Resilience of a human's spirit is what shapes people's character. Amir's development as a character is hugely shaped by the toughness of his spirit. In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini demonstrates the idea of the resilience of the human spirit from the symbols of the pomegranate tree, the kite and literacy. The pomegranate tree in Amir's life can be shown through the points of innocence, conflict and endurance. Innocence is a huge part in Amir's life at the beginning of the novel and Hassan was a huge part of it “"There was a pomegranate tree near the entrance of the cemetery. One summer day, I used one of Ali's kitchen knives to carve our names on it: 'Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul'. Those words made it formal: The …show more content…
tree was ours."(Hosseini 27). This quote shows that Amir and Hassan play together. Only early on in the book it will show them playing together. Amir has a lot of conflict happen to him in the book. Most of the conflict rises when the raping by Assef to Hassan happened. After that things didn't seem right between them. During the passage at the pomegranate tree, Amir got really angry and said… “Get up! Hit me!” (Hosseini 98). At the point that they are at in their relationship, attitude is tearing it apart. Amir has started to put a lot of things before their friendship. You have to gain endurance it is not just given to you. Over some time Amir built up endurance and that helped his friendship with Hassan. When Amir went back to Afghanistan he saw that ” The pomegranate tree hadn't born fruit in years” (Hosseini 276). Over the years, the Russians have been destroying trees throughout Afghanistan but the pomegranate tree is still alive because it had enough endurance. It shows Amir that he can change as a person if he sticks with it because the pomegranate tree is still alive after the Russians. The kite in Amir's life can be represented through the points of cowardice, class difference, and strength. Early in Amir's life he shows a lot of cowardice but eventually tries to overcome it “I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt” (Hosseini 82). All the kites go after each other in the sky but there is one flying away. The kite that is flying away is symbolizing cowardice. Amir is the one staying away from his battles as he does when Hassan gets raped. While Amir was a kid he had troubles thinking of Hassan of a friend. The biggest influence on that was class difference. Amir was always thinking he was better and above Hassan. When Amir thought about flying kites there was no question he was better “ next to me, Hassan held the spool, his hands already bloodied by the string” (Hosseini 67). Amir is just standing there watching Hassan hold the string and hurt himself. Amir is getting little cuts while Hassan takes most of the pain.Hassan is getting hurt in many ways because Amir thinks there is a big difference in class difference between them. Kites are made very strong so they won't break easily and will be able get into many battles. Amir and Hassan's class difference is gone when Amir claims”For you a thousand times over” (Hosseini 391). This passage shows that Amir has grown up and is more mature now. It is showing that there won't be a class difference between Amir and Hassan anymore. The kite was shown to impact Amir's life good, bad and very good ways. Amir's life was impacted from literacy through the stages of anger, mentorship and healing.
Firstly, Amir's anger from literacy was not normal. At Amir's birthday party Assef gives him something in the shape of a book “I tore the wrapping paper from Assef’s present and titled the book cover in the moonlight. It was a biography of hitler. I threw it in a tangle of weeds” (Hosseini 104). Amir shows some of his anger when he receives the book from Assef. The way he would express his anger would be though literacy which does not help him in his progress to redemption. Amir never thought Hassan would be a mentor to him. Amir was the one that always read to Hassan, and he never clued in that he was a huge mentor to his literacy “Hassan couldn't read a first grade textbook but he'd read me plenty” (Hosseini 66). Amir was clueless that Hassan was offering mentorship. Amir got better as a writer from reading to Hassan. Even if Amir does not think Hassan is a mentor he is. Amir's process to heal took almost the whole book. Amir has been trying to forget his past since living in Afghanistan at the beginning of the book. His healing process began through literacy and went to the end of the book “ school gave me an excuse to stay in my room for long hours” (Hosseini 96). Amir spent a lot of time in his room writing and reading. If Amir did not have literacy it would not be possible for him to overcome those hard times in his
life. Flexibility of the human soul is the thing that shapes a human's character. In the novel “The Kite Runner” Khaled Hosseini builds up this thought through the images of the pomegranate tree, the kite and literacy. These images lead Amir through his road to recovery in great and terrible ways.
The Kite Runner is a book about a young boy, Amir, who faces many struggles as he grows up in Kabul and later moves to America to flee from the Taliban. His best friend and brother , Hassan, was a big part of his life, but also a big part of guilt he held onto for many years. The book describes Amir’s attempt to make up for the past and resolve his sins so he can clear his conscious. Amir is worthy of forgiveness because although he was selfish, he was very brave and faced his past.
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.
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.”(Eleanor Roosevelt). Courage and bravery are two of the well-demonstrated themes in the novel “The Kite Runner”. The novel establishes courage through consistently maintaining responsibilities and the ability to redeem and persevere events and actions. Rather, bravery is demonstrated in the novel as the ability to stand up for anything that goes against teaching and values. Bravery also goes above and beyond courage, and can be seen as an act that may challenge someone physically, emotionally and mentally. The novel is
Amir’s development from being “a boy who won’t stand up for himself,” to a man that stands up for the morally responsible thing to do (22, Hosseini). When Amir was a child, he tried to escape from his sins in the past by hiding them with lies. However, this only made it worse for Amir, causing him to be an insomniac for much of his life and putting himself through constant torment. Only when Amir became a man, like Baba wanted him to be, was Amir able to face the truth of what he done and put himself on the path of redemption. Even when Amir was suffering a violent beating from Assef, Amir was able to laugh because he knew he was doing what he should have for Hassan years ago. Amir’s development from a child, who lies in order to cower from their own mistakes, into a man, someone who is not only able to admit his sins, but atone for them, is essential to communicating the theme of redemption being the only way to settle with your
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 feelings of anger but sometimes sympathy, towards Amir. By the end, we are not as angry as Amir, the reader to begin with. Amir has grown into a better person and has tried to fix his past mistakes.
Amir makes mistakes and hurts his friend Hassan, and immediately afterwards he felt guilt, and wanted forgiveness, but Hassan acted like Amir did nothing, which bothered Amir even worse. And that lasted on, throughout his childhood he’s constantly upset about what he has done to Hassan, he doesn’t feel like it can be fixed. 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
(2) The Kite Runner follows Amir on his odyssey to redeem himself for his hurtful actions. Through this journey, Khaled Hosseini delivers the message that sin and guilt can always be atoned for. At the beginning of The Kite Runner, young Amir wins a kite fighting tournament. He feels like he has finally redeemed himself for his father.
The pomegranate tree: The pomegranate tree symbolizes Amir and Hassan’s relationship. The tree once proved Hassan’s loyalty to Amir and grew fruit. Years later the tree is still there, just like Hassan’s loyalty. However, the pomegranate tree no longer bears fruit.
In conclusion irony, symbolism, and foreshadowing contribute to the omnipresent theme of redemption throughout The Kite Runner. Khaled Hosseini ties together seemingly unimportant details of the story to create irony, and juxtaposes segments of his book to show redemption.
This embarrasses and frustrates Amir. This frustration is one reason for Amir to slowly but surely push Hassan out of his life. Although it is not the most obvious reason, it is an underlying one. This is a mistake on Amir’s part because Hassan does so much for Amir, being the loyal friend that he is, and for Amir to push someone of such good moral and character out of his life, is a tremendous mistake on his behalf. It is quite obvious that Hassan would give his life for Amir, but, because of where Hassan comes from, Amir struggles throughout his childhood, to find a way to accept the friendship Hassan gives him.
In the book Amir can be seen as a troubled young boy who is struggling with a tremendous amount of guilty. It is easy to blame Amir’s actions on his guilty and his father’s lack of love for him. The movie does not allow this. The movie characterizes Amir as a young boy who is to blind by his owns needs to be a decent and noble friend. The movie does not do a good job of showing that Amir felt horribly guilty about what he did to Hassan. It portrays Amir as uncaring and selfish. The movie also changes the depiction of Amir as an adult. While the book shows Amir as a man who has not yet learned to stand for what is right until he comes face to face with his past all over again, the movie jumps the gun and shows the change earlier with the change of a scene. The scene that is changed is when Amir and Farid visit the orphanage where Sohrab is supposed to be. In the scene Amir is the one to try and kill the orphanage owner instead of Farid which takes away from Amir’s cowardice persona that is portrayed in the book. The movie makes Amir seem stronger before his time while the book keeps up his weakling persona until he is faced with a situation he cannot help but stand up to. Similarly the characterization of Hassan is just as lacking as Amir’s in the movie. In the book, Hassan is shown as being selfless beyond a doubt and loyal to a fault.
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 ...
The world-renowned novel, The Kite Runner was written by Afghanistan born American novelist Khaled Hosseini. Hosseini was born into a Shia Muslim family in Kabul that later in life decided to move to Paris. Hosseini was unable to return to Kabul due to the Taliban take over, this cause the Hosseini family to seek political asylum in America. The actions that Hosseini witnessed of his beloved home country influenced his novel with the themes of guilt and redemption. “The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but the one who causes the darkness.” – Victor Hugo. In The Kite Runner the theme of guilt and redemption is shown through the character development of the protagonist Amir. Hosseini used Amir’s guilt of his past to grow the impression that with regret lies a hope for redemption.
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.
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