Amir And Hassan Character Analysis

563 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Importance of characters in a novel

Throughout the novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, betrayal, cowardice, and courage are significant to Amir’s characterization. Each of these characteristics leads him towards redemption because of his change of view as he grows older. While in Afghanistan and when he first comes to America, Amir is defined as a coward who has no courage and is quick to betray. This characterization is most evident in his relationship with Hassan. Throughout their childhood, Amir and Hassan have a close relationship which is explained when Amir says, “Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard. And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words.” Since they were born, Amir and Hassan shared a bond …show more content…

When Amir returns to Pakistan, he is asked to bring Hassan’s son, Sohrab, to an orphanage, and is told it is “a way to be good again.” At first, Amir is reluctant to go back to Afghanistan and search for Sohrab, but he believes this is a way to be redeemed for what he had done to Hassan several years before. While Amir was quick to betray Hassan and seen as a coward, he redeemed himself when he is searching for Sohrab. When he was younger, Amir was quick to run away from danger and had no signs of courage. However, when he got older, he learned to stay and protect what he believes in. This is seen through his fight with Assef so he could take Sohrab with him. “What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace.” Although, in the end, Sohrab has to save Amir from the Taliban, Amir believes he is redeemed. When he begins to fight with Assef and is beaten, he realizes this is what he deserves for what he did several years before. This combined with his ability to take Sohrab away from Assef is what resulted in his redemption. Although he quickly turned away from Hassan when he was younger, he had the courage to go and save Sohrab even though there was a larger chance of him

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Critic Roland Barthes's 'The Kite Runner'

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Direct And Indirect Characterization In The Kite Runner

    292 Words  | 1 Pages

    During the course of these four chapters Amir is on a mission to find Sohrab, Hassan’s son, in the city of Kabul. Initially Amir is uncooperative on Rahim Khans dying wish to see Sohrab once more. When Rahim Khan confronts Amir about being “A man who cannot stand up to anything,” (Hosseini 221). This ignites a flame within Amir to prove Rahim Khan wrong. If this statement had not been spoken to Amir, the events in twenty through twenty-three would not have happened. Based on the previous chapters of The Kite Runner Amir can be described as placid as well as

    Read More

  • Essay Comparing The Kite Runner 'And A Separate Peace'

    1340 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although Hassan is his best friend, there are many instances where Amir reveals his jealousy, most notable when Baba sees Hassan as the stronger boy, "self-defense has nothing to do with meanness. You know what always happens when the neighbourhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fends them off. I 've seen it with my own eyes…” (Hosseini 24). Clearly, Amir hears how his father compares the two, and unlike Hassan who manages to meet Baba’s expectations, Amir grows bitter towards Hassan. He is unable to fight off his envy which later causes him to sacrifice his best friend’s innocence: “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (82), and this is all because he realizes “his shame is complicated by his own realization that in part he doesn’t help his friend precisely because he is jealous of him” (Corbett, 2006). From here, Amir develops strong feelings of guilt that induces him to perform even more destructive acts, such as having Hassan and his father evicted from the house. Amir not only loses a close friend, but now he has to continue to live with remorse as he dwells on these memories. The only way for Amir to redeem himself of his repercussions is through a challenging process of sacrifice and self-discovery. Although one is unsure at this point whether Amir succeeds at his endeavors, it is clear that this story

    Read More

  • Moral Ambiguity In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    After some misgivings, Amir agrees to rescue Hassan's son, Sohrab, from an orphanage in Kabul. Amir even squares off against a Talib official who is actually Assef. In order to save Sohrab, Amir has to fight Assef, but Amir get beaten up badly by Assef. Amir can be seen as good because of what he done, he risked his life and almost got killed by Assef, but Sohrab saved Amir by shooting him in the eye with a slingshot. Even though Amir didn’t do anything good in his childhood and most of his adulthood too. He could have only saved Sohrab out of guilt and maybe some good intentions of actually being thought of as a good person for once, “Sometimes, I think everything he did, feeding the poor on the streets, building the orphanage, giving money to friends in need, it was all his way of redeeming himself. And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good.” (302). Amir is trying to redeem himself after all these years of being a coward and it pays off in the long

    Read More

  • Making Mistakes In The Kite Runner

    1215 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Khaled Hosseini’s book, The Kite Runner, Amir is an example of growing up, making mistakes, and facing the consequences of those mistakes. Amir grows so much throughout the book. He is a fictional example of maturing and growing up in a realistic manner. Making mistakes is a part of this growth, even though it is extreme. The reader is introduced to Amir and is disgusted about how he treats Hassan and abandons him in a time of needing rescuing.

    Read More

  • Will The Kite Runner Be Forgiven Analysis

    1182 Words  | 3 Pages

    And he strives to do things throughout the novel to achieve that. One good deed he does trying to be good again, was when he goes back home, he is at a house with Farid and three scraggly boys were looking at Amir. Amir thought they were looking at his watch, but when he gave it to them they ignored it. He later realizes they are looking at his food, not his watch. That they are just hungry. So the next morning he puts money under a mattress. “Earlier that morning, when I was certain no one was looking I did something I had done twenty-six years earlier: I planted a fistful of crumpled money under a mattress.” (Hosseini 242) He also tries to find Hassan himself. But upon arriving Rahim Khan tells him that Hassan and his wife have been murdered by the Taliban. “Hassan protested. So they took him out to the street.” “No,” I breathed. “And order him to kneel” “No. God, no.” “And shot him in the back of the head.” “No.” “Farzana came screaming and attacked them” “No.” “Shot her too. Self-defense, they claimed later” “But all I could manage was to whimper “No. “ (Hosseini 219) Amir gets more upset after this, thinking he can’t possibly fix this anymore. But he realizes he has one final chance at redemption, saving Hassan’s son,

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Essay: Loyalty Throughout The Kite Runner

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    However there are some characters that become better people and change becoming a better, stronger, more loyal individual in the end. The individual that demonstrates this development within this novel is Amir himself. All of the guilt Amir holds with him as a child allow him to realize his duty to be loyal to his brother Hassan ion the end. An example of this is when Amir goes back to Kabul, Afghanistan to retrieve his nephew Sohrab. Amir says, “I remembered Wahid’s boys and… I realized something. I would not leave Afghanistan without finding Sohrab.’ tell me where he is,’ I said” (Hosseini 255). Here, Amir is at the orphanage waiting to find out where Taliban has taken his nephew. Amir remembers the three young starving sons of Wahid, a man whose home he had been in earlier, and realized that Afghanistan is not a safe place for Sohrab. Amir is finally aware of one thing, Hassan has always been there to protect Amir like a loyal friend and brother would and now Amir knows that it is his turn to return that loyalty to Hassan by protecting Hassan’s flesh and blood. A second example of Amir’s loyalty to Hassan near the ending of the book is during Amir’s confrontation with General Sahib and the dinner table after Sohrab is safe in America with him. Amir proclaims to General Sahib, “…That boy sleeping on the couch

    Read More

  • Theme Of Sacrifice In The Kite Runner

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    Going through all these different motifs, it taught Amir many different lessons, good and bad. But in the end, Amir finally is able to let go of his guilt and make his awful choice to not help Hassan in his time of need, have somewhat of a better outcome. In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini’s repeated the use of rape, sickness, and sacrifice to represent many different things throughout the novel.

    Read More

  • Bravery For Protection The Kite Runner

    1540 Words  | 4 Pages

    At this point, Assef is a grown man while Sohrab is only a boy. It would take plenty of courage to protect this man he did not even know. Sohrab’s action fulfills the idea foreshadowed earlier of "one-eyed Assef" as Sohrab shoots a metal ball in Assef’s eye. All these characters guarded the physical well-being of individuals that were important to them by demonstrating bravery.

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner: A Character Analysis

    578 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini, Hassan is a loyal, selfless and compassionate young boy. Hassan is a small, dark haired, green eyed Hazara who has a cleft lip. Hassan and his father are servants to Amir and his father, Baba. Hassan’s mother abandoned him when he was newborn and since he has lived in a mud shack at the back of Amir and Baba’s mansion with his father, Ali. Hassan is illiterate, but smart and is also the best kite runner in Kabul. Hassan’s world is Amir! He loves and worships him; his first word was Amir. Although Hassan has many notable qualities, he lives a hard and sad life.

    Read More

  • with guilt comes a hope for redemption

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    As a young boy he made the wrong decision in life by letting Hassan get raped, which led to his guilt. The guilt grew to the point where Hassan and Ali had to move out of Baba’s house and start a new life away from Amir. Hassan’s son Sohrab is a significant character who represents Amir’s hope for redemption. Sohrab led to Amir’s redemption by giving Amir the opportunity to do good for his past actions. On the quest for redemption, Amir achieves the redemption he desired through his fight with Assef.

    Read More

  • The Influence Of The American Dream In Shakespeare's The Kite Runner

    1164 Words  | 3 Pages

    One can argue that Amir needs his experience returning to Kabul to rescue Sohrab as a way to engrain appreciation to his lifestyle in America. This return is the only way for Amir to be cleansed of his sins, as stated in The Kite Runner, “‘Come. There is a way to be good again,’ Rahim Khan had said on the phone just before hanging up. Said it in passing, almost as an afterthought” (Hosseini 192). After weeks of secrecy, a brutal fight, and battles with the immigration office, Amir is able to return to America with a bright perspective of his new home albeit broken, beat, and scarred, and a new adopted child, Sohrab. The developed Amir is brought out with his interaction with General Taheri. In the novel, Amir shows his new found ability to stand up for himself with the quote, “‘And one more thing, General Sahib,’ I said. ‘You will never again refer to him as a ‘Hazara boy’ in my presence. He has a name and it’s Sohrab’” (361). Amir has now with him skills needed to continue his life in America as being independent and the man of the house. The future is bright for Amir, as one can see a fortified, relieved, and joyful version of him compared to the accustomed one in

    Read More

  • Kite Runner Theme Essay

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    Betrayal, redemption, and forgiveness are all major themes in The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini. The novel also focuses around the theme of a broken relationship between father and son as well as facing difficult situations from ones past. Amir and Hassan are best friends with two completely different personalities. Each character in the novel faces their own hardships and eventually learns to overcome those difficulties. Beginning with betrayal then the characters have to make their way to gaining redemption and forgiveness from others, as well as their self, is carried on throughout the novel. It is a continuous story of the relationships between Amir and his father Baba and facing their challenges from the past every day of their present.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Kite Runner 'And Seven Pounds'

    2093 Words  | 5 Pages

    With the courage he built up to get back into his community, he wants to do everything in his power to help that community. He wants to help others who went through similar experiences as him in order to make himself feel like he has redeemed himself. Similarly in The Kite Runner, Amir tries to redeem himself by going to Afghanistan and saving Sohrab, Hassan’s son. The biggest way that Amir can help Sohrab escape his brutal life in Afghanistan, is by bringing him to America. Amir says this to Sohrab, “ ‘Would you like to come live in America with me and my wife,’ “ (336).

    Read More

  • Individuality And Identity In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    Because of Amir’s extreme desire to receive the attention and affection from Baba, he begins to subconsciously sacrifice his relationship with Hassan in order to fulfill his interests. However, as Amir continuously matures and begins to recognize his initial ignorant, detrimental actions towards Hassan, he no longer “worships” his father like he did in the past. This causes him to ensure a sense of independence because of his ability to quickly adapt to a completely new, unfamiliar environment and remain adamant on pursuing their own aspirations. When individuals highly idolize and worship the successes that their loved ones have achieved, their in-suppressible desire to emulate the achievements of others causes them to inevitably experience difficult circumstances that challenge their morality and principles. In The Kite Runner, Amir has always displayed overflowing affections for Baba due to his prideful feelings of being the son of a wealthy, prominent father.

    Read More

More about Amir And Hassan Character Analysis

Open Document