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kite runner amir character analysis
narrative essay on courage
narrative essay on courage
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Both Amir and Holden grow and change over the course of their journeys in The Kite Runner and The Catcher in the Rye, but whereas the courage and inner peace that Amir gains enable him to come to peace with his past, Holden’s slow growing, understanding of people and maturity do not specifically result in any colossal changes in his life ; unlike Hosseini, who suggests heroism is something you gain through redeeming yourself and having peace with the past, Salinger suggests that heroism is not about the end point where you finally accomplish greatness, but along the journey where you ameliorate yourself. In the beginning Amir is a coward who cant defend himself and through out the book this begins to change and finally he fully changes in the end of the book. Amir never was the type of boy to fight or stand up for himself. For example, Amir over hears Baba say to Rahim Khan, “You know what happens when the neighborhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fend them off…Im telling you Rahim, there is something missing in that boy” (Hosseini, 23). Baba is complaining to Rahim and he doesn't understand why Amir lacks the courage to stand up for himself. He puzzles that Hassan is the one to step in and defend Amir. He also is very confused over the fact that a hazara is more courageous than his son. Baba knows that Amir is not violent and he wishes that he would just stand up for himself. Amir overhears this and is very troubled that Baba doesn’t approve of him. To Amir this is a realization that he is a coward and his father notices it. Later in the book, Amir sees Hassan being raped and he is contemplation jumping in and being courageous because he says, “I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide ... ... middle of paper ... ...doesn’t like anything. This makes him an unlikely hero since most heroes are about pleasing people and of the people. This can also be used to show how he has changed a minuscule amount. In the beginning he didn’t like anything, but by the end of his journey he began to sort of miss people. This again shows how Salinger perceives heroism as small changes that occur over a journey. Amir and Holden both grow during The Catcher in The Rye and The Kite Runner. Amirs growing courage leads to success whereas Holden sluggish growing understanding of people ad maturity don’t really lead to a very big outcome. While Hosseini in The Kite Runner is trying to show that heroism has a very clear cut idea and lets you have peace with your past. Salinger suggests that a heroism sin’t about the ending and how you change, But along the journey where the changes are made.
Amir is, to be put bluntly, a coward. He is led by his unstable emotions towards what he thinks will plug his emotional holes and steps over his friends and family in the process. When he sought after Baba’s invisible love, Amir allowed Hassan to be raped in an alleyway just so that the blue kite, his trophy that would win his father’s heart, could be left untouched. In the end, he felt empty and unfulfilled with the weight of his conscience on his shoulders comparable to Atlas’ burden. Unable to get over his fruitless betrayal, he lashes out and throws pomegranates at Hassan before stuffing money and a watch under his loyal friend’s pathetic excuse for a bed, framing Hassan for theft and directly causing the departure of both servants from his household. Even after moving to America, finding a loving wife, and creating a career for himself in writing, he still feels hollow when thinking of his childhood in Afghanistan. Many years later, he is alerted of Hassan’s death and sets out on a frenzied chase to find his friend’s orphaned son. He feels that he can somehow ease his regrets from all of those years ago if he takes in Hassan’s son, Sohrab. He finds Sohrab as a child sex slave for Assef, who coincidentally was the one to rape Hassan all of those years ago. After nearly dying in his attempt to take back Sohrab, he learns that he can take the damaged child back to the states with him. Sadly, Hassan’s son is so
J. D. Salinger’s novel, Catcher in the Rye explores the ambiguity of the adult world Holden must eventually learn to accept. Throughout the novel, Holden resists the society grownups represent, coloring his childlike dreams with innocence and naivety. He only wants to protect those he loves, but he cannot do it the way he desires. As he watches Phoebe on the carousel, he begins to understand certain aspects of truth. He writes:
The novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” revolves around the protagonist Holden Caulfield as the story is told from his perspective. J.D. Salinger constructed Holden Caulfield as a cynical person who cannot accept to grow up. Throughout “The Catcher in the Rye,” J.D. Salinger uses symbolism to reveal and reinforce critical aspects of the protagonist Holden Caulfield. Three important aspects Holden acquired through Salinger’s use of symbolism are: his stubborn, uncompromising mentality; his softer, more caring respectful side; Holden’s cowardly way of acting and thinking.
Amir's actions showed how much of a coward he was. Amir suffered his whole life living with the guilt of knowing that Hassan was raped, much like Baba lived his whole life in guilt knowing that he stole the truth from Ali by committing adultery. Baba ran from the truth, and so did Amir to protect the family name, even if that meant betraying the people closest to him. Baba was a man more worried about his image than anything, and that is what he taught his son as well. Slowly that is all Amir knew how to do: protect his family and himself, leading him into a life of guilt, and running from people when situations were challenging, instead of making the admirable decision and help a
It takes many experiences in order for an immature child to become a responsible, well-rounded adult. In J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger’s main character Holden Caulfield matures throughout the course of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Holden is a juvenile young man. However, through his experiences, Holden is able to learn, and is finally able to become somewhat mature by the end of the novel. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s story represents a coming of age for all young adults.
When people think of heroes, they envision strong, brave individuals who protect those who can’t defend themselves. However, in “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is not a healthy, courageous character. Instead, he is a realistic teenage boy questioning the morals of society while fighting emotional issues. Therefore, he is a different kind of hero because he exposes the problems that exist in modern society, especially those that involve meeting certain expectations in order to fit in. Despite all the rules, limitations, and pressure society places on him, he refuses to give in, and never falters while holding on to his individuality.
Holden Caulfield, the teenage protagonist of Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, struggles with having to enter the adult world. Holden leaves school early and stays in New York by himself until he is ready to return home. Holden wants to be individual, yet he also wants to fit in and not grow up. The author uses symbolism to represent Holden’s internal struggle.
At the beginning Amir is a timid and cowardly boy, when he is faced with a challenge that he thinks he can’t win or overcome, Amir would give up and not stand up for himself or others. ‘“ How can you call him your friend?” But he’s not my friend! I almost blurted. He’s my servant!”’(pg.41). From just this scene, Amir is depicted as a weak person who’d have no problem just throwing one of his dearest friends into the fire to save his own self which is very selfish. Amir’s tone of voice when confronted with situations like this is very feeble and narcissistic making his character appear very weak. However, Amir realizes this and as the story goes on he slowly becomes less self-centered and much more capable of sticking up for himself and others. ‘“And one more thing, General Sahib”, I said. “You will never again refer to him as ‘Hazara boy’ in my presence. He has a name and it’s Sohrab.” No one said anything for the remainder of the meal.”’(pg.361). Amir is at the dinner table with his wife and her family when General Sahib refers to Sohrab as a “Hazara boy” which angered Amir into something he rarely did. Amir stood up not for himself but for Sohrab by calling out General Sahib who is his father in law which is very significant because Amir undermined his authority by speaking against him. This shows the change Amir experienced from the beginning of the story to the end
In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger tells us about a boy who is a teenager but tries to hold on his and acts like an adult at times. Throughout the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, he presents the character, Holden, who is presented as an immature teenger. As the novel progresses, Holden begins to mature through facing his problems. When Salinger ends the novel, the reader can see that Holden finally matured. Within the novel, the read can see, countless times that Holden is immature, maturing, and mature.
...at lead us to believe that life has leading characters and minor characters, important details and unimportant details, beginnings, middles, ends" (Bryfonski, 521). Many critics acclaim that Nine Stories and The Catcher in The Rye are Salinger’s most famous and important works (Bryfonski, 521). The Glass family saga starting in Nine Stories and continuing in and ending in Franny and Zooey shows how the lack of love and the influence of society can lead to destruction unless you find enough inner strength to rise above it. Many of Salinger’s characters are connected to other fictional characters by other authors. In The Catcher in The Rye, the young Holden Caulfield is compared by critics to Huckleberry Finn: He has a colloquialism as marked as Huck’s…Like Huck, Holden is neither comical or misanthrope. He is an observer. Unlike Huck, he makes judgements by the dozen, but these are not to be taken seriously; they are concepts (Lomazoff, 7). Holden is also compared to Hamlet but to a lesser degree; they are both not totally in the minds. The majority of Salinger’s characters learn from being alienated. Through learning this one aspect, they gain strength from it to move on.
Life is one of the hardest things to change in the world. In JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is trying to change his life through a series of events, but fail to become a successful man and stays with his immaturity from the beginning of the novel. The Novel itself uses Holden as an example of how growing up is a difficult situation. In real life, Many people became more of a successful person after learning experiences. In the novel, Holden has been through a series of events about growing up as an adult, but it turns out that he didn't learn from these experiences. In fact, his thoughts still remain childish and violent. Throughout the novel, Holden imagines himself protects Jane, to kill people, see women as phonies, personal future, and his own behaviors.
In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden, cannot accept that he must move out of childhood and into adulthood. One of Holden’s most important major problems is his lack of maturity. Holden also has a negative perspective of life that makes things seem worse than they really are. In addition to Holden’s problems he is unable to accept the death of his brother at a young age. Holden’s immaturity, negative mentality, and inability to face reality hold him back from moving into adulthood.
Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous books in American literature. Written by J. D. Salinger, it captures the epitome of adolescence through Salinger’s infamous anti-hero, Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield learns about himself and his negative tendencies, and realizes that if he does not do something to change his perspective, he may end up like his acquaintance James Castle whom he met at Elkton Hills. Holden tries to find help to mend his outlook on life through Mr. Antolini so he does not end up like James, who did not want to face the problems he created for himself. This is proven by the similarities between James Castle and Holden, Mr. Antolini’s willingness to try and help Holden, and Holden’s future being forecasted by James.
In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini tells a notable coming-of-age story portraying the actions and thoughts of Amir, a penitent adult living in the United States and his reminiscence of his affluent childhood in the unstable political environment of Afghanistan. Throughout the novel Khaled Hosseini uses character description to display his thoughts on sin and redemption.
Amir’s redemption is a large part of the novel and is carried out almost entirely until the end of the story. He travels to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from the orphanage he was placed in after the death of his parents. He promises to find him a safe home with someone but after time passes he feels like this is not enough. He then speaks to his wife and decides to take Sohrab back to the United States with him and take care of his as if he was one of his own. Earlier in the novel when Baba is speaking Amir over hears his conversation as he is referring to him stating, “A boy who won 't stand up for himself becomes a man who can 't stand up to anything” (Hosseini, 22). Thus meaning that if he is able to stand up for himself as a young boy, when he is grown he will not be able to stand up for anything that is in his future. This is true throughout the story until he stands up for himself and Sorhab when he is arguing with his life long bully, Assef. Amir lacked the courage to defend himself in the novel until he finally took charge and went against