| NOTE: This page is only about his film incarnation as the original novel incarnation of Assef was not voted Pure Evil, and thus only the film version of Assef's info and crimes should be put here. |
| “ | You want my advice? Run away. That's what you do best. | „ |
| ~ Assef taunting Amir |
Assef is the main antagonist of the 2003 novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and its 2007 film adaptation.
A sadistic, depraved sociopath, as a child he was a vicious bully who liked to dominate, harass, and sexually abuse others. As an adult, he is a member of the Taliban and the head of a child sex trafficking ring. Assef is also a virulent racist who believes in Nazism and the ideologies of Adolf Hitler.
In the 2007 film adaptation, he was portrayed by Abdul Salam Yusoufzai as an adult and by Elham Ehsas as a teenager.
History[]
This section is too long. Visit here for more details: Assef's Synopsis on the Villains Wiki.
What Makes Him Pure Evil?[]
- As a child, he would harass and bully other children in the neighborhood like Hassan and Amir.
- He, along with his companions, cornered Hassan in an alley. He had them hold him down while he raped him.
- He tells Amir that he believes in the ideologies of Adolf Hitler. Assef reveres Hitler for the genocide he committed. Assef wishes to commit genocide against the Hazaras, deeming them to be inferior.
- He is a utter hypocrite, since he believes in the "superiority" of Pashtuns over the Hazaras when his mother was German (thus making him of mixed-race), so he is not even a pure Pashtun himself.
- Assef is behind a child-sex trafficking ring. He has children sold as slaves, and presumably abuses them himself, as well.
- Though he became a high-ranking member of Taliban as a adult, it was not out of any particular religious devotion, nationalism and/or well-intentioned extremism, but simply to serve as a carte blanche to have power over other people and commit acts of violence, cruelty and terrorism.
- He is first seen as an adult stoning a woman accused of adultery to death in a ring in front of spectators.
- He abducts and sexually abuses Hassan’s son, Sohrab.
- Assef attempts to kill Amir during their confrontation. He also attempts to attack Sohrab when the boy stands up to him.
Trivia[]
- Assef might have had an honorable side in the novel version despite being a sociopath, as he tells his guards that if Amir leaves the room alive and he doesn't, he must be allowed to pass since he has earned his freedom. In the film, however, Assef never gives this order and Amir and Sohrab are only able to escape because Assef's guards don't realize what has happened until it's too late.
External Links[]
- Assef on the Villains Wiki.
