The Conflicted Character of an Anti- Hero
In literary writing, a protagonist is often the one who captures the hearts of readers through their heroic traits and acts. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, the protagonist, Amir, lacks these conventional heroic traits and more often displays characteristics that line with a villain. Through his acts of betrayal and redemption, he is often found hurting those who are most loyal to him. Despite Amir committing immoral acts against those who care the most about him, he cannot be named a true literary villain as he consequently experiences overwhelming feelings of guilt. As Amir is found as a conflicted character through this becoming of age novel, he finds the weakness and strengths within
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Rather than formally and responsibly resolving the issue, he attempts to demolish Baba and Ali’s forty year relationship by framing Hassan. This time, instead of feeling at discomfort with who he was due to his father, it was due to his dearly beloved friend Hassan. Choosing to ease himself of the burden of mistakes, he hides a stash of money under Hassan’s bed to rid of it. Lasty, a last instance in which Amir is found choosing his own desires over the good will of others is twenty six years later when Amir is given a chance to redeem himself. “Why me? Why can’t you pay someone here to go? I’ll pay for it if it’s a matter of money,” (204) Amir says to Rahim Khan when asked to retrieve Sohrab, Hassan’s son. Despite the wrenching act done against Hassan during Amir’s childhood, he still had difficulty summoning the selflessness act of committing a favour for Hassan. Just as Amir had struggled to rescue Hassan twenty six years prior, he hesitated one again. It is quite obvious Amir is only thinking of himself rather than the immoral act done against Hassan, once again proving him to be selfish at heart. These disfiguring events show readers the anti-heroic trait of selfishness distinguished within Amir that are driven by his own desires to feel content with who he
Amir makes hassan look like a thief by “planting [his] new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under [the mattress]” (Hosseini 104). Hassan knew of Amirs intentions that Amir wanted him to leave so Hassan lies and says that he stole it in order to remain loyal with his friend Amir. Thus, Hassan and his father Ali, feel like they can no longer serve Baba or Amir anymore and leave forever; Amir never sees him again. It was then that Amir realized how much of a horrible person he was and how undeserving he was to have Hassan. His father realized it was him and forgave him even though his father said “theft is unforgivable.”
Amir believes that what Rahim is asking of him is too much, too much of a risk. Rahim believes that this action, will help amend the lies Amir said in his past. Rahim tells Amir, “ It has never been about money with money with me, you know that. And why you? I think we both know why is has to be you, don’t we?”
The author provides the reader with mixed feeling about Amir. In his childhood in Kabul Amir comes off as heartless person. He is this because he has done evil stuff in his life. In the beginning of the story something bad happens to Hassan, Amir says,¨In the end, I ran.
To undo this guilt he does different actions in the positive way that show how his actions are now used for positive good deeds. Amir grows to become someone willing to die for Sohrab and believes Sohrab to be a part of his family which is ironic because Hassan was never able to become a part of their family due to social pressures. After Amir recognizes that Hassan knew all along Amir has a bigger feeling of guilt which is only washed away through constant deeds. One service is when Amir places the crumpled money for a positive outcome rather than to chase someone out, “ Earlier that morning, when I was certain no one was looking, I did something I had done twenty-six years earlier: I planted a fistful of crumpled money under a mattress ( 242) ”. As Amir grows as a character after ridding himself of different guilts he develops and grows by changing different actions that he has committed in the past as a sin.
By leaving Hassan defenceless against Assef, Amir’s disloyalty and inability to stand up for his friend truly emphasises his cruel nature. Amir physically and mentally turns away from the rape. He justifies his decision to leave Hassan by saying “I actually aspired to cowardice because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right. Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba.”
In his mind, he believes that Baba will send Ali and Hassan away, and, as a result, he will finally gain some peace. To Amir’s surprise, Hassan confesses to stealing his gifts without hesitation symbolizing “Hassan’s final sacrifice for [him]” (105). At that moment, Amir realizes that Hassan knew of his betrayal, which added to his already guilty conscience. Hassan could have easily told Baba the truth and he would have believed him because”[everyone] knew that Hassan never lied”, which, in turn, would ruin Amir’s relationship with his father (105). He probably knew that Amir was unworthy of his sacrifice, that he was the “snake in the grass, the monster in the lake”, but he lied for Amir’s own benefit
The main character had to manage his father’s neglect while growing up. All Amir really wants is to be “looked at, not seen, listened to, not heard” (Hosseini 65), and while this conflict shapes the way that Amir grew up, readers are exposed to the
The Power of People: The Lasting Influence Rahim Khan has on Amir in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini It is often the individuals taken for granted that have the most impact in the lives of others. Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner explores the profound power that lies in the hands of influential figures, and the resulting impact that they can have in terms of shaping ones identity and actions. While personally lacking rich character development, Rahim Khan’s role in the novel is significant, not only in terms of influencing Amir’s life, but also as a tool of personification used to embody the overall themes that are exemplified.
The author had us view Amir as selfish, guilty, and then working towards forgiveness. These characteristics help us to better understand the overall theme of the novel. They showtime stages that one goes through when they are on a path toward forgiveness. The themes of betrayal, guilt, and forgiveness all appear in this novel and are able to be seen clearly through the feelings and actions of
In the novel, Hosseini uses Amir’s internal conflict highlights how unresolved guilt and fear can negatively impact one’s life. Hassan’s rape initiates the internal conflict in Amir that lasts the rest of his young adult life. Assef rapes Hassan after the kite running competition prompting Amir to run away in terror and fear. After the incident, Amir celebrates the victory of
The next morning, Amir mirrors an action he committed twenty-six years earlier with a different purpose. He “planted a fist full of crumpled money under a mattress” for Farid’s family to show gratitude and so they would be able to feed their hungry kids (242). As he reminiscences back to the first time he did this, his tone is no longer remorseful and abashed. In fact, the more selfless actions he accomplishes, the more he starts to embrace the changes in his behavior. Amir progresses to forgive himself for getting Hassan and Ali kicked out by counterbalancing it with his selflessness in giving Farid’s family
However, Amir’s selfish ambition of proving his worth to this dad resisted his urge to try to help Hassan as he wants to able to take the kite home safely. Moreover, Amir presumes that his betrayal towards Hassan is like a curse in his life since he will not be able to forgive himself for this deception or free himself from the guilt that has taken over his
It is delineated by natural inclination that people sympathize with others who undergo an unfortunate circumstance or event. However, this type of behavior is dependent on how one uses prior knowledge to judge whether someone is worthy of sympathy. The idea that people tend to draw conclusions based on other people’s decisions and character remains as one of the many underlying themes in literature. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, Amir’s character is considered worthy of sympathy by his redeeming actions towards the end of the novel, his good intentions toward Baba, and his ability to empathize with others.
Thus, glancing towards either direction to make sure that ‘the coast is clear’. He deprives Hassan and Ali from the house they have served faithfully for a long time, thereby stealing the truth from Hassan and depriving them of a home they knew well. Amir is driven by both the greed for his father’s attention and the guilt of being helpless when Hassan was raped. The reason why he couldn’t remain under the same roof as Hassan was because he felt guilty that he hadn’t tried to stop the rape and save his friend. The reason why he couldn’t step in to save his friend was because he was not strong enough and wanted to please his father at any
In the novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini tells the story of Amir, a young, Afghan boy who learns about what it means to be redeemed through the experiences he encounters in his life. The idea of redemption becomes a lesson for Amir when he is a witness to the tragic sexual assault of his childhood friend, Hassan. As a bystander in the moment, Amir determines what is more important: saving the life of his friend or running away for the safety of himself. In the end, Amir decides to flee, resulting in Amir having to live with the guilt of leaving Hassan behind to be assaulted. Hosseini shows us how Amir constantly deals with the remorse of the incident, but does not attempt to redeem himself until later in his life when Hassan has died.