What Are Amir's Emotions In The Kite Runner

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Emotions can drive one’s actions. Whether it be anger causing an individual to lash out or sadness causing someone to alienate themselves, emotions can change a person. Often emotions can overwhelm and cause an individual to be irrational. In The Kite Runner Amir lets his emotions drive his decisions. The Kite Runner present the story of a young boy fighting for his father's approval and ends with an adoptive parent trying to gain the child's approval. Amir’s emotions and actions make him who he is.
A father's treatment of his children can be a deciding factor in the children's future. Amir and Baba’s relationship is complex. Baba’s ultimately loves his son. However, he is incredibly hard on his son. He wants for Amir to be the man he …show more content…

He had to “ decide who I [he] was going to be. I [he] could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan- the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past- and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run” (Hosseini 77). While Amir had a choice to go save Hassan or run, he chooses to run. Amir was too concerned about Baba being proud of him to stay true to his morals. He did not want Hassan getting any attention after his accomplishment of the day. Amir gets extremely jealous when Baba’s attention is not fully on himself. To justify his cowardice act Amir thinks only of gaining his father's approval instead of the betrayal to his friend. Amir would get upset when Hassan could do anything better than him. Amir would go as far as no longer doing something he liked if Hassan was better. This is a prime example of emotions getting in the way of Amir’s rational …show more content…

Amir realises he is incapable of living a tranquil life with his guilt. Guilt drives Amir to make yet another bad decision. Seeing Hassen in the house became too much for Amir to handle emotionally. So Amir conspired against Hassan. Amir’s guilt drives his actions in placing money and a watch under Hassan’s pillow and blaming him for stealing it. Ultimately, his plan worked to get rid of Hassan but not the guilt. Later in the novel, after Hassan has been executed, readers can see that Amir’s guilt still resides in his head. Amir has a dream where he has Hassan tied up and blindfolded. He says “The riffle roars...I see the face behind the plume of smoke swirling from the muzzle. I am the man” (Hosseini 240). In his dream he shoots Hassan. Showing that Amir feels as if he is the one who should be held accountable for Hassan’s death. The guilt follows him wherever he goes. Even when he tries to sleep guilt is there to torment him. Moving the whole way to America was a another failed attempt to escape the families issues in

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