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Identity In The Kite Runner

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How identity is shaped in The Kite Runner and A Complicated Kindness The main protagonists in the novels A Complicated Kindness and The Kite Runner convey that identities are socially constructed. The following factors shape identity: parenting, conflict, culture, gender, and genetics. These factors all intertwine and are the primary influencers for developing the protagonist's identity. Furthermore, this is formed by the people that surround a person from their cultural stereotypes, how they teach others, and how a person learns. This essay will discuss how these factors affect the protagonist’s identity and why they are important. Parenting plays a role in a person’s identity through the love, acceptance, and encouragement they give to a child. In The Kite Runner, Amir’s father Baba holds back on showing love to Amir. To Amir it seems that everything he does is never good enough for his father and because of this, Amir seeks love and acceptance elsewhere. When Amir writes a story and shares it with, Rahim, his father's friend, Rahim gives Amir the utmost compliments and encourages him to write stating that “…a person who wastes his God given talent is a donkey” (Hosseini p. 26). As a result, this compliment gives Amir a taste of what it’s like to have someone give him love and encouragement. Through this encouragement, Amir identifies himself as a writer. In A Complicated Kindness, it could be said that Nomi receives love and acceptance from her father even though his

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