Foils In The Kite Runner

Can we achieve personal growth when our past is weighing us down? In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, we follow Amir’s journey for atonement. Amir is a young man in Kabul, whose selfish decision disguised in naiveté brought only regret. The evolution of Amir’s character can be seen in Hosseini’s use of character foils such as Hassan and Sohrab.

Amir had always been perceived as weak in his younger years. But that was not a big issue since he had Hassan. The person with whom he was raised and shared his most memorable moments, the person who represents his childhood, and the most devoted companion he ever had. When Amir was in need, Hassan would give a helping hand: "Hassan held the slingshot pointed directly at Assef’s face...

More than Baba himself, it was what he didn’t receive from him. He might have gotten a big house—in fact, the prettiest place in Kabul—but it was so big and so empty, a place without love and affection, not what we call home. In Amir's eyes, "the face of Afghanistan" was always by his side. Yet that wasn’t enough; he craved acceptance from his father and would do anything for it. He only had to win a kite-running tournament; he had been so close in the past years, but this year he was determined to get it—the win and Baba’s love. Obviously, Hassan was going to be the one running that kite for him, he would always do anything for Amir. Amir knew that Hassan would definitely come back with that kite. He had discovered something he wished he could ignore while looking for Hassan, but more importantly, the kite: Hassan with the blue kite, accompanied by Assef. Hassan was getting sexually assaulted, and Amir was driven by fear: "I could step into that alley... Or I could run. In the end, I ran." Amir was a young boy; he was not strong and he wasn’t brave, and he didn't have the qualities required to save the person he appreciated the

He had the love of not only Baba but also a family; he had what he wanted most, and he had filled that loneliness within him. What he once longed for the most brought him a bigger hassle: guilt. He had to live with it. That was until Rahim Khan gave him "a way to be good again" and a chance to redeem himself for what he couldn’t as a boy. A way to let go of the bittersweet memory of Hassan. He had to leave his life behind, and after some hesitation, he decides to try—at least this once—to save what was left of the one he couldn’t save. To his surprise, Sohrab had been abused by the same person as his father, but now it was different. He was still scared, but he had to do something; he had to save Sohrab. "I remember this: his brass knuckles flashing in the afternoon... Sohrab screaming... The sound of my ribs snapping... But I felt healed. Healed at last." He was driven by fear; he stood there, but he didn’t run away. He tried to put up a fight the best he could. He failed. He had failed and suffered, but that pain meant that he was doing something; at last, he was not running away. He was receiving his punishment and, finally, the forgiveness he had searched for so