Character Analysis: The Kite Runner

683 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Critically analyse Amir character in the kite runner

In The Kite Runner, Amir is emotionally damaged because of the fact that his father does not see him as his son. The author makes the reader feel sympathetic towards him because of all the things he has gone through in his life. When Amir tries to do something to make his father proud, his father shuts him out and acts like he is not a part of the family. For example, Baba, Amir’s father said this about him in a conversation between him and Rahim, “If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son”. Another example would be the time when Amir wrote a story and told Baba and he replied with “Well, that’s very good, isn’t it?” One more example of Amir’s troubled life is the time when he’s being bullied by Assef for hanging out with Hassan which is a Hazara. All of these examples are what made him an emotionally unstable person. In the first example, Baba is having a conversation with Rahim about Amir and how different he is compared to him. Amir overheard this conversation and made him very angry, snapping at Rahim the next morning. This example is especially important because it shows how Baba makes Amir feel unwanted and unappreciative by his own father. Since his father is the only family he has got left, he feels as though nobody loves him. Making Amir feel that he …show more content…

The various examples given, make the reader feel sympathetic towards Amir because of all the bad things he has gone through in his life. All Amir wants to do is feel loved and accepted by his father and others, but cannot because his father does not accept him for who he is and wants him to follow in his footsteps. So Amir is constantly battling between himself and his father to make him proud enough to call him his son. The readers act more sympathetic rather than hatred because of how dysfunctional he has become because of his

Show More
Related

  • Baba's Guilty In 'The Kite Runner'

    190 Words  | 1 Pages

    This quote, an excerpt from the letter Rahim Khan wrote to Amir, reveals the inner torment Baba faced regarding his two sons, whom he didn’t know how to love fairly, and the guilt he carried for fathering an illegitimate son, guilt that is reminiscent of Amir’s guilt for betraying Hassan. All his life, Baba had been hard on Amir, withholding the fatherly affection Amir longed for, but, as Rahim reveals, this was also hard on Baba. Baba wanted to be able to show affection to both of his sons, but didn’t know how when one of his sons was illegitimate and the other represented everything that made him feel guilty. In this quote, it is also apparent that Baba is much more like Amir than either of them thought. Baba harbored guilt for betraying Ali, just as Amir suffered guilt for betraying Hassan.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Lying And Deceit In The Kite Runner

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Perfect Heroes In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

    1866 Words  | 4 Pages

    In The Kite Runner, Amir and his father, Baba, display lives of contradictions while Hassan and Rahim Khan live lives of purity. Baba is displayed as an immoral man while at home because he is not loving his son and he cheated with his friends’ wife and had a child. Even some of Baba’s good qualities, such as his care for Hassan and Ali, his father, seem to have a selfish motive behind them because he wants to keep his son close to him. While Baba is never the father figure in the first part of the book, once they leave their home, Baba seems to care a lot more about Amir.

    Read More

  • Becoming A Man In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    His father was a role model in the way that he was always looking out for others. When they are escaping Afghanistan, Baba stands up for the lady in the truck at the possible cost of his own life. “Tell him I’ll take a thousand of his bullets before I let this indecency take place” (pg.116). Amir’s conscience travels back again to the alley way. “Some hero I had been, fretting about the kite”(pg.116). Amir would never have stood up for the lady, comparable to how he never stood up for Hassan in the alleyway. Back in the alleyway Amir had been given the perfect chance to stand up for Hassan, relatable to how Hassan had stood up for Amir innumerable times before. Instead, in a time that he could have proven to his father that he was a man, he was a boy. Not necessarily as a result of not been taught to stand up for others, but by cause that the idea of proving himself to Baba was more appealing than sacrificing the kite. “Sometimes, I too wondered if I was really Baba’s son.” (pg.116). Both Amir and Baba cannot understand how they are related. Baba fits his nickname“Toophan agha, or “Mr. Hurricane”...my father was a force of nature, a towering pushton specimen” (pg. 12) vs. Amir, a shy scrawny child who cannot stand up for himself, let alone

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Hero's Journey Essay

    1674 Words  | 4 Pages

    We all are heroes of our own story, and it is a quality seen in many movies and books. The hero's journey is about progress and passage. This journey involves a separation from the unknown, known world, and a series of phases the hero must go through . Each stage of the journey must be passed successfully if the person is to become a hero. In “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, the main character Amir faces a series of trials and goes through obstacles where the concept of his childhood dies. Amir's mother passes away during his birth, and his left with the suspicion that his father blames him for her death. Amir longes for his father's attention and approval, but does not receive any affection as a son. He grows up with his Hazara best friend, Hassan. In Afghanistan culture, Hazaras are considered lower class and inferiors in society. Amir describes his friendship with Hassan saying, “then he would remind us that there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break." (20). Amir first refuses the call of action due to being afraid of the adventure ahead of him. Call to action is the very first step of the hero's journey, where the hero is disrupted and the

    Read More

  • Baba And Amir Relationship Analysis

    743 Words  | 2 Pages

    The longing for parental acceptance is often what leads to childhood downfall. At some point a child strives to make their parent proud. When a lack of attention is displayed in a parent child relationship there is a lack of communication and support. In The Kite Runner this type of relationship is shown through Baba and Amir's interactions. Throughout The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Amir and Baba’s relationship takes many turns. Their relationship affects the plot through many situations such as when Baba acts uninterested in Amir's life, When Baba fails to treat Amir the same as Hassan, and when Baba takes his guilt and anger out on Amir.

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Amir Dangerous Quotes

    466 Words  | 1 Pages

    Throughout Amir’s journey to absolve himself from the internal and distressing pain he has felt ever since witnessing the devastating altercation in the alley, trying to reach a standard his father, Baba, would approve of also took a toll on his childhood. Baba often speaks of how he cannot fathom the fact that Amir is a part of his bloodline. (quotes quotes quotes) Trying to achieve the perfect son status that Baba wanted Amir to be clouded his mind so greatly that, during the moment, Amir did not show compassion towards Hassan’s troubling moment of need. What matter most was retrieving the last fallen kite to his father to prove he was not a mistake that Baba made Amir believe he was. Even after Baba’s death, his actions brought more despair and uncertainty to Amir’s complicated life. The secrets and lies that were kept from Amir and even Hassan could have altered the fate of both men. (quote quote quote) Throughout the novel, Amir could arguably be considered as selfish, rude and mean toward his half-brother Hassan. However, since Baba never told the two about their true relationship Amir grew up disliking Hassan because he did not know that they shared blood. Knowing their true identities possibly could

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner: A Journey Towards Atonement

    1939 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...rough his actions to save Sohrab, Amir became the man his father had always wanted him to be. Although Baba never lived up to the persona he created for himself, Amir did, and that is why his attempts to achieve atonement were more successful than his father’s. While Baba was unable to seek more than personal redemption, Amir found atonement with himself, Hassan, and God. Amir also found the courage his father lacked to make the necessary sacrifices to achieve redemption. Amir’s ability to transform into a strong character was a result of what he learned from his father’s strengths and weaknesses. While Baba was unable to achieve true redemption, he was a true role model that provided his son, Amir, with the necessary skills to achieve atonement for both of them.

    Read More

  • The Power of the Written Word in The Kite Runner by Hosseini

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    instance of The Kite Runner, one of the most notable aspects of the story is the relationship between Baba and Amir. The feelings between father and son are deeply

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Amir Character Analysis

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    Amir begins his life as a meek boy who desperately clambered to earn his father's’ affection. He was a cowardly, selfish, short minded boy who would even stab his childhood friend in the back for a slim chance at bonding with his dad. He was outshone by his best friend, who would stand between the bullies and Amir, and fight Amir’s battles for him. His father noticed this, and told Rahim Khan “A

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Shame Analysis

    1541 Words  | 4 Pages

    Though some may rise from the shame they acquire in their lives, many become trapped in its vicious cycle. Written by Khlaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner describes the struggles of Amir, his father Baba, and his nephew Sohrab as they each fall victim to this shameful desolation. One repercussion of Baba hiding his sinful adultery from Amir is that Amir betrays Hassan for his father’s stringent approval. Sohrab’s dirty childhood also traumatizes him through his transition to America. Consequently, shame is a destructive force in The Kite Runner. Throughout the course of the novel, Baba’s shameful affair, Amir’s selfish betrayal, and Sohrab’s graphic childhood destroy their lives.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Redemption In Rahim Khan's The Kite Runner

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    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,

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Kite Runner And Catcher In The Rye

    2598 Words  | 6 Pages

    The contrast between these two coming-of-age works and their protagonists’ different resolutions highlights that mentors make the ultimate difference in characters’ journeys to adulthood. Amir’s dead mother and his hopelessly aloof father do not provide him with much guidance or love; their inattention to Amir is what causes him to seek alternate mentorship. After his mother dies giving birth to him, Amir is left alone with only one parent - Baba, his father. One would assume that as the sole members of their family, father and son would be close, but instead they have a distant and chilly relationship.

    Read More

  • Humanity In The Kite Runner

    1276 Words  | 3 Pages

    Other than flying kites and watching westerns, Amir would read to Hassan to help pass the time. Amir was not a particularly a good friend to Hassan and would attack him out of jealousy. Amir would tease Hassan’s illiteracy by giving him the wrong definitions of words. Amir was devastated by Hassan for quickly finding a plot hole in his first short story. He was not athletic or brave as Hassan and Amir prided himself for being intelligent. In Amir’s situation, he felt entitled to all of his father’s attention and the majority of it, from his point of view, was going to Hassan and the

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner: Loss of Innocence & Redemption

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    During The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini reinforces the theme of the loss of innocence and redemption. Many characters lose innocence or are the cause of another character losing theirs. Amir both loses his innocence and that of others. His innocence is stolen by his father. In the novel Amir overhears Baba saying, “‘If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son’” (Hosseini 24-25). This affects Amir for his entire life as he tries to compete with Hassan for his father's attention. He does not realize that in doing so, this crumbles his world as he knows it. It makes Amir resentful, calloused, and even cruel, all of which are characteristics of someone who has lost their innocence. In turn, Amir’s loss of innocence causes other to lose their innocence because of his lack of courage and disregard for others feelings.

    Read More

More about Character Analysis: The Kite Runner

Open Document