Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Discrimination is a hellhound that gnaws at Negroes at every moment of their lives to remind them that the lie of their inferiority it is accepted as truth in the society that dominates them.” No matter what context it is in, discrimination diminishes people. In addition to that, people seek some type of confirmation that they are better than what they are perceived to be. The discrimination in Khaled Hosseini's Kite Runner narrative portrays this larger theme of seeking validation. It comes in all forms. Amir looks to his father and Hassan for confirmation, while Hassan looks to Amir for confirmation. This constant need to be accepted is directly proportional to the discrimination visited upon these characters. It's not often that Amir's love for Baba is reciprocated. Baba feels guilty about treating Amir well when he cannot recognize Hassan as his son. Baba discriminates against his son Amir by constantly making him feel weak and unworthy of his father. Baba once said to Rahim Kahn, "If I had not seen the doctor take it out of my wife with my own eyes, I would never have believed that it was my son" (Hosseini 23). Amir doesn't feel like a son towards Baba since he seems like such a weakling. This neglect towards Amir makes him feel the need to be accepted by Baba to put an end to the constant discrimination from his father and he will do anything for this. “I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: nothing is free in this world. Perhaps Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to sacrifice, to win Baba” (Hosseini 77). Amir did not stop the rape of his good friend for a single purpose. Amir felt he had to betray his half-brother to gain the... half of the card... feeling safe. “…people called Hazara rat-eating, flat-nosed, load-carrying donkeys. I had heard some kids in the neighborhood shouting those names at Hassan” (Hosseini 9). Hazaras were insulted, murdered and discriminated against wherever they went, but Hazaras like Hassan and Ali always maintained their morals and did not let the choices of others rule their lives. In the short story Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, discrimination pushes the characters to do various things to gain the acceptance of their colleagues and superiors. Amir feels he needs to be accepted by Baba as a son and by Hassan as a friend, just as Hassan wants to be accepted by Amir as a true friend. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, discrimination constantly reminds us of our shortcomings. The discrimination performed in Kite Runner is what creates the theme of seeking acceptance of such flaws.