Assef is the worst of what the cultural divide in
pre-Soviet Afghanistan could have created. He is Pashtun, like Amir, and has learned
that Hazaras are "less than," so he seeks to capitalize on that fact. The fact that
Assef is half-German is inescapable as well; clearly the connection to Hitler and his
theories of a superior race factor into Assef's way of
thinking.
What is most bothersome (and rightly so) is
Assef's assault on Hassef as a punishment to "put him in his place." It is helpful to
focus on the fact that such an assault is about the violent show of power, and not a
matter of sexuality.
To a certain extent, we must also
recognize that since this is Khaled Hosseini's first novel, it makes sense to have a
clearly indentifiable antagonist. Assef is a classic bully, and a reader could easily
imagine a bully becoming a Taliban leader, and that he would "go after" the child of the
boy who embarassed him so many years ago. It also provides the opportunity for the
foreshadowing (hint: slingshot) to come full circle.
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