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 …show more content…
Hassan is just as important to the novel as Amir is due to how great of an affect he had on Amir. Hassan was always loyal to Amir, and even when Amir asks if him would eat dirt, Hassan replies with “If you asked, I would,” (54). Later in the novel, Rahim Khan explains that Hassan was still loyal to Amir in his adult life, writing letters to him and telling stories of Amir to Sohrab. Other than Hassan being excessively loyal, he is also an extremely forgiving person. When his mother, who abandoned Hassan as a child, unexpectedly showed up to Hassan’s house, he said she is “home with her family,” and even let his mother deliver Sohrab
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.
The illegitimate son of Baba and Amir’s half-brother (which he didn’t knew until after Hassan’s death), Hassan was a truly good and beautiful person even though he's had his fair share of hard times. In my opinion, Hassan has it tougher than Amir from the beginning. Not only did Hassan lose his mother (like Amir), his mother flat-out rejected him But Hassan, unlike Amir, is a selfless and joy-filled creature. They spent most their childhood together playing games, reading books and flying kites until that fateful day where he was deprived of his pride. Hassan had a very good relation with Baba as it would later prove out to be his father as well. After the war stricken years, Rahim Khan asked him to come back to the house in Kabul and agrees after thinking about it. He felt that he was near Amir by living in that house and that he’s loyal. His loyalty and integrity are the essence of his character. He and his wife were slaughtered by the Talibans in the earlier part of 2000, thus ending the life on an inspiring individual.
" This shows that Hassan is very attached to Amir. It seems as if Hassan lives to please and serve Amir. Throughout this book Hassan's loyalty to Amir seems to appear many times but Amir's loyalty to Hassan appears hardly ever.
Amir and Hassan both love each other in the book, “The Kite Runner”, even though they have two different personalities and physical characteristics. Amir is not athletic, nor does he possess the physical characteristics of his half brother, Hassan. Amir loves reading the Koran to Hassan and writing his own stories. On the other hand, Hassan is very athletic and is a servant to Amir and Baba. Hassan is illiterate during his childhood because he was never taught how to read or write, eventually that changes during his adulthood, when he writes a letter to Amir. Amir is a Pashtun or Sunni Muslim,
Cowardice-Actions “In the end, I ran.”- Hosseini 77 “someone had always done my fighting”- Hosseini 227 Amir’s fear bested him at a time when he needed courage the most, but he took the cowardly approach. Amir ran and did not even run to go get help, instead he ran out of fear and selfishness.
From reading chapters one to four, one of the main aspects of Amir and Hassan’s relationship is the sense of control Amir has over Hassan. It becomes apparent that Amir is the one with the most authority in their friendship when he ‘talked’ Hassan into firing walnuts at the neighbour’s one-eyed German shepherd, ‘Hassan never wanted to, but if I asked, really asked, he wouldn’t deny me’. This highlights the way Hassan looks up to Amir and obeys him due to their religious, cultural and social differences, ‘I was a Sunni and he was a Shi’a’. Nevertheless, Amir does express his sensitive side towards Hassan and feels protective over him, especially when he can see he’s upset, ‘I reached across my seat, slung my
Additionally, for his father say that he would not have had believe Amir to be his son if he did not see his own birth, then it illustrates how distant the two are, as he questions whether or not Amir is his son depending on if he saw it. Their distant relationship deeply effects how Amir begins to develop as a character from that point on. Most of what Amir does is so he can close the gap between his father in order for himself to be the son that Baba wants. When the rape of his best friend, Hassan, is happening, Amir sheds some concern for the blue kite he had cut from the kite running tournament, as it was his key to getting closer with Baba. When everything was said and done, the first thing Amir noticed was not Hassan, it was the blue kite. Furthermore, when Amir gets what he wants and Baba finally holds him close, he has forgotten what he has done. Amir's distant relationship with Baba causes Amir to develop in a way where most of decisions are to attribute to being acknowledged by
In the novel The Kite Runner, the protagonist, Amir, is a young boy growing up in a well off family in Kabul, Afghanistan. Amir’s closest friend is Hassan, the son of his family’s beloved servant. Amir’s self image at the beginning of the novel is one in which he views himself as a coward, worthless and selfish.
As a character, Amir experiences more change from start to finish than anyone. He is weak and selfish as a child. This leads to him making the worst decision of his life. As Assef approaches Hassan, Amir sat there, as Hosseini writes “I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost. The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had” (Hosseini 73). This moment changes the trajectory of his entire life. Hassan seems to move on from it quickly, trying to be Amir’s friend again a few weeks later, but Amir would be haunted by it for the rest of the novel. Into his thirties, he struggled to sleep and what he had witnessed was always in his head. It isn’t until he meets Sohrab that he starts to truly change as a character. He begins to make choices with other people in mind, despite how he might affect himself. This is the biggest lesson he could take away from Hassan.
Amir first betrays hassan by being a false friend. Throughout the novel the reader can tell that Hassan’s love for Amir is selfless and Amir’s love for Hassan is selfish. That is proved when Amir asks Hassan if he would ever lie to him and Hassan replies with “I’d sooner eat dirt” (54). Amir continues to tease him after asking if he would really eat dirt for him when in reality Hassan figuratively ate dirt for Amir
In the novel The Kite Runner the text explores many different ways the relationships and people surrounding a person can shape one's self, this is most prevalent in Amir. During Amir's childhood, he is constantly vying for Baba's attention and affection. Amir's cowardice is seen through many different examples in the novel, mainly Assef and his violent actions bring forth his cowardice in many forms. Hassan is Amir's best friend in the beginning of the novel, he is also a role model to Amir.
In conclusion, although Amir and Hassan grew up under the same rules, they have very different morals, and values. The novel, “The Kite Runner” demonstrates social hierarchy does not portray the characters strength to the reader. Throughout the novel is shows that Amir being the more wealthy, and fortunate child, he used his advantages to abuse others, like Hassan. Although Hassan was a strong induvial that fought for himself and other. He was strong and mature to complete tasks, and stepping in to help others.
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
Their happy-go-lucky relationship works out very well in the beginning of the book, and, even though Hassan does not play with Amir when his other friends come over, the duo still form a very deep relationship with each other. I would say the peak of this portion of their relationship is displayed when Hassan stands up for and protects Amir from Assef and his deadly brass knuckles by threatening to shoot Assef's left eye out with a rock. When Hassan threatens to permanently cripple another human's eyesight in order to save Amir from being beaten, I think it is pretty clear that he made a very risky decision purely out of concern for his closest and only friend's safety. Assef had two friends who I believe could have easily beaten both Hassan and Amir if Hassan shot Assef. In fact, the author even writes that Hassan "was scared, he was scared plenty," showing that Hassan did understand the danger he was in if Assef made a move. This is significant and shows how much the two boys really did understand each other because, after Assef let them go home without injury, Amir says that "Neither one of us said much of anything as we walked home." Can you believe that?! Hassan just saved Amir from certain serious physical injury or worse, and Amir says absolutely nothing to him about it! It is as if the two understand each other in such a profound way that they do not need
Throughout The Kite Runner, cultural influences in Amir’s life subconsciously result in the main character’s sudden mistreatment towards Hassan. People become influenced, unknowingly, by their surroundings, which affects friendships, livelihood, and sometimes results in betrayal. Throughout the novel, Hosseini hints at betrayal, especially when Amir orders Hassan to “eat dirt” and uses the analogy that “he was the ant and I was holding the magnifying glass” (Hosseini 54). Amir’s statement portrays Amir as the typical Pashtun and Hassan as the typical