Who is Rasheed in A Thousand Splendid Suns more similar to in The Kite Runner: Amir or Assef?

In Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns, Rasheed is the abusive husband of both Mariam and Laila. Rasheed operates as an extremely conservative character who believes in the subservience of women and treats the failure of Mariam to bear his children as a disgrace. In order to carry on his line, Rasheed tricks Laila into marrying him; this marriage produces a son, Zalmai, and a daughter, Aziza. Although the birth of Zalmai brings out some of Rasheed's softer qualities, he still remains unbearably cruel and sadistic toward Mariam, Laila, and Aziza. Despite his traumatic past and the death of his first wife, he is a definitively unlikeable character--a product of the misogynistic society he lives in who meets an untimely end due to his own violent actions.

Thus, we could easily argue that Rasheed is most like Assef in The Kite Runner, Hosseini's first book. In this novel, Assef is a complete bully--an older boy who is sociopathic in his cruelty and serves as the driving force behind the book's tragedy. Assef is a racist who views Hassan, a Hazara boy and the son of a servant, as inferior. In order to get revenge when Hassan protects his friend Amir from an attack, Assef corners Hassan in an alleyway and beats and rapes him. This act of cowardice and terrible violence becomes the wedge that drives Hassan and Amir apart. As an adult, Assef sexually abuses Sohrab, the son of Hassan. Clearly, Rasheed and Assef are very similar in their lust for blood and desire to see others horrifically punished. 

While Amir does act out of cruelty in The Kite Runner, he is a much more dimensional and redeemable character. Yes, Amir witnesses the rape of Hassan and chooses not to intervene; he also frames Hassan for theft in order to get rid of the boy so that he no longer has to feel guilt over what he witnessed. However, Amir eventually grows out of this and attempts to make amends by rescuing Hassan's son from Assef's clutches. His is not a straightforwardly even character in the way that both Rasheed and Assef are. 

How are Amir from The Kite Runner and Rasheed from A Thousand Splendid Suns similar and different?

The characters of Amir in The Kite Runner and Rasheed in A Thousand Splendid Suns have numerous similarities but more differences. The similarities between these two Afghan males include that they act out of selfish motives and, after they are married, each raises a child of whom he is not the biological father. The large number of differences are shown when they are both adults. Amir grows into a generous person with a solid marriage, and he and his wife adopt the son of his friend and half-brother. Amir lives to tell his story. Rasheed, however, shows no personal growth, continues to abuse his wives, and pays with his life.

Amir is shown through his development from a child to an adult. His selfish, deceptive behavior correlates with his immaturity. Once he grows up, he shows his maturity through developing a successful relationship with the woman who becomes his wife. Not only is their marriage based in mutual understanding, appreciation, and respect, but they deliberately choose to raise Sohrab, who is the son of Hassan, whom Amir mistreated in his youth—and he later learns that he is not just his friend, but his half-brother.

Rasheed is a flat, static character who continues to dominate his wives and is often physically abusive. Another difference is that he inadvertently raised Laila’s daughter because his wife deceived him. The most significant difference is probably that Rasheed does not survive. While both of his wives make efforts to resist his control, Mariam finally kills him.