In the new The Kite Runner, writer Khaled Hosseini focuses on many critical regions of life. The main character, Amir, struggles to find redemption through the story, and then finds it when he rescues Sohrab, his half-brother Hassan’s son, from the person who also tormented Hassan in childhood. That guy, Assef, is definitely the primary exterior antagonist from the novel. At first of the novel, he rapes Hassan since Hassan is actually a Hazara and refuses to betray Amir by providing Assef the kite that Amir received. When Amir returns to Afghanistan after years of moving into America, in order to rescue Sohrab, he discovers that Assef has signed up with the Taliban. Amir likewise learns that Assef is the man who took Sohrab and provides abused him. In contrast to Amir, who frequently strives for the redemption which will he feels is unattainable, Assef by no means feels that he has to be redeemed. With everything that Assef did inside the novel, how can he not feel accountable and not become actively seeking payoff?
Merriam-Webster identifies a sociopath as “someone who reacts in a risky or chaotic way toward other people and does not feel guilt ridden about this sort of behavior. ” Over the course of the novel we all, as visitors, are given a good amount of evidence that Assef can be clearly a sociopath. It could be argued that because he feels that he could be doing the cruel items that he does with the intention of his religion, he should not be considered a sociopath. Nevertheless , for the majority of what he does, this individual simply uses religion as a front, so that it seems simply to his garbled mind that he is correct. The first time we come across Assef take action truly inappropriate is if he rapes Hassan for not giving him the kite. Certainly one of his close friends, Wali, says “‘I don’t knowMy daddy says it can sinful'” (Hosseini). His religion clearly does not condone this action, so that is usually not a valid explanation intended for his actions or deficiency of guilt.
Later, when Amir comes back to Afghanistan, his initial reintroduction to Assef is definitely the sight of Assef stoning a man and woman who also committed adultery. The majority group was shocked, but can do nothing to avoid it, in the event that they themselves wished to stay unharmed. This kind of scene plainly has a spiritual overtone, together with the cleric quoting the Heiliges buch des islam and explaining to the masses why the couple needed to be punished. It truly is interesting, nevertheless, that rather than listening to the cleric speak and treating the event being a religious wedding, Assef continues to be in the pickup truck until the cleric finishes speaking. He simply gets out of the truck to actually be normally the one who gets to throw the stones, and plainly delights in the act of killing the couple.
As westerners growing up in the time with the war on terrorism, we have nearly been trained to associate Assef’s cruelty and lack of sympathy solely together with the fact that Assef is a terrorist. We have been raised on the idea that “terrorists must be crazy, or suicidal, or psychopaths without meaningful feelings or feelings intended for others” (McCauley). Many studies, nevertheless , have discovered that the is not really actually the case. In fact , “thirty years of research has found psychopathology and individuality disorder no more likely between terrorists than among non-terrorists” (McCauley). This isn’t to say that Assef noesn’t need any internal disorders, but rather that they are not directly linked to him being in the Taliban.
While Assef being in the Taliban doesn’t directly associate to so why he is a sociopath, this kind of factor may still help us to evaluate how this individual became to get one. In the article “Understanding the Sociopath: Cause, Determination, Relationship, inch Seth Meyers tries to appreciate and check out the mind of of sociopath. Mainly the actual article focuses on is that we haven’t found out very much with what sociopathy is definitely, except deficiencies in empathy and morals and an excess of craze (Meyers). An experiment done in 2010 by Christopher L. Ferguson demonstrates around 56% of Antisocial Personality Disorder (the medical terminology for sociopathy) diagnoses are associated with genetic impact on (Meyers). Since there is no clear way of knowing if Assef handed down his sociopathy, or whether it was as a result of external conditions, it is difficult to determine why Assef is a sociopath. Yet , we can nonetheless apply this information to discover for what reason Assef joined up with the Taliban.
In 2003, a great Algerian illegally living in Birmingham named Rachid wrote a write-up entitled “Inside the Mind of the Terrorist” to get the Guardian. He explores what potential clients people to terrorism, and provides a first-hand consideration of what like to live under terrorist rule. This individual explains that terrorists happen to be essentially the equivalent of crapule (Rachid). That they wear the most costly designer brands, and acquire their nicknames and “street cred” based upon things such as “the speed where he may kill peace officer and then manage away” (Rachid). The key in people becoming terrorists is not only persons like Osama bin Filled recruiting people and calling those to arms, but also a fundamental anger at being under control and mistreated for believing in a religion (Rachid). The moment all of these factors are considered, it is possible to see why a sociopath just like Assef would like to be a part of this kind of group. Sociopaths have an “astonishing” sense of entitlement supported by trend and bitterness (Meyers). In a terrorist group this attitude is easily used, and is also considered an outstanding trait. While terrorist groups are not straight linked to mental disorders, these are the perfect place for sociopaths indulge themselves, in the name of their particular religion, with out risk of consequences.
There is no doubt that Assef is a sociopath or that he intrusions his function in the Taliban to indulge his most detrimental tendencies. Even though the terrorist groupings are not breeding grounds for mental disorders, they are still absolutely sanctuaries for many who veil their particular disorders using a front of religion. Assef under no circumstances has to target redemption because his sociopathy allows him to remove himself and feel previously mentioned redemption, although Amir, who is still connected to his emotions, has to ceaselessly strive for redemption because of his overwhelming empathy for others.
Works Reported
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Ny: Riverhead Catalogs, 2003. Print out. McCauley, Clark simon. Clark McCauley: The Mindset of Terrorism. After 9/11. Social Scientific research Research Council, n. d. Web. 14 May 2014. <, http://essays. ssrc. org/sept11/essays/mccauley. htm>,. Meyers, Seth. Understanding the Sociopath: Cause, Motivation, Romance.. Psychology Today, 2 Interest. 2013. World wide web. 24 May possibly 2014. <, http://www. psychologytoday. com/blog/insight-is-2020/201304/understanding-the-sociopath-cause-motivation-relationship>,. Rachid. Inside the Head of a Terrorist. The Observer. Guardian Information and Media, 9 Scar. 2003. Web. 11 May possibly 2014. <, http://www. theguardian. com/world/2003/mar/09/terrorism>,.
