In both works, children are motivated to lie because of jealousy. In The Crucible, Abigail Williams carries out witchcraft and, when discovered, lies and tries to lay the blame on people she wants to target. She directs the blame to Elizabeth Proctor, among other people, because she has a relationship with Elizabeth's husband, John Proctor, and wants John to leave Elizabeth and be with her.
Similarly, in The Kite Runner, Amir lies about his best friend, Hassan, and tries to pin a theft of money on him. Hassan is a loyal friend who is raped when he tries to save Amir's kite from a neighborhood bully. Amir feels guilty about Hassan and also resents him, as Amir's father showers attention on Hassan. Amir's lie causes Hassan to leave the family compound where he and his father work as servants.
The difference between Abigail Williams and Amir is that Amir...
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feels guilty for having lied, while Abigail Williams shows no remorse for having done so.
Both novels examine the themes of corrupted innocence and redemption. In The Crucible, many innocent, morally upright individuals suffered because they were falsely accused of engaging in witchcraft. Notably, Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey refuse to confess that they participated in witchcraft after Abigail accuses them. Both women are arrested and eventually executed for refusing to confess. Similarly, Hassan and Sohrab are unfairly abused by Assad in The Kite Runner. Both characters are innocent individuals, who do not deserve to suffer abuse. Unfortunately, Assad ruins Hassan and Sohrab's childhoods by sexually abusing them.
Throughout both works, the authors also explore the theme of redemption. In The Crucible, John Proctor finds redemption by publicly admitting his infidelity and refusing to sign his confession. In The Kite Runner, Amir finds redemption by returning to Afghanistan, rescuing Sohrab, and eventually adopting him. Both characters find satisfaction and are content after making significant sacrifices.
Both novels display the idea of individuals having to assume a sense of moral conviction in a world where this has become absent. John Proctor and Amir must emerge to a realm where they seek "to become good again," to quote Rahim Khan. Both characters' emergence to a state where moral transcendence is the only possible path is evident. There is great sacrifice along this path. Proctor must sacrifice his marriage and his life in order to protect his name, while Amir must endure physical and emotional pain in order to fulfill his need to "become good again." Both works feature a paragon of evil that has to be confronted in Abigail and Assef. The localizing of evil in both of these characters makes their journeys to redemption quite challenging. Finally, I think that there is a great deal of similarity between both novels' social and political settings. Salem's fear of witchcraft allows particular individuals to remain in the position of power by enhancing public fear and hysteria instead of quashing it. In much the same way, the Taliban in Afghanistan use religion as a way of consolidating their own control over a fragmented social and political landscape.