gets the audacity to rape Hassan from his socially privileged upbringing. As Assef is much higher up the social ladder than Hassan, he thinks this gives him the right to treat those beneath him however he pleases. To him, Hassan is an inferior species, somewhat less of a human. So having dehumanized Hassan in thought, Assef feels no compunction in doing so in deed. His rape of Hassan has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with power—in this case the power of social class.

Assef did not exercise courage by raping Hassan. He simply committed a violent, heinous act, which completely ruined both Hassan's and Amir's childhood. Assef is depicted as a brutal maniac, who is also a wealthy, entitled child. Assef has never been reprimanded for his actions, and he essentially gets away with everything as an adolescent because his parents fear him. Assef also has an affinity for violence and has no conscience. He is the ultimate antagonist in the story and willingly violates others because he is an intimidating individual. Despite the comments from both of his friends trying to prevent him from raping Hassan, Assef is unconcerned with their opinions and does not fear any repercussions. Assef knows that he will not get into trouble for harming a Hazara boy and is aware that his friends will not stop him from raping Hassan, which is why he commits such a heinous, violent act.

Assef's rape of Hassan was not an act of courage, not in any way. It was an act of sadistic brutality and violence, an assertion of his power. Assef is an arrogant bully, born of privilege, who preys upon those whom he deems inferior. There is no courage in Assef. He has no conscience, and he has no humanity. He does not hesitate to attack Hassan because Hassan is cornered and defenseless, and since he is Hazara, Assef sees him as subhuman. He knows no one will hold him accountable for his actions against any Hazara. Assef enjoys hurting and humiliating Hassan, overpowering and dominating him, because Hassan had stood up to him earlier to defend Amir. Assef is in fact a coward; he attacks Hassan when he has two friends with him to gang up on Hassan.

Assef is the story's antagonist who ends up raping Hassan and permanently ruining Amir's relationship with him. Amir and Hassan tried their best to avoid Assef, but he continued to bully and threaten them every time he got a chance. One day, Assef and his friends stop Amir and Hassan and begin intimidating them. Hassan demonstrates his loyalty to Amir by raising his slingshot and threatening to shoot Assef's eye out. Unfortunately, Assef vows revenge and does not forget Hassan's threats.

On the day of the kite-fighting tournament, Amir and Hassan defeat their competition as they cut down the last remaining kite in the sky. Immediately after Amir cuts down the final kite, Hassan takes off after the falling blue kite and promises to return it. Amir ends up chasing after Hassan and is astonished to discover that Assef and his two friends have cornered Hassan in an abandoned alley where they refuse to let him go home with the blue kite. Amir is terrified and chooses to not intervene as Assef rapes Hassan with the help of his two friends.

Hassan becomes the victim of sexual assault and is traumatized after the experience. Hassan refuses to look Amir in the eye, suffers from depression, remains in his room for days at a time, and struggles to forgive himself. Amir also experiences guilt and distances himself from Hassan after witnessing the rape. In an attempt to force Baba to kick Hassan out of the home, Amir places his birthday gifts under Hassan's pillow and accuses him of stealing. Ali and Hassan proceed to leave Baba's home, and it is the last time Amir ever sees his best friend.

Assef's rape is the turning point in Amir and Hassan's friendship and is the traumatic experience that negatively alters Hassan's life. Hassan not only experiences trauma as a result of the sexual assault but also loses his close friend Amir and is forced to leave Baba's home.