In the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the main character Amir has struggles about who is he as a person. Amir’s inner struggles suggest that he is a coward with no backbone, and that he just wants to please people. However, some people say that Amir does have a backbone and uses courage to rescue Sohrab. In the story A Worn Path by Eudora Welty, Phoenix Jackson, who makes the trek for her grandson, would say that Amir needed motivation to show his true potential. This raises the question of whether or not Amir needs someone to motivate him to step outside of his comfort zone. Amir is depicted as someone who needs others to persuade him to take action. This occurs when Rahib Khan motivates him to use his gifts as a writer to retrieve …show more content…
Sohrab. Would his inner self motivate him do it, or does he need that motivation along a path like Phoenix Jackson? Unlike Phoenix, Amir needs Rahim Khan and others for that extra push, and he might need to be rewarded or praised to carry out an action. There are two main types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic.
Intrinsic motivation is geared toward internal rewards and reinforcers. Extrinsic motivation is geared toward external rewards and reinforcers. In this case, Amir is seen as extrinsic, while Phoenix Jackson is intrinsic. Amir is depicted to be weary of how others see him. This is noticeable when he will not call Hassan his friend, due to the backlash that may have occurred from it. This is the first glimpse of him reflecting on how others see him. Another example of this is when he wins the kite tournament. He does not want to win it for himself, but rather he wants his father to recognize him. Amir wants others to notice him and acknowledge his abilities with gifts or …show more content…
praise. Amir is shown early on to be prolific with literature.
He does not pursue it until Rahim Khan gives him a journal to write the stories in. Amir almost stops writing because his father ignores his works, but Rahim Khan read them and motivated him with the attention that he seeked. This action is what caused him to become a writer. Due to Phoenix Jackson’s self motivation to see her grandson stay healthy, she motivated herself internally to make that trip down the worn path. If Phoenix were to give Amir advice, she would tell him to stop waiting on someone to push him into a direction, but instead have the self pride to find the correct path and conquer it. In Hosseini’s story, Amir is shown to use others for motivation. However, Welty’s story has characters trying to prevent Phoenix from being motivated, like the hunter that Phoenix encounters that says “Now you go on home, Granny,” which is a negative encounter, but it doesn't stop her (Welty 1393). Hosseini depicts Amir as a coward, and even Amir calls himself one. If he would have been told something similar to what Phoenix was told, he more than likely would have been deterred from his end goal. To convince himself to not be a coward, Amir seeks refuge in others and seeks for them to guide
him. Phoenix Jackson is a proud woman who does not seek opinions from others. She would declare Hassan and her to be friends, while Amir thinks about how others would react. Phoenix would not be afraid to do this because she does not fit the stereotype that others place upon her. Amir does not only think about the harm that would occur to him, but also his father. Amir does not know that Baba’s motivation to do the good deeds, such as the orphanage, is his inner guilt. One can argue the same when Amir saves Sohrab because he is trying to eliminate his guilt regarding the rape of Hassan. A common theme in the story is Rahim Khan motivating Amir. When Rahim asks him to retrieve Sohrab, Amir walks away from Rahim’s request. Amir did not believe in himself, so he needed Rahim to show him that he is not the same coward that watched Hassan get raped. Without Rahim badgering him to save Sohrab, Amir would have only thought about himself and went back to his wife in America. This is inferred by the author choosing to state “I have a wife in America… You’d have me risk everything” because this shows Amir acting as a coward and thinking about himself before others (Hosseini 221). Rahim is the one that makes him change his mind to become brave in order to execute the plan. It cannot be proven that Amir would not have carried out the plan if Rahim had not persuaded him, but the author’s choice of using that statement implies doubt. Amir decides to take in Sohrab, but first thinks of how it is going to affect others, not himself. Culturally, Amir is worried how the community will react, since adoptions are looked down upon and pure bloodline is important. Even though Sohrab is a blood relative, Hazaras are not considered equal. Hosseini chooses to make Amir say “What do you think?” to Soraya because he is seeking approval in order to reassure himself that he is doing the right thing (Hosseini 326). Throughout his early childhood, Amir was raised to hold his father’s reputation at utmost importance. Due to this, Amir becomes reliant on other people’s approval of certain actions. This makes Amir look to others to push him towards a certain choice, or he looks for their reactions. This minor theme carried throughout the story dictates the actions of how Amir handles things. By adding Amir’s childhood, Hosseini allows the reader to understand where his cowardness originated from. On the other hand, Welty describes a single, recurring trip. This makes it so the reader is unable to see Phoenix’s growth or determine whether or not she is genuinely courageous. Hosseini including a backstory to his character while Wetly does not is what makes it so the reader feels more connected to Amir. It allows the reader to understand his reasoning as to why he does not want to make Baba “conceal the disgusted look on his face” throughout the entire story (Hosseini 21).
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
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
In Khaled Hosseini’s book, The Kite Runner, Amir is an example of growing up, making mistakes, and facing the consequences for 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 his were extreme. The reader is introduced to Amir and is disgusted about how he treats Hassan and abandons him in a time of needing rescuing. His mistakes disgust us, especially after Hassan has been by his side the entire book. As the reader gets deeper into the book, they start to develop feeling of anger but sometimes sympathy, towards Amir. By the end, we are not as angry as Amir than the reader to begin with. Amir has grown into
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Discrimination is a hellhound that gnaws at Negroes in every waking moment of their lives to remind them that the lie of their inferiority is accepted as truth in the society dominating them.” No matter what context it is in, discrimination belittles people. Accompanying that, people search for some type of validation that they are better than what they’re perceived to be. Discrimination in the narrative Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini portrays this greater theme of searching for validation. It comes in all forms. Amir looks for validation from his father and in Hassan, while Hassan looks for validation in Amir. This constant need to be accepted is directly proportional to the discrimination acted on these characters.
A boy who doesn’t stand up for himself, and a war that demands decency are two points Hosseini portrays to demonstrate the readers sense of moral values depicted in this book. Amir is taught many values to be a decent man, however when the situation presents itself for Amir demonstrate his teachings; Amir realizes how different he is from the ways of his father. Amir discovers his courage after many years of being a coward and feeling regret. The teachings of his father did sink in and Amir is now educated with the virtues of a decent man.
Due to his father’s unrealistic expectations in The Kite Runner, Amir struggles throughout the novel to become his own person. When Amir was younger, Hassan always fought his battles for him, such as when Assef, the local bully, threatens the two boys and Hassan defends them with his slingshot. His father looks down on this because of his belief that “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything” (22). However, when he is older, and Hassan isn’t in his life anymore, Amir had to grow his own confidence and courage. As the story progresses, he can be seen standing up to his disapproving father unlike how he did when he was a kid. An example is when he decides to major in english, even though his father thinks that it isn’t “real work”(134), he chooses to pursue his own interests and become an
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
Many people have done things that they can’t seek redemption for or can’t forgive themselves for, such as not being there for a friend when they need you most. Including Amir, from The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Amir is best friends with Hassan, a Hazara boy. They grow up together, and Amir later finds out that they are half brothers. Hassan helps Amir, but he allows a boy, Assef, and his group of friends to rape Hassan, which he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to forgive himself for. Amir is redeemed because he receives letters from Hassan, he adopts Sohrab, and fights Assef.
Over the course of the novel, Baba implies that he is not proud of Amir and the only reason he knows Amir is his son, is because he witnessed Amir 's birth. He states to Rahim Khan that he thinks Amir needs to stand up for himself more often. Countless times during the novel, Amir feels like he has to fight for his affection, that he has to earn Baba’s love. In order to prove himself worthy of affection and to redeem himself for not being a son Baba could be proud of, Amir yearns to win the kite runner competition. He reminisces on a memory, when all “I saw was the blue kite. All I smelled was victory. Salvation. Redemption” (65). In the aftermath of Hassan’s rape, Amir got rid of Hassan so he would not have to face the cause of his guilt on a daily basis. Amir buries the secret of the rape deep within him, where he hopes that it will not come back to haunt him, which is not the case. “We had both sinned and betrayed. But Baba had found a way to create good out of his remorse. What had I done, other than take my guilt out on the very same people I had betrayed, and then try to forget it all? What had I done, other than become an insomniac? What had I ever done to right things?” (303). As mentioned earlier, Amir is not one who stands up for himself. In order for Amir to redeem himself for betraying Hassan, and not standing up for him earlier,
In a dog-eat-dog world where people clamor over another to get a competitive edge, is there truly any place for loyalty? Nowadays it seems as though ones loyalty is measured not on the interactions they have with other people but rather the amount of points they have accumulated on their Starbucks Gold membership cards. Celebrities all over the world have millions of fans, prepared to defend their every misdeed and praise their trivial triumphs, provided that these celebrities act in a certain manner and dress in a certain way. People are killed every day due to religious violence caused by fanatical loyalty to one set of beliefs, the murderers expecting to be let into heaven for their actions. Sports teams have adoring fan-bases who loyally
Despite Hassan and Amir sharing similar hardships, Hassan is ultimately the stronger character because of the way he is able to suffer and continue to show the strength he has within himself. Hassan having the most inner strength is proven by the fact that although him and Amir share similar hardships as children, Hassans learns and grows from them, while Amir lingers upon the negativity of them. As well, Amir is always rescued while Hassan fights his own battles. Lastly, despite them both facing hardships as adults, Hassan comes through his life being the stronger person. Khaled Hosseni's The Kite Runner demonstrates how the hardships in life no matter how different or similar, can affect a life negatively or positively depending on their inner strength. This inner strength is determined by one's ability to deal with the hardships that life reveals.
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.
The themes of the loss of innocence and redemption is used throughout the novel The Kite Runner to make a point that one can lose innocence but never redeem it. Once innocence is lost it takes a part of oneself that can never be brought back from oblivion. One can try an entire life to redeem oneself but the part that is loss is permanently gone although the ache of it can be dampened with the passing of time and acts of attempted redemption. Khaled Hosseini uses characters, situations, and many different archetypes to make this point.
When people are given a chance to redeem themselves they will try to use their best abilities to accomplish their objective. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, is a historical fiction that follows Amir from childhood to adulthood. Amir, a socially awkward kid, lives in Kabul, Afghanistan with his father, Baba, a successful businessman, with his best friend, Hassan. Baba is discouraging towards Amir for not being confident in himself, but Amir finds a passion in writing. When Amir and Hassan win a kite fighting tournament, it causes Baba to accept Amir, but ultimately Hassan leaves Baba’s household because Amir betrays Hassan by not defending him when he is raped by local bullies. Due to turmoil rising in Afghanistan, Amir and Baba travel to America, where Amir becomes a successful writer and has a wife. Then Amir receives a call that can help Amir redeem his friendship with Hassan. As the book progresses, Hosseini proves that anything can be fixed through redemption. Amir’s pursuit of writing in America demonstrates the freedom found there, exemplifying the endless freedom found in America compared to Kabul. In a quest to save Hassan’s son, Sohrab, Amir fights Assef, an adversary of Amir since childhood; as Amir is losing the brawl, he goes through a similar pain that he made Hassan go through. When settling in America, Amir and Baba’s relationship improves as compared to their poor affliction in Kabul.
When individuals heavily rely on others due to their immense respect and veneration for other people’s accomplishments, this voluntary dependence causes them to be incapable of making their own judgements without being easily affected by the values of others. It is only upon an individual’s ability to overcome their own hardships will they suddenly begin to realize of their true potential and identity. In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini suggests that when individuals encounter a dilemma that significantly challenges their morality and trust for others, they become capable of overcoming these adversities and as a result, they are able to embrace their true individuality and identity. This is demonstrated through the character of Amir