Amir's Empathy

One of the primary characters that shaped Amir was his best friend and servant, Hassan. They were literally together as infants and both were motherless shortly after their births. As the boys grow up together you can see who Hassan is as a person, amazing friend, loyal, forgiving, and a good – natured child. Hassan is brought up learning that it

Amir’s mother, Sofia, dies in childbirth; Amir inherits her love of literature and probably her looks to some extent, but, her being dead, never receives any motherly love or guidance, which could have helped him out of the cowardly hole he later digs himself into. Amir’s father’s best friend and business partner, Rahim Khan, tries to give Amir the motherly love he clearly needs, fostering Amir’s love of writing and steadfastly standing up for him when Amir’s father, Baba, criticizes him, but Rahim Khan does not do enough to instill honesty, courage, and strength of conviction in young Amir. Amir’s best friend, Hassan, a servant a year younger than Amir, is everything Amir is not: athletic, brave, loyal, honest, and kind, inciting jealousy in Amir. Assef, a local bully, poses a real threat to Amir, hating Amir for the crime of befriending a Hazara (oppressed ethnic minority), but Amir is protected by Hassan, allowing young Amir to freeze and not stand up for himself in Assef’s presence. Last, but most importantly, is Amir’s father, Baba, and his views on Amir: he blames Amir for Sofia’s death,

The main character described in the novel is Amir. Amir is the narrator and the protagonist in the story. Although an impressionable and intelligent son of a well-to-do businessman, he grows up with a sense of entitlement. Hassan is Amir’s half-brother, best friend, and a servant of Baba’s. Although considered an inferior in Afghan society, Hassan repeatedly

“ Assef unbuttoned his winter coat,took it off,folded it slowly.--- I opened my mouth, almost said something .Almost.The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had.But I didn’t. I just watched.” When witnessing first hand Hasan get rape Amir decides to ultimately be a bystander. Amir comes from the ethnic group of Pashtun and Hassan comes from the ethnic group of Hazara they are both viewed and treated very differently due to their economical stance.Being from two different social classes Amir decides to be a bystander due to the fact that he fears getting hurt, he wants to get Baba’s approval and the way he wants to be viewed by others.

Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, Amir was the son of a wealthy social worker. He was brought up with the son of his servant, and perhaps his only best friend, Hassan. Amir had a rocky relation with his father. At times, it seemed as his father loved him but those moments didn’t lasted forever. He thinks Baba (his father) wishes Amir were more like him, and that Baba holds him responsible for killing his mother, who died during his birth. Despite being best friends, Amir thinks that Hassan is beneath him because he belonged to an inferior cast. He used to mock him jokingly or tried to outsmart him. In all fairness, it was Amir’s cowardly nature that

As I read through the book it had rhetorical strategies that helps present the guilt that Amir had within himself. When his father started bragging with joy about Amir's victory of the kite fight. Amir isn't matter of fact he is overwhelmed with guilt of event it led to, the rape of Hassan. His lack of courage which prevented him from stopping the rape, it fueled the guilt he already had. While his father is boasting about the kite fight, he thought to himself that he wanted to stick a knife into his eye. This shows pathos by helping the

Amir has several intrapersonal conflicts throughout The Kite Runner. Amir has mixed feelings in his relationship with Hassan, due to Hassan’s lesser social status as a Hazara. He likes Hassan because they get along very well and they know each other better than anyone else does. Assef points out the first social conflict when he asks Amir how he can call Hassan his friend and Amir thinks, “But he’s not my friend! I almost blurted. He’s my servant!” (41). The response that Assef evoked from him highlights the inner dispute Amir has in his childhood. Hassan also played a role in Amir’s development since he always looked out for Amir. Amir did not need to stand up for himself because Hassan always did it for him such as when Assef was about to beat both of them up. This likely contributed to Amir’s cowardice throughout his life of not standing up for Hassan and leaving his problems behind him and choosing not to tell Soraya of his past earlier. In addition to his problems with Hassan, Baba’s unrealistic expectations of Amir challenges him greatly. From the time Amir was little, he always expressed less masculine traits. He did not enjoy watching soccer as most other boys would, and he enjoyed reading and learning from his mother’s old books. This created

So this basically adds a violent touch to the story. This is on the contrary smoothened out by the late reveal that Hassan and Amir are even brothers. One might ask oneself if Amir would have acted the same way he did, if he had known about the relationship to Hassan. This insight similarly discredits as a father figure because he was the one who kept this share of gene between Hassan and Amir a secret his whole life. He is the one causing the rivalry through lying and being the one the jealousy is all

At the beginning of the novel, young Amir quickly learns how one poor decision can entirely change the way someone lives. He beloved best friend Hassan was loyal and would happily fulfill any request Amir asked of him, but when Amir started to notice his father, Baba, giving Hassan more attention, he grew envious. When the time came that Hassan desperately needed Amir’s assistance, Amir turned his cheek and took the easy way out.

Although Amir and Hassan are raised in the same household, they live in different worlds. Elaborate on this statement, living example from the text.

One of Amir's prime qualities of his personality is being able to redeem himself. Throughout the story, Amir makes horrible decisions like running away as Hassan is raped, and strives for the affection of his father through jealousy. Although he makes a lot of mistakes, Amir proves that he can be a sharpened person towards the end of the story when he tries to adopt Sohrab, Hassan’s son. Amir and Sohrab eventually go to America, and when Amir and Sohrab talked, Amir told him, “I won’t ever get tired of you, Sohrab...Not ever. That’s a promise. You’re my nephew, remember (Hosseini 324)?” Amir greatly redeems himself by taking care of Sohrab

Throughout the novel, Amir endeavors to be approved by his father, Baba, who is admired by people in Kabul. Unfortunately, Baba believes that Amir, unlike him, is very unmanly “and [that he] never fights back. He just... drops his head ” (Hosseini 24). Since Baba wishes for a son who would stand up for himself, he can’t help but observe that Amir’s friend Hassan, as the guy who “steps in and fends the [bullies] off” (Hosseini 24) is his idea of the ideal son. Though aware of his father’s expectations, Amir is unable to change himself and instead envies Hassan and the fact that Baba treats him like his own son by“[patting]Hassan on the back. [and even putting] his arm around his shoulder [like a fatherly figure]”(Hosseini 15). Despite the manifestation of this hatred in Amir, he continues to recognize the bond that he shares with Hassan, “ brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast” (Hosseini 11) which is because both their mothers died during birth. The confusing emotions he feels for Hassan has Amir face a situation in which he acts inappropriately and allows the guilt to manifest upon him. After winning a very important kite tournament for the first time and “seeing Baba on that roof, proud of [him] at last” (Hosseini 71) Amir begins to search for Hassan who had gone to run his kite earlier. Finally, Amir finds him in a dark alley and as he “peeks around the corner” (Hosseini 75) he witnesses a sight that eradicated not only his relationship with Hassan but also Baba’s brotherly relationship with Ali, Hassan’s father. Peeking through the corner of the alley, like a bystander, he watches his one and only friend getting raped. The guilt that came upon him was for two reason; one, his lack of courage to stand up to

“The relationship between Amir and Hassan. It’s so different from any relationship I’ve experienced. Amir and Hassan are as closeas a servant and master can be, yet Amir acts like Hassan, a Hazara, is beneath him. Amir never learns to assert himself against anyone else because Hassan always defends him. I think these factors play into his childhood cowardice of sacrificing Hassan. Hassan however remains loyal, forgiving, and good natured,” replied Jack. “So what do you think of their friendship?”

Khaled Hosseini creates a vivid relationship between Amir and Hassan that actively changes throughout his novel. The way he uses these two children to develop each other is truly a work of literary art.

Amir is a young Afghani boy that possesses few differences from any other boys his age. He looks like, acts like, and lives like a young boy, but he has the advantage of living with a wealthy father. Jealousy is a flaw of his, and is one of the reasons he wallows in his own self pity for the majority of the novel. Hosseini does a remarkable job of making this character real and understandable. Amir is not a hero in any factor, but he does find a