To have full control over one’s own life is a desire wanted by many. The reality of this dream is aptly displayed by the words of Khaled Hosseini: “Life just doesn’t care about our aspirations, or sadness”. Often, we are forced to respond to events beyond our control knowing that the weight of our actions may follow us for a long time. In his novel The Kite Runner, Hosseini explores a collision with forces beyond control through his main character, Amir. The collision occurs when Amir is a young boy, so his response to it can be described as morally questionable as it carries dire consequences far into his adulthood.
Amir’s childhood is spent vying for his father’s attention, feeling as though he must compete with his servant friend Hassan
…show more content…
for it. Baba is Amir’s idol and he is constantly seeking his hard earned approval. When Amir is forced into making a decision between Baba and Hassan, his response can be considered morally questionable. Amir is a witness to Hassan’s rape, yet he does not attempt to prevent or end it. Hassan willingly sacrifices himself to protect Amir’s kite and Amir selfishly allows it. The betrayal of his friend questions Amir’s morals as he endeavours to convince himself that it is the fear of pain or injury that holds him back from defending Hassan. In reality, we know that Amir is more afraid for the kite than he is for Hassan as he “can’t lie now and say [his] eyes did not scan it for any rips” showing Amir’s first priority is ensuring the kite is undamaged. The kite is a trophy of Baba’s affections that Amir cannot give up as it represents the champion son Baba has always wished for. In this collision of forces that Amir cannot control, his decision can be described as morally questionable as to the reader, we do not see a choice between a friend and a father; we see a choice between a friend and a kite. To us, the kite is nothing but a replaceable piece of materialism and clearly not worth the price Hassan pays. Yet when we consider the way Amir has been brought up as a child, always feeling as though he is not worthy of his father’s love it is difficult to deny him the one chance of Baba’s approval he has. Instead of morally wrong, Amir’s response becomes morally questionable as we understand the situation Amir is forced into. The morally questionable nature of Amir’s response to Hassan’s rape is further emphasised through Amir’s treatment of Hassan.
Both Amir and Hassan are native Afghan people, Amir is a Pashtun and Hassan a Hazara. Hazaras are viewed lowly in society and are often servants to Pastuns as Hassan and his father are to Amir and Baba. Amir lives a privileged life and comes to take Hassan for granted as he describes him as “good old Hassan. Good old reliable Hassan”. Though they have grown up together, Amir “never thought of Hassan and [him] as friends” and cannot see beyond the class difference that is between them. This causes Amir’s response to Hassan’s rape to be morally questionable as he inheritably judges those around him for what they cannot change. Amir lives in a society which is largely built upon tradition as well as religion, and to go against these values is not typically part of the Afghan culture. Children grow up to accept the world they are presented, and are easily moulded by the environment they are brought up in. The extent society’s influence on the naïve minds of children is shown through Amir’s thoughts as he runs away from Hassan, “[Hassan] was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” The Afghan society Amir lives in values one ethnic group to be superior to all others, and Amir’s morally questionable response reflects on a child’s nature to follow what they are taught to believe despite how morally wrong they
seem. Amir’s first response to Hassan’s rape is to run away, to avoid confrontation and feign ignorance to it all. However, when Hassan still shows his unwavering loyalty to him, Amir is overcome by guilt and feels as though he cannot live with Hassan as a constant reminder of his betrayal. Amir then takes advantage of Hassan’s devotion and forces him away as he severs their relationship. This response allows us to understand the morally questionable nature of Amir’s response. By pushing Hassan away, we can see the deep guilt and remorse Amir has for his actions, as he feels that he is underserving of Hassan’s friendship. However, his actions can also be considered selfish as he pushes Hassan out of his life purely to resolve his own conflicted feelings. A child typically has neither the experience nor the will to resolve any problems they may come across, and it is not in their nature to think of the consequences their decisions may cause. As we grow older, we are able to think through our actions more clearly and right and wrong become far more defined for us. Children often make mistakes as they learn the difference between the two, and this is often to be expected. Amir is but a child who is deals with a difficult situation in the only way he knows how, by pushing it away. This is makes Amir’s response to Hassan’s rape morally questionable to us, as Amir does not know any better and has never had experience or been taught how to take care of tough situations the way we deem right. Amir is a child whose judgement is clouded by the environment he has been brought up in. His response to the collision of forces beyond his control, Hassan’s rape, is morally questionable because of this. Amir’s response to uncontrollable forces is to push them away in hope that they will leave him be. In real life, we as the readers of Hosseini’s The Kite Runner will inevitable be confronted with uncontrollable aspects of our lives. Though we may not be able to control how they affect us, we can always endeavour to take control of how we respond and react to them. From Amir we learn that we must face our problems instead of ignoring them as they do not go away and will inevitably fester and grow to come back to us sooner or later. Our future can change in an instant, as we as people are defined by our actions and choices we make.
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.
Amir’s childhood is quite unusual compared to most children in Afghan. Amir’s father, Baba, is a very rich and successful individual in his lifetime. This success allows Amir to live a wealthy lifestyle with access to western commodity as well as servants. In novel, Amir is risen mostly by his servants Hassan and Ali, as well
Actions made in a moment of pain, anger or simple immaturity can take anyone to make mistakes that can change their lives completely. Everyone has something in the past that is shameful, embarrassing and regrettable that is kept present daily. Whether this event happened during childhood, adolescence or early adulthood, this event could haunt and have shaped that person’s life into what he or she is today. In a similar way, in the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is shaped by a tragic and eventful past that has shaped Amir’s, Baba’s, and Hassan’s life. The four literary elements that will be used in this essay that Hosseini strategically uses in this book are: irony, simile, Metaphor, and personification.
The way our friends treat us in the face of adversity and in social situations is more revealing of a person’s character than the way they treats us when alone. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, ethnic tensions, nationality, and betrayal become the catalyst that drives and fuels Amir, Assef, and other characters to embark on their particular acts of cruelty. Serving as a way to illustrate the loss of rectitude and humanity, cruelty reveals how easily people can lose their morals in critical circumstances. Through Amir, Assef, and the Taliban’s actions, cruelty displays the truth of a person’s character, uncovering the origin of their cruelty. Amir’s cruelty spurs from his external environment and need for love from his father, choosing
In his first historical fiction novel, Khaled Hosseini tells the story of a young boy growing up in Afghanistan. The Kite Runner is the story of Amir, the young boy, and the path his life takes because of the decisions he makes when he is a young child. Forgiveness is woven throughout the book as it takes Amir to places he might not have gone if he hadn’t been able to forgive.
It is difficult to face anything in the world when you cannot even face your own reality. In his book The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses kites to bring out the major themes of the novel in order to create a truly captivating story of a young boy’s quest to redeem his past mistakes. Amir is the narrator and protagonist of the story and throughout the entire novel, he faces enormous guilt following the horrible incident that happened to his closest friend, Hassan. This incident grows on Amir and fuels his quest for redemption, struggling to do whatever it takes to make up for his mistakes. In Hosseini’s novel, kites highlight aspects of Afghanistan’s ethnic caste system and emphasizes the story’s major themes of guilt, redemption and freedom.
Amir’s core conflict in the novel is an internal conflict between himself and guilt. From the day he is born Amir is tainted with guilt, he admits to this guilt when he says “I always felt like Baba hated me a little. And why not? After all, I had killed his beloved wife, his beautiful princess, hadn’t I?” However his greater guilt comes from his two betrayals of Hassan: watching him get raped and framing him for stealing his birthday money to get him fired. For the next 25 years Amir carries with him the shame and guilt from the winter of
In Khaled Hosseini’s novel “The Kite Runner,” he illustrates a fine line between what is defined as morally good and evil. During their lives as kids, Amir and Hassan had always been close, but there had always been one problem. Amir was the son of a rich and powerful Pashtun man who was almost always given everything he wanted, while Hassan was a Hazara boy who had spent his life serving Amir and his family with his father. Although the two of them seemed to always be inseparable when they played games or flew kites, there was always the defining factor of who they really are, a servant and his master.
In Khaled Hosseini 's novel, The Kite Runner, an afghan named Amir must redeem his past actions in honor of a childhood friend. The novel is based around the relationship of Baba and Amir, as well as the relationship of Hassan and Amir. One day Amir’s world is shaken up by the rape of Hassan, making Amir chose which person means more to him, Baba, or Hassan. Khaled Hosseini proves that Amir comes full circle through Hosseini 's through his portrayal of Amir 's relationship with Hassan, Amir’s conflict with Assef, and Amir 's relationship with his father, Baba.
During the commencing chapters of the novel, Amir's life is fortunate. He lives in an extravagant home, has servants and does not lack prerequisites. However, it becomes apparent that these luxuries do not make his life easier, but only function to make the early years of his life more complex. Amir’s mother deceases of a maternal death, and he appears to have the characteristics of his mother than his father. His father is dismissive and ashamed of Amir. Amir develops a series of relationships with a young servant Hazara named Hassan, Hassan's father Ali and his father's business partner Rahim Khan to make up for his lack of connection to his parent. Nonetheless these interactions fill the void in his life. He becomes somewhat acrimonious and trials his most significant relationship, that with Hassan, often.
Amir and Sohrab’s relationship had begun parallel to Amir and Baba’s relationship. The story indicated that awful things happen to children when ‘fatherly figure’ does not play a role in their lives. Later on, the relationship mirrored toward Hassan and Sohrab’s relationship since Amir got Sohrab to start talking.
...achieves redemption and finally succeeds in overcoming his guilt. Hosseini uses this struggle to persuade those who feel extreme guilt for a wrongdoing to seek forgiveness and to help others in need. The author emphasizes that atoning one’s sins comes from reaching out to others. He expresses this when Amir offers to help Sohrab and he rids himself of guilt from his former relationship with Hassan. In addition, Hosseini writes to those who challenge the ideals of society in order to encourage them to create and follow their own values. The author uses Amir’s struggle in his relationship with Baba and his acceptance with Amir’s writing career to demonstrate this idea. Throughout his novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini develops a main character that questions his decisions, yet conforms to societal ideals to represent his theme of redemption and self-acceptance.
Although Amir does not have control of his innate nature and tendency to rely on Hassan for protection from bullies, he has the potential to build a more courageous character with proper nurturing. However, Baba, ridden with his own corruption and past mistakes, provides Amir with an unfortunately neglectful and disapproving parenting that further weakens Amir’s natural cowardice. Perpetual feelings of incompetence for his father such as, “I didn’t want to disappoint his again” errode Amir over time and eventually cause him to associate his worth with Baba’s approval of him (17). This leads to Amir developing his goals towards pleasing Baba solely and prioritizes this above all else, instilling an imbalance to Amir’s moral compass. Alongside Baba’s poor execution of raising Amir, peer influence and observational learning from others greatly impact Amir’s view on the Hazaras. Young children often learn through seeing and mimicking. Therefore when Amir sees Baba “in none of his stories...refer to Ali as his friend”, it is likely that Amir will mirror similar behavior of refusing to see Hassan as a friend because of the servitude boundary between them (25). By
In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, the author follows the development of protagonist Amir through a life filled with sorrow, regret, and violence. Amir encounters numerous obstacles on his path to adulthood, facing a new test at every twist and turn. Amir embarks on the long journey known as life as a cowardly, weak young man with a twisted set of ideals, slowly but surely evolving into a man worthy of the name. Amir is one of the lucky few who can go through such a shattered life and come out the other side a better man, a man who stands up for himself and those who cannot, willing to put his life on the line for the people he loves.
Unlike Hassan, Amir was born into a wealthy family where he was fortunate enough to have everything granted to him. He was also part of the higher-class ethnic groups where they were born into their wealth. Much like the prisoner, he had the ability to explore not only his external environment but his internal thoughts to recognize his true purpose in life. While he was young, he also experienced the same societal effect as Hassan where the “Hazzaras” were looked down upon. Hassan was ultimately Amir’s best friend, but when push came to shove, Amir found himself quickly leaving Hassan because of the embarrassment he would feel associating himself with a low-level member of society. Leaving Hassan vulnerable throughout the book lead to his beatings and soon his abandonment as Amir enters America while Hassan is stuck in Afghanistan during the war which ultimately leads to his demise. Through the bond he had with Hassan, Amir learned over time to break free from this bond and to judge others based on their character versus their societal norms. After returning to America knowing the guilt and sorrow he felt due to his friend passing away, he became courageous enough to go kidnap Hassan’s son and bring him to America to provide him with the life his father deserved. Therefore, he passed down the torch of giving an opportunity to pursue an education. Amir’s grand lesson that he learned from being freed into a first-world country where he isn’t at the top anymore brought a humbling intellectual experience for him as he learns the true essence of a friendship and learns the values of respect. He was planning to apply this knowledge to being an author and writing his experiences using his books as an outlet for what he has learned. He was brought out of the cave