This essay was based on the question “Why is truth important” and how it related to the book “The Kite Runner”.

Truth is what people believe to be true. It is the main thing that creates bonds between people and brings them together. Since there is truth, people can trust each other and the laws of the world. However, I believe that almost all truth on Earth is subjective truth. Everything is believed by people, but there is no guarantee that it is correct. For example, one person can say I am clean, or this is good, but nobody has a 100% correct meaning of what clean means and what good is. Since truth is subjective, people try to twist the truth to make their life more convenient. To them, it may seem like the best thing to do, but withholding the truth simply breaks their bonds with other people and causes people to get hurt. This is seen in the book, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Towards the end of the book, it is mentioned in the book that Baba had hidden and stolen the truth from Amir and Hassan that they were brothers for their whole life. Baba even said, “There is no act more wretched than stealing, Amir” (Hosseini, 18). However, since Amir and Hassan trusted Baba because he was their father and master, nobody doubted anything or ever asked him about anything. Baba may have thought that this was the best for everyone, but in the end it just caused Amir to be hurt.
The Kite Runner was about the relationship between Amir and Hassan and how that affected both of them. If Baba didn’t hide the fact that they were brothers, the story could’ve ended really differently. For example, when Hassan was getting raped by Assef under the bridge, Amir was there and watching. Amir said, “He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (Hosseini, 77). One of the reasons why Amir didn’t intervene was because Hassan was just a Hazara. However, if he knew that they were brothers, he most likely would’ve helped Hassan. Also, before Hassan got raped, Amir was going around trying to find him, but was reluctant to ask others for help because he didn’t want others to know that he had a friendship with a Hazara. However, if Amir knew that they were brothers, he might not have’ve not been that reluctant to ask for directions and could’ve helped Hassan faster.
I am sure Baba knew that he shouldn’t have lied, but he still did it because he believed it would have affected his social status and his reputation. If others knew that he had an affair with a Hazara woman and had a baby, they would view him as someone who is not worth their respects and he would be subjugated to insults and torment from others looked down on. Baba chose to be In the end, Baba was selfish and he lied just to save himself from shame and keep a dignified good reputation.
The way Baba thought and acted showed information about the worldview that the book was portraying. The book’s worldview claims that people should keep their social status and do whatever they can to keep it. Baba did whatever he could to keep his status and hid the truth for it. Another example is that Amir told other people that he was looking for his Hazara instead of his friend to keep his status and Baba’s status. An old man said, “What is a boy like you doing here at this time of the day looking for a Hazara? What is he to you?” and Amir answered, “He’s our servant’s son.” He wasn’t willing to say that Hassan was his friend because people would look down on him and would look down on Baba for letting them be friends.
My personal worldview is similar to the book’s worldview but to a certain extent. I do believe that we should try to keep our honor and status, but I also believe that we should keep other people’s honors too. The Bible says, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4). I believe that I should put others before me and honor them before myself. People may see lying as a way to keep their own honor, but it dishonors others and makes them struggle. Another thing I believe is that honor is not by what other people say about you, but is by what you personally feel. Lying may make other people think you are clean, but on the inside, you feel guilty. I believe that this is not honor but is in fact dishonoring yourself.
Truth is critically important not only because it is what we believe and what builds up this world, but also how we build new bonds with other people and grow in them. Because there is truth in what we believe, we are able to rely and trust in each other. Giving false truth means to break the bond with someone else and to lose their trust. This is why I believe that truth and keeping the truth is really important. Without it, there would be no community and our world would collapse.

Rough Draft, Peer Edit, and Brainstorm

Reflection:

I really enjoyed this book because I felt the story was really deep and it taught me a lot about my worldview and what I believe is right and wrong. It really made me think why truth is important and what kind of difference it really made whether people keep truth or not.