Hassan--Hosseini's character from his first novel The Kite Runner does not literally give his life for his friend. Yes, he does sacrifice his innocence by not giving up the kite that Amir wants to badly, but he does not sacrifice his life. Later in the novel when Hassan is killed by a Talib, you might argue that he is killed trying to protect Baba and Amir's home, but even then Amir has long been out of his life. None of that is to weaken, however, Hassan's loyalty to Amir. Because Hassan never betrayed Amir to Baba and because he forgave Amir even when Amir did not ask for forgiveness, he is able to have an indirect influence on the novel's narrator. When Amir returns to Afghanistan in that last third of the novel, he does so in an effort to redeem himself for betraying Hassan and eventually saves Hassan's son Sohrab.
Mariam--Mariam's journey is slightly more difficult than Hassan's because she is rejected by her own mother and father and suffers years of abuse at the hands of her husband. Unlike Hassan, Mariam is actually put in a position where she literally sacrifices her life for Laila and Laila's family. She takes the blame for Rasheed's death so that the younger Laila has a chance at happiness. What Mariam teaches Laila through her sacrifice is that even in the midst of the greatest tragedy and happiness there is still hope for a better future.
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