The Kite Runner focuses on the relationship between two Afghan boys, Amir and Hassan. Amir is a Pashtun and Sunni Muslim, while Hassan is a Hazara and a Shia. Despite their ethnic and religious differences, Amir and Hassan become friends, even though Amir is troubled by Hassan and his relationship with his companion, a year his junior, is complex. Amir and Hassan seem to have a "best friend" type relationship. The two boys, Hassan and Amir, are the main characters of the book called The Kite Runner. The two boys have a very different relationship than most. There are many different facets that distinguish the relationship that boys have. The boys write their names on a pomegranate tree as "Sultans of Kabul" (Kite Runner 27), but their friendship is not strong and it is one-sided. Hassan has love for Amir. He loves him like a brother. Hassan is extremely loyal to Amir. The relationship between the two boys is emotionally taxing and quite dark for the most part. The main reason for their complicated relationship is the fact that Amir is Pashtun and Hassan is Hazara. Afghan society places Hassan below Amir. Hassan is Amir's servant. Hassan's placement in Afghan society prevents Amir from becoming Hassan's true friend. Amir considers Hassan to be less than human. Amir ruins the chances of friendship between him and Hassan because he is jealous of Hassan, he views Hassan as an inferior human, and because Amir possesses such extreme guilt for what he did to Hassan. Amir is overall an unforgivable person. The other source of tension in Amir's life is his relationship with Baba, his harsh and demanding father. Desperate to gain his father's affection and respect, Amir turned to the sport of kite flying, and at the age of 12, with Hassan's help, he won the annual Kabul tournament. Amir's victory is soon tarnished when he witnesses a brutal assault on his friend, who ran through the streets of Kabul to retrieve the last kite that Amir had cut from the sky, and fails to come to his aid. Amir's cowardice is compounded by a subsequent act of betrayal that causes Ali and Hassan to leave their home, and he now faces the nightmare, carrying the burden of his bad choices for the rest of his life. Amir is clearly an emotionally unstable person, but his resentment towards Hassan is heightened due to his own haunting guilt.