The best observation from class on Friday was about how Assef had very circular, logical thinking. Personally, I view Assef as a bully and a troubled, uncared for child. But, as I learned throughout our class discussions, there are many more ways of looking at Assef.
Normally, I hate over analyzing books. Examining the characters too thoroughly, or picking out every piece of text that has some, most of the time minuscule, interest to it. But, with the characters in The Kite Runner, I believe you have to do this in order to understand the characters and plot line. On Friday, Roman discussed how maybe Assef wasn't exactly a sociopath. He thinks circularly, and his way was the only correct way. Hassan was a low class hazara, and Assef came from a wealthy family. Therefor, Assef thought he could bully Hassan and get away with it, based on these facts. We learned about this last year in English through fallacies. (Petitio principii, or "assuming the initial point.") With Assef, one thing led to another. Maybe he just didn't understand Hassan and his life. He drew conclusions about a culture based on what he had learned from other people/books/culture, not what he had actually experienced.
Was Hassan a bad person? Did he deserve to be beaten up? Of course not.
This idea made me think about my life. Am I similar to Assef? Do I make a conclusions about things I don't understand completely? And then draw even more, false accusations? After consideration, I have realized I do. I meet a new person, and don't really give them a chance. Maybe they dress differently, and so I assume that they are a weird person. This is something I need to work on, making less accusations. Was I raised like this? To judge, judge, and judge some more?
We make false accusations towards each other so often. Maybe we need to be the judges of our own actions, and not others. The more we judge each other, the more we lose sight of who we are as people. If we don't focus on ourselves, and instead on others, how will we ever become better people?
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This is a great insight that you brought up. I definitely agree with your point that we should judge our own actions rather than judging others. You really took nature vs. nurture to another level; from Assef being a bully, to a circular character, and reflection in your own life. As horrible as his actions were, Nature vs. Nurture definitely shows that you shouldn't judge someone because it might not be their fault. If more people see this and try to better themselves, then that's really the only way to move forward in the world.
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