In the book "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, it expolores the transitioning ways of a boy named Amir. He went from being a confused, self-centered, cowardly boy with a low self-esteem, to a compassionate and caring young mand trying to forget about his past, to a brave and confident young man. Khaled Hosseini definitely paints the image of multiple different coming of age moments in this young mans life, but also makes one realize that coming of age does not turn you into a completely different person. I would like to explore the different ways Amir has grown, and also how he has taken a step back.
In the beginning, Amir was quite a self-centered boy. This can be seen on the multiple different occasions Amir would tease Hassan for not knowing something, as the following quote will show you. "he always added, scowling at his son.
"Yes, Father," Hassan would mumble, looking down at his feet. But he never told on me. Never told that the mirror, like shooting walnuts at the neighbor's dog, was always my idea. (2.2-3)"
This quote explains how Amir wopuld convince Hassan into doing something that he knew was wrong, yet he would never take the blame for it. Throughout the whole book, Hassan protects and is most loyal to Amir, it is as if Amir controls their relationship. Amir would also tease Hassan for his illiteracy or give him innacurate definitions of words, taking advantage of Hassan. In the beginning of the book, Amir was not just self-centered and a bully, but also a coward, which can be seen in this quote.
"I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan – the way he'd stood up for me all those times in the past – and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run.
In the end, I ran. (7.137-139)"
This quote explains when Amir whitnessed Hassans rape, and walked away. I believe that he not only did this, but also was a bully to Hassan, for multiple reasons. I think one is because he wants his fathers lvoe all to himself, because Amir is naturally a coward, and also because Amir grew up being told that his friend Hassan was a "Hazara" meaning that Amir was pretty much inferior to Hassan, so he did not want to interfere. Despite the reason, Amir showed acts of Cowardice, Self-centeredness, and being a bully.
In the middle of the book when Amir moved to America, he became more and more of a person that the reader was more likely to feel compassion for. This is because, or so I believe, America acted as a place where Amir could forget about his past in Afghanistan and bury it hebhind him. He takes care of his father who works very hard, meets Soraya, and marries her. When Baba begins to die of cancer, Amir becomes even more upset and is no longer the self-centered boy that we see in the beginning.
"I wish you'd give the chemo a chance, Baba"
Amir said after he found out that his father was diagnosed with cancer, trying to convince him to do anything, as long as he could stay on this earth longer. We really begin to see Amir grow as a character, much more than would have been possible of him if he had stayed in Afghanistan. Despite that, Baba dies without knowing about Amirs secrets in regard to Hassan. This shows that thogh people may have growth, they will always still be who they were. Even when Amirs father was dying, he was too much of a coward to tell his father.
Back in Afghanistan, we see Amir make the same mistakes he made as a child, but he also grows. When he goes back, he saves Sohrab, Hassans son. This is almost as if Amir is trying to be redeemed for the unspoken things that he was apart of and did. He goes into a shamble with an officer to save Sohrab. This shows how Amir changes, by choosing Confrontation instead of cowardice. We could also say that he regressed when Amir promises Sohrab happiness, a family, and that he will never abandon him. It was as if Amir bit off too much that he could chew, and he couldn't keep the promise, causing a suicide attempt by Sohrab.
"I won't hurt you" I (Amir) whispered, "I promise."
and then later
"Would you like to come live in America with me and my wife?" Amir said.
In which we watch him repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
All together, Amir obviously went through many changes growing up in his life. In the end, we see that while Amir has changed, their is only so much changes that people can make about themselves. I look back at the few people that I have grown up with, and I see the same negative things I saw when they were younger in them now. It is interesting how similar we can sometimes be to our 5 year old selves then, even though it was decades ago. This all goes to say that while Amir is a very interesting complex character, and though I've often wanted to reach over and shake him, he is simply human, and that is all that we can ask for. I see so many similarities in Amir that I see in myself, and while he has changed, in the end he is ultimately the same person, despite the amount of growth that I see. I often find myself and the people around me, like Amir, caught in between too places: One foot ahead of them and one foot behind.
In the beginning, Amir was quite a self-centered boy. This can be seen on the multiple different occasions Amir would tease Hassan for not knowing something, as the following quote will show you. "he always added, scowling at his son.
"Yes, Father," Hassan would mumble, looking down at his feet. But he never told on me. Never told that the mirror, like shooting walnuts at the neighbor's dog, was always my idea. (2.2-3)"
This quote explains how Amir wopuld convince Hassan into doing something that he knew was wrong, yet he would never take the blame for it. Throughout the whole book, Hassan protects and is most loyal to Amir, it is as if Amir controls their relationship. Amir would also tease Hassan for his illiteracy or give him innacurate definitions of words, taking advantage of Hassan. In the beginning of the book, Amir was not just self-centered and a bully, but also a coward, which can be seen in this quote.
"I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan – the way he'd stood up for me all those times in the past – and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run.
In the end, I ran. (7.137-139)"
This quote explains when Amir whitnessed Hassans rape, and walked away. I believe that he not only did this, but also was a bully to Hassan, for multiple reasons. I think one is because he wants his fathers lvoe all to himself, because Amir is naturally a coward, and also because Amir grew up being told that his friend Hassan was a "Hazara" meaning that Amir was pretty much inferior to Hassan, so he did not want to interfere. Despite the reason, Amir showed acts of Cowardice, Self-centeredness, and being a bully.
In the middle of the book when Amir moved to America, he became more and more of a person that the reader was more likely to feel compassion for. This is because, or so I believe, America acted as a place where Amir could forget about his past in Afghanistan and bury it hebhind him. He takes care of his father who works very hard, meets Soraya, and marries her. When Baba begins to die of cancer, Amir becomes even more upset and is no longer the self-centered boy that we see in the beginning.
"I wish you'd give the chemo a chance, Baba"
Amir said after he found out that his father was diagnosed with cancer, trying to convince him to do anything, as long as he could stay on this earth longer. We really begin to see Amir grow as a character, much more than would have been possible of him if he had stayed in Afghanistan. Despite that, Baba dies without knowing about Amirs secrets in regard to Hassan. This shows that thogh people may have growth, they will always still be who they were. Even when Amirs father was dying, he was too much of a coward to tell his father.
Back in Afghanistan, we see Amir make the same mistakes he made as a child, but he also grows. When he goes back, he saves Sohrab, Hassans son. This is almost as if Amir is trying to be redeemed for the unspoken things that he was apart of and did. He goes into a shamble with an officer to save Sohrab. This shows how Amir changes, by choosing Confrontation instead of cowardice. We could also say that he regressed when Amir promises Sohrab happiness, a family, and that he will never abandon him. It was as if Amir bit off too much that he could chew, and he couldn't keep the promise, causing a suicide attempt by Sohrab.
"I won't hurt you" I (Amir) whispered, "I promise."
and then later
"Would you like to come live in America with me and my wife?" Amir said.
In which we watch him repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
All together, Amir obviously went through many changes growing up in his life. In the end, we see that while Amir has changed, their is only so much changes that people can make about themselves. I look back at the few people that I have grown up with, and I see the same negative things I saw when they were younger in them now. It is interesting how similar we can sometimes be to our 5 year old selves then, even though it was decades ago. This all goes to say that while Amir is a very interesting complex character, and though I've often wanted to reach over and shake him, he is simply human, and that is all that we can ask for. I see so many similarities in Amir that I see in myself, and while he has changed, in the end he is ultimately the same person, despite the amount of growth that I see. I often find myself and the people around me, like Amir, caught in between too places: One foot ahead of them and one foot behind.
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