Betrayal in Kite Runner and The Crucible

            Betrayal, a word so ugly in its meaning and so common in its practice. The word belittles the importance of the word trust, thereby causing strong bonds between people to be broken and the kind hearts of many to be replaced by hatred. Betrayal is seen daily as good friends become foes, countries turn against each other and families are torn apart. We begin to comprehend the hurt that comes with betrayal when we think of the suffering of a dedicated and faithful wife betrayed by her husband or a young child who is betrayed by the parents. Betrayal has been the most common thing in any human relationship, from lying to cheating, distrust and keeping of secrets. In the two novels, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and The Crucible by Arthur Miller, betrayal can be seen as the base of the stories as characters like Abigail Williams, John Proctor, Baba and Amir destroy the trust they have with their family and friends. Through their lies and actions, Abigail ruins her relationship with Tituba and Mary Warren, while Amir shatters his relationship with Hassan. In addition, it is also seen how John Proctor and Baba betray their family by keeping secrets on them, having a love relationship with another. Hence, the theme betrayal is proved through the characters lies, actions and secrets thereby causing enmity and uneasiness in the novels.
             Grudges and uneasiness are first formed in the novels as characters betray each other through false statements formed with the intent to deceive others. The entire hysteria in The Crucible comes into being due to the fact that many of the girls were caught dancing in the woods by Reverend Parris and they deny it. The prime leader of all these girls is Abigail Williams who devises false statements to the people of Salem Village to make them believe in witch craft. In order to do so, Abigail first betrays the trust she has with Tituba: "She made me do it. She made Betty do it!.