The assertion that Amir became who he is now 12 years ago could be seen to be true. This being as his past played such a large role in shaping him into he is now: a guilt ridden man with no way to make amends. This lack of an outlet for his guilt, becomes one of the most motivating factors for his character change towards the end of the novel. If he had not sought a way to deal with his shameful actions the negativity would have spread throughout his life. Adult Amir seems to have trouble dealing with these emotions. He does however manage to “become good again” through the adoption of Sohrab. In making right by Hassan’s son he was able to make peace with his own cowardice so many years ago.
He starts hating Hassan because of the guilt. In the novel Amir mentioned, “Every time Hassan was around, I was getting a headache” (Hosseini 93). It was a torture for Amir to see Hassan because he would remember what he did and feel bad about it because he knows that what he did was wrong and shouldn’t have sold his friend for a kite tournament to grab his father’s attention. Amir’s success as a loving and caring person is mostly influenced by Rahim Khan, he gives Amir the love that his father never gave him, he also encourage his creativity side, writing novels and short stories, Rahim Khan was always there for Amir when his own father wasn’t “Amir Jan, I enjoyed you story very much. Mashallah, God has granted you a special talent. It is now your duty to hone that talent, because a person who wastes his God-given talents is a donkey. You have written your story with sound grammar and interesting style. But the most impressive thing about your story is that it has irony. You may not even know what that means…My door is and always will be open to you, Amir Jan. I shall hear any story you have to tell. Bravo. Your friend, Rahim” That’s the main reason why Amir is willing to do anything to prove to his father that he his responsible and courageous and not like his father used to say. Ever since Amir has lived with Hassan he has always been jealous of him in every way because Amir’s father always said that Hassan was an ideal kid.
Throughout the novel, The Kite Runner, courage plays a large role in determining the fate of each character. All of the characters show courage in different ways. For example, when Baba lost his wife and the mother of his children, he chose to raise his two sons on his own. Baba’s son, who is also the main character, Amir, is seen as the opposite of his father. Baba is a courageous, smart and very public man. Amir, on the other hand, struggles to stand up for himself and never feels the need to be courageous during his youth. He feels inferior to his best friend, Brother and loyal servant, Hassan. Hassan is constantly being praised by Baba for being brave, loyal and Baba views Hassan as his proudest achievement. Amir has a strong craving for respect from his father which influences the choices Amir makes throughout his life. He is constantly battling between choosing his morals or his father’s approval. However, during a conflict that happens later in the novel, Amir finally shows his courage and
As well as his need to recognize the past not hide from it. “I became what I am today…because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realise I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last 26 years” (1), this quote provides evidence that Amir has reflected his past mistakes and chooses to define himself as a result of them. Later in the novel, Amir finds a form of redemption for his inaction that night in the alleyway when he chooses to return to Afghanistan and save Hassan's only
Amir's entire life had been haunted by what he saw happen to Hassan. Although he was a child at the time, he couldn't accept his shortcoming during a time of need. He was jealous of his father for being able to stand up for himself and others and Hassan's undying loyalty to him. He developed a pattern of behavior - of covering up his mistakes and hiding his past – that he could not rid himself of until he suffered like Hassan did. He made it up to Hassan by saving his son, and he made it up to himself by suffering the way he
Throughout the novel , Amir is plagued with guilt. He constantly thinks about his actions, is bothered by them but does not seem to know how to resolve the situation , how to stop the battle going within him, until Rahim Khan gives him a way, a way to be ‘good’ again. First we observe that Amir seems to be guilty as a child as he blamed himself for his mother’s death and believed it was the reason why Baba never truly loved him, he also was ashamed and unsatisfied with himself because he wasn’t strong and masculine like his father. : “ I always felt like
In order for Amir to be a tragic hero he should portray essential elements of a tragic hero:
Overall Amir has changed throughout the book. He went from being a terrible kid to a not so bad man. The point of Amir going back to Afghanistan is so that he can become good and he does not let anything stop him. He is a grown man who had not even told his own wife his deepest secret in which makes him who he is. Amir going back and getting beat up makes him feel like a new man. Saving Sohrab’s life makes him an even greater man, spealily him being Hassan’s own kid. After everything that happened in Afghanistan, Amir finally owns up to himself, he tells his wife everything and he is not ashamed to say that
The character of Amir goes through drastic changes as he moves from adolescence to adulthood. As a child Amir begins his life in Kabul, where his character is shaped through conflicts with his father and Hassan. Later, when he moves to America he leaves these conflicts behind and is able to create a stronger relationship with his father. However, when Amir is an adult he is called back to Afghanistan by an old friend to confront these earlier conflicts. In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, observable changes can be seen in Amir’s character as he moves from Kabul, Fremont, and later back to Kabul.
An individual tends to treat another inadequately when they believe they are more superior than the other. This is sometimes caused by the act of influence. In this book, Amir being a Pashtun makes him “superior” compared to Hassan as he is a Hazara; this causes Amir to do and say uncivil things. However despite all the bad behavior Amir has portrayed, throughout the book he has shown love and care for Hassan, Amir specifies that “history isn't easy to overcome -- “I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara,” (Hosseini C4) Prior to this Amir was talking about how Baba and his relationship with Ali.. He is implying that “history” is referring to Baba, as he never referred Ali as his friend. Amir may have gotten influenced to not consider Hassan a friend
We can clearly see the transformation of Amir as he moves through his journey. In the beginning, he desperately tries to push his regret into the farthest reaches of his mind. This regret is his passiveness when he watched his best friend and half-brother Hassan sacrifice
In the book, Amir burst into laughter while Assef was beating him, but sadly this did not happen in the film. This event was important because Amir at this point finally felt like he had received his punishment for what he had done to Hassan and felt totally at peace.
His biggest act of redemption is his trip to Kabul to retrieve Hassan’s son, Sohrab. Amir feels that saving Sohrab from the horrifying conditions of Afghanistan will, in turn, be saving Hassan. This is the most outstanding act of redemption as it most similarly parallels Amir’s decision to leave Hassan in the alley all those years ago. Taking this act further, he strays away from the original plan to take him to a safer orphanage and decides, instead, to adopt Sohrab and take him home to America. This choice is brought on by the brutality of the taliban. Amir states how desperately afraid he is when he first sees them by saying that the taste in his mouth is “unadulterated, naked fear” and that his skin had “shrunk against his bones.” He wants nothing more than to protect Sohrab (a notably important part for complete redemption) and his way of doing this is to take him home to America. There were a few other miniscule things Amir did in order to redeem himself. For example, he puts money underneath the mattress of the poverty-ridden family that helped him when they had next to nothing. He ties this to when he planted expensive items underneath Hassan’s mattress, framing him for theft, by saying “I did something I had done 26 years earlier.” Amir feels these smaller acts of wrongdoing are important to reverse so that he can feel fully redeemed. He wants a
When Amir and his wife, Soraya, can’t seem to have a child, Amir believes that it is because of his wrongdoings in the past. Right up until Amir is in his 30’s does he confront his mistakes. It takes a call from Rahim Khan to persuade him that there is ‘a way to be good again’ (Pg. 2). Amir knows that he needs to make up to Hassan for the wrong that he did all those years ago, and so by confronting his mistake and trying to redeem himself by rescuing Sohrab, Hassan’s son. Amir’s confrontation with Assef when he is getting back Sohrab made him feel like he was confronting his mistakes and gaining redemption ‘For the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace… In some nook in a corner of my mind, I’d even been looking forward to this.’ (Pg. 265). This is the punishment and redemption that he has been waiting all these years for, because Hassan wouldn’t punish him all those years ago when they were under the pomegranate tree.
Amir had great influences on him as a child; Baba was a brave person, generous to everyone, and should’ve influenced Amir to be the same. On the contrary, Amir was selfish and chose not to stand up for his friend, even when the situation desperately needs it. This is not because of how he grew up, of his environment. Amir’s genetics made him to be fearful and mean, as shown throughout the book. “I knew I was being cruel, like when I’d taunt him if he didn’t know some big word. But there was something fascinating - albeit in a sick way - about teasing Hassan.” (Hosseini 54). Even though Amir had great influences growing up, Hassan took the brunt of his attacks and neglect. Near the beginning of the book, Hassan is raped in the alleys running a kite for Amir. Going after Hassan, Amir finds Hassan while this is going on but does not stop the rapist or stand up for his friend. Instead, Amir ran away and proceeded to abandon Hassan emotionally after the event. Baba was a brave man and would’ve stood up for Hassan, regardless of the danger to him, but Amir was not influenced nearly as much by his positive environment rather than his negative cowardice, or
The Kite Runner, a novel written by Khaled Hosseini, focuses on Amir’s journey in life, both physically and emotionally. During Amir’s childhood Afghanistan became very unsafe. He and his father, Baba, fled from the city of Kabul to Pakistan and then made their way to America in hope of a better life for Amir. "For me, America was a place to bury my memories. For Baba, it was a place to mourn his." The need for Amir to "become good again" is embedded in the idea of a physical for redemption of his dignity.