38 done is wrong. He is also compulsively driven to appear perfect, powerful, and
superior. Assef’s basic motivation is for power, prestige, and personal ambition.
a. The Need to be Powerful
Assef fulfills the first neurotic need that is the need to be powerful. In the novel, it is shown how Assef seems wanting to build a kind of image portraying
him as a powerful figure. Assef has stainless-steel brass knuckles which makes other kids living in
the Wazir Akbar Khan section of Kabul are afraid of him. It is said in the novel, “If you were a kid living in the Wazir Akbar Khan section of Kabul, you knew
about Assef and his famous stainless-steel brass knuckles, hopefully not through personal experience Hosseini, 35.”
Assef is well known of his savagery. He has several kids who obey him. Other kids have to obey him. It is said that his words are law. The punishment for
someone who breaks the law is, of course, savage torments and tortures performed by Assef. The narrator in the novel says, “His well-earned reputation for savagery
preceded him on the streets …. His word was law, and if you needed a little legal education, then those brass knuckles were just the right teaching tool Hosseini,
35-36.” In the novel, it is described that there is a kid who is beaten savagely until
the kid’s right ear cut. After that incident, Assef is known as Assef Goshkhor, or Assef ‘the Ear Eater’; a nickname given by some boys in Wazir Akbar Khan.
I saw him use those knuckles once in a kid from the Karteh-char district. I will never forget how Assef’s blue eyes glinted with a light not entirely
sane and how he grinned, how he grinned, as he pummeled that poor kid unconscious. Some of the boys in Wazir Akbar Khan had nicknamed him
39 Assef Goshkhor, or Assef “the Ear Eater.” Of course, none of them dared
utter it to his face unless they wished to suffer the same fate as the poor kid who had unwittingly inspired that nickname when he had fought Assef
over a kite and ended up fishing his right ear from a muddy gutter Hosseini, 35-36.
Assef has done many cruel and inhuman actions. When he was a boy, he
has raped Hassan. In his adulthood, when he becomes moejahid, he has ever been jailed. When he is imprisoned, he is always tortured by a commandant who is a
shorawi. Moejahid is a term referred to the common people who fight against Russian soldiers. Meanwhile, shorawi is a term for referred to Afghans who stand
on Russian’s side. Later, it is told that Assef meets the commandant—who used to torture
him when he was jailed—in the battleground. At that time, the commandant is wounded severely. His chest is blooded because of a piece of shrapnel. Having
that wound, Assef still shoots him—it is not something strange if it is looked from the context that it is in battleground and it is a war—though, it is odd because
Assef shoots the commandant at his genital organ. It gives a kind view that Assef is a cruel person, because he does not just intend to kill his enemy but he wants to
torture him. Assef wants to give him a miserable pain. Assef wants to show his power. He shows his superiority upon his commandant.
“You know, I ran into that commandant on the battlefield a few years later-funny how God works. I found him in a trench just outside
Meymanah, bleeding from a piece of shrapnel in his chest. He was still wearing those same boots. I asked him if he remembered me. He said no. I
told him the same thing I just told you, that I never forget a face. Then I shot him in the balls. I’ve been on a mission since Hosseini, 261.”
40 Questioned by Assef’s last sentence, Amir asks about the mission stated
in Assef’s word. “What mission is that?” I heard myself say. Stoning adulterers? Raping
children? Flogging women for wearing high heels? Massacring Hazaras? All in the name of Islam?” The words spilled suddenly and unexpectedly,
came out before I could yank the leash Hosseini, 261. Amir says those kinds of words is not without any reason. He has seen
Assef’s deeds. Assef has done all the actions Amir has mentioned. In his adulthood, Assef becomes the leader of Taliban. It is also a way to
manifest and extend his power. Assef has led the stoning execution. He has also taken many children from the orphanage to the Taliban mansion. The children are
harassed sexually. Sohrab is the one of the children. Taliban have many strict rules, including rules on prohibiting wearing
accessories except burqa for women. For anyone who breaks the rule will receive severe physical punishment. Taliban killed many Hazaras. It is known that Assef
is Taliban leader; therefore, those actions are done under his command. Assef has also confessed about it. It is a means to show his power.
Furthermore, Assef implies that he enjoys doing those actions. From Assef’s statement, it is clear that he hates Hazaras very much. He sees Hazaras as
garbage that pollutes Afghanistan. Assef’s brow twitched. “Like pride in your people, your customs, your
language. Afghanistan is like a beautiful mansion littered with garbage, and someone has to take out the garbage.”
“That’s what you were doing in Mazar, going door-to-door? Taking out the garbage?”
“Precisely Hosseini, 261.”
41 Therefore, it is discovered what Assef means as a mission—it is an action
which is believed by Assef as an attempt to purify Afghanistan from Hazaras. It is done by massacring Hazaras. It is done inhumanly. Assef with his Taliban come
to house, knock the door, and shoot savagely the people in the house. It is done from door to door, from house to house.
“Door to door we went, calling for the men and the boys. We’d shoot them right there in front of their families. Let them see. Let them remember who
they were, where they belonged.” He was almost panting now, “Sometimes, we broke down their doors and went inside their homes. And
… I’d … I’d sweep the barrel of my machinegun around the room and fire and fire until the smoke blinded me Hosseini, 254-255.”
From the previous statement, it is clear that Assef and his Taliban are
cruel. They kill many Hazaras, from door to door, from house to house, using machine gun. They kill Hazaras in front of their families. They intend to give a
terror, a frightful atmosphere. From his statement, it is also implied that Assef gets a kind of pride and satisfaction by killing Hazaras. This following quotation will
make it clearer. “You don’t know the meaning of the word ’liberating’ until you’ve done
that, stood in a roomful of targets, let the bullets fly, free of guilt and remorse, knowing you are virtuous, good, and decent. Knowing you is
doing God’s work. It’s breathtaking”. He kissed the prayer beads, tilted his head Hosseini, 255.
Assef with his Taliban are very evil. It has been stated previously that they
enjoy massacring Hazaras. Even, Assef is proud and happy to hear the words ‘ethnic cleansing’.
“In the west, they have an expression for that,” I said. “They call it ethnic cleansing.”
“Do they?” Assef’s face brightened. “Ethnic cleansing. I like it. I like the sound of it.”
“All I want is the boy.”
42 “Ethnic cleansing,” Assef murmured, tasting the words Hosseini, 261.
Assef and his Taliban hate Hazaras very much. Even, they regard Hazaras
as dogs. This following statement describes vividly how wicked they are. “Door-to-door. We only rested for rested for food and prayer,” the Talib
said. He said it fondly, like a man telling of great party he’d attended. “we left the bodies in the streets, and if their families tried to sneak out to drag
them back into their homes, we’d shoot them too. We left them in the streets for days. We left them for dogs. Dogs meant for dogs.” He crushed
his cigarette. Rubbed his eyes with tremulous hands Hosseini, 255. Therefore, from his previous statement, it is obvious that Assef with his
Taliban aim to show his power by building a terror to the society, especially Hazaras. They massacre Hazaras and leave their victims’ corpse in the streets in
order to be eaten by dogs. They will shoot other Hazaras, such as a family member or relative, who wants to take the corpses.
Assef’s brutality is also shown when he beats Amir rigorously using his knuckle brass in Taliban mansion. It is when Amir wants to take Sohrab with him.
His brass knuckles flashing in the afternoon light; how cold they felt with the first few blows and how quickly they warmed with blood. Getting
thrown against the wall, a nail where a framed picture may have hung once jabbing at my back …. The knuckles shattering my jaw. Choking on my
own teeth, swallowing them, thinking about all the countless hours I’d spent flossing and brushing. Getting hurled against the wall. Lying on the
floor, blood from my split upper lip staining the mauve carpet, pain ripping through my belly, and wondering when I’d be able to breathe
again. The sound of my ribs snapping like the tree branches Hassan and I used to break to sword-fight like Sinbad I those old movies Hosseini,
264-265. Further, it is told that Amir gets severely injured because of the fight. He
has to be hospitalized for several weeks in a hospital located in Peshawar, Pakistan. He gets surgical operation. The doctor says that it is lucky for Amir to
43 be alive. Therefore, it can be inferred how vicious Assef has beaten him. Assef
does the action because he wants to show Amir that he is powerful. Armand frowned, cocked one eyebrow in a slightly self-important way.
“You are in a hospital in Peshawar. You’ve been here two days. You have suffered some very significant injuries, Amir, I should tell you. I would
say you’re very lucky to be alive, my friend Hosseini, 272.”
b. The Need to Exploit Others
