The Kite Runner, a book by Khaled Hosseini, is the story told by an Afghanistan-born man named Amir, who tells tales of his childhood with his friend Hassan; all leading up to an event that leaves Amir guilt-ridden and sets him on a course to not only redeem his conscience, but also to, in a roundabout way, return all the kindness Hassan had given him as a child that he had never appreciated. The Kite Runner showcases a family theme through many of these childhood stories that Amir tells. Baba, Amir’s father, plays an essential role in understanding how family can be defined in many ways with his contrasting views of Amir and Hassan. It is demonstrated that family doesn’t necessarily mean blood-related when we meet Baba’s close family friend and Amir’s ali, Rahim Khan. When Amir finds redemption for how he mistreated Hassan and takes in his son, Sorhab, is yet another unique form of how there is a clear family theme throughout the book. In the novel, Hosseini demonstrates his …show more content…
Amir tells endless stories of playing with Hassan as boys. He says many times that he and Hassan are like brothers and later finds out that they actually are brothers. Amir and Hassan are nearly inseparable when they are young as they do nearly everything together. They grow up together bonding through watching films, winter days with the tradition of playing cards and finally, Hassan being Amir’s devoted kite runner. A bully well-known amongst the kids named Assef will regularly torment the two of them and Hassan will always stick up for Amir, no matter how afraid he is. Though in many of the stories Amir tells that he is often rude and unfair to Hassan, Hassan has always been unconditionally kind and caring toward Amir. Hassan is devoted to Amir, no matter how much Amir pushes him away. As Hassan once tells Amir, “For you, a thousand times over” (Hosseini
Fathers are needed to be a good role model for their children. A vital relationship with a father is crucial as the influence of one can positively affect a person for their lifetime. In Khaled Hosseini’s Kite Runner, one can see that good father(s) have a positive impact on a person’s life. Although Baba does not spend time much time with Amir in Afghanistan, He is still a good father because he positively impacts Hassan and Amir’s respective lives. This stance will be demonstrated through the words and actions of Baba found in the novel.
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,
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
The Kite Runner is the first novel of Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It tells the story of Amir, a boy from Kabul, Afghanistan, whose closest friend is Hassan, a young Hazara servant. Novel turns around these two characters and Baba, Amir’s father, by telling their tragic stories, guilt and redemption that are woven throughout the novel. Even in the difficult moments, characters build up to their guilt and later on to their redemption. Their sins and faults alter the lives of innocent people. First, Amir and Baba fail to take action on the path to justice for Ali and Hassan. Moreover, Amir and Baba continue to build up their guilt due to their decisions and actions. Although Amir builds up more guilt than Baba throughout the novel, he eventually succeeds in the road to redemption unlike his father. After all, Amir and Baba have many chances to fix their atonements but Baba chooses not to and Amir does. Baba uses his wealth to cover up his sins but never atone himself while Amir decides to stand up and save Sohrab and finally finds peace. Amir and Baba’s reaction to sins essentially indicate their peace of mind and how they react to guilt and injustice.
In the novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the author takes the reader into the fictional world of Amir and Hassan, two best friends who face the untold realities of their childhood as they struggle to cope with guilt and heartbreaking losses. The story is told from the perspective of Amir, a Pashtun who grows up in a privileged society and lives with his father, Baba and his best friend and Hazara servant, Hassan. One of the major turning points in the story occurs when Amir leaves Hassan to be raped by a bully, ruining their relationship for the rest of his life. While dealing with the guilt of betraying Hassan, who he later learns is his half-brother, Amir learns shocking truths about his father that alter his perspective of Baba
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
In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the protagonist, Amir, his father Baba, Ali and his ex-wife Sanaubar are a few of the main characters in this story about Amir’s life. Keeping your self pride and doing what’s right for your family along with redemption are two large factors in decision making. Characters become completely different people when faced with these factors, doing things they never would’ve thought of.
Through the character of Amir, The Kite Runner’s protagonist written by Khaled Hosseini, the author brings to life a character flawed by indecisiveness. This character battle against opposing forces but perhaps the greatest one of them is his own consciousness. Amir’s actions, cause one to question his honor, his morals, and whether or not he is able to live up to them. As a child, Amir grew up with privileges, with servants and perhaps the world at his feet, the one ting he most longed for however was his father’s love and affection.
Cruelty eventually causes agony in the best of us. In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the author uses cruelty in the novel to push the story and characters in a new direction. Cruelty acts as a driving force for the protagonist, Amir, and the people he interacts with. The author does this by placing the characters in unfamiliar situations and forcing them to react. Initially, Amir is placed in an unfamiliar situation when his friend, Hassan, is abused. His actions set off a chain reaction forcing him to deal with his decisions. Throughout the novel, Amir grows emotionally as a result of the cruelty around him.
The value of family seems to be obvious in every culture around the world. After watching the film, Kite Runner and exploring other materials, it is rather noticeable that the value of family is very important to the Afghan culture. The sense of family roots has driven many to do things they otherwise would not have done. Families may be the primary motivators for some people, either as heroic models or as people whom they fear to disappoint. Regardless of what one’s family turns out to be, family is still family. Many people will go to extreme measures to fulfill a duty that involves family. It may be true that the bond between family members is stronger than any other bond known to man. The value of family
Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is a remarkable coming-of-age novel describing and revealing the thoughts and actions of Amir, a compunctious adult in the United States and his memories of his affluent childhood in the unstable political environment of Afghanistan. The novel showcases the simplistic yet powerful ability of guilt to influence decisions and cause conflict which arises between Amir’s childhood friend and half-brother, Hassan; Amir’s father, Baba; and importantly, himself. Difference in class The quest to become “good again” causes a reflection in Amir to atone for his sins and transform into the person of which he chooses to be.
Here in this essay I will discuss the complex relationship between father and son to demonstrate the need for a father figure in the novel "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. The relationship between a parent and a child is a precious and haunted bond, but is not always a love relationship, but a relationship is full of pain and longing. The relationships clearly demonstrate this need for a father figure are those between Baba and Amir, and Amir and Sohrab.
I realized the impact of a setting on childhood when I went to India as a 6 year old child with my family. As we walked on the streets outside the mall one evening, I saw a little boy lifting rocks and begging for money outside. I remember asking my dad why a kid like me was suffering so much. He explained to me that although the political climate in India evolved from a social caste system, the views from society have not evolved as much. The prejudice resembles one similar seen in Afghanistan. In the novel The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini displays the growth of fascism and the manner in which it can drastically dehumanize a childhood. He does so in a three very distinct time periods. First, during Soviet takeover, then Afghan Revolution,
In the novel, Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the protagonist, Amir, is torn between two truths as he lived associated with different kinds of religious groups in Afghan society: Pashtuns and Hazaras. Each identity played a unique part in Amir’s life. Whether they had a positive or negative effect, both changed his values and beliefs. Individuals also shaped Amir’s character. Baba, Assef, and Hassan were major influences upon Amir’s growth throughout the book; their differences shaped Amir into the man he later became as all three represented a different side of Afghan society.
The story is based on the life and journey undertaken by Amir, the protagonist. Hosseini expresses essential ideas in his novel through the themes of redemption/atonement, the relationship between father and son and lastly, the theme of degradation/discrimination. The author expresses these themes through the setting and characterization. Hosseini presents characters from different social status in Afghanistan and how this affected their childhood. Amir despite coming from a privileged class had to work hard for his atonement by going back to Afghanistan to face his demons as well as to mend his relationship with his father who had rejected him since his birth. On the other hand, Hassan, from the minority class suffered because of his social status after he was abused and mistreated by those in power. The Kite Runner is a story about two boys who grew up in different worlds because of the presence of various social classes in