The Kite Runner

In The Kite Runner, Amir is the narrator and protagonist of the novel and is a Pashtun and Sunni Muslim. Throughout the course of the novel, Amir changes from envious, unloving, and resentful to a man of consciousness and humility with a desire to do right. He narrates the novel from the viewpoint of an adult reflecting back across his life. The story is fraught with political and emotional turmoil. Although, it is the depiction of characters that has allowed the novel to become so prosperous and the way in which Hosseini portrays the character of Amir.

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's narrative voice is impartially consistent across most of the novel. Though, the vocabulary and sentence structure progress as he transfers from talking about his childhood years to discussing his adult life. When addressing his childhood, especially in the chapters prior to the attack on Hassan, he occasionally uses naïve, childlike dialect, for example, 'he never t...

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...ve, as for the first time in his life; he is standing up for someone else, instead of cowering down. These events prove that, although Amir is not brave in the first chapters of the novel, near the end, his character becomes the man his father desired. The irony here is that, Baba is not alive to witness Amir’s actions.
In retrospect, as time progresses and the burden of redemption increases, Amir goes to the further extremes to receive forgiveness from Hassan. He acknowledges that Hassan will only be truly happy and exonerate him once Sohrab, his son, is. This is why when at the end of the novel Amir states, 'It was only a smile, nothing more... but I'll take it' is so significant. As previously Sohrab attempted to commit suicide, he is now finally content. As the novel concludes the pressure is removed from Amir which is why his narration is at its most reliable.