powerful statement because it means that if you can't defend yourself, you won't have the confidence to say anything in general. Amir watches all this happen to his friend. He states: “…he had one last chance to make a decision. One last chance to decide who I would be. I could have walked into that alley, defended Hassan – as he had defended me so many times in the past – and accepted whatever happened to me. Or I could run away. In the end I ran away." This here just shows the difference in how Hassan is a loyal friend to Amir, but Amir is not a great friend to Hassan. When Amir was.