How Does Amir Change In The Kite Runner

Thesis: In both the memoir, Night, written by Elie Wisel, and the novel, Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, the main characters, Elie and Amir, have a moment of weakness putting themselves before family causing them to face many obstacles as they try to overcome the guilt they created.

A. In the Kite Runner Amir betrays his only friend because of his jealousy and need of approval from his father; the guilt causes him to question his true intentions and identity which is shown as a constant obstacle throughout the novel

B. Hosseini portrays Amir as a selfish person in the beginning of the novel, so later he can show he has changed, expressing the theme of redemption through Amir’s guilt.

C. When Amir uses Hassan as a sacrificial lamb

This guilt haunts Amir throughout the entirety of the novel as an obstacle that he constantly tries to overcome as shown when he finds out the truth and says, “I felt like a man who awakens in his own house and finds all the furniture rearranged , so that every familiar nook and cranny looks foreign now. Disoriented, he has to reevaluate his surroundings, reorient himself,” (Hosseini 224). This is the beginning of Amir finding out who he was as a person,and it is a big step to finding his own identity. When Amir finds out it seems as if “every familiar nook and cranny looks foreign” because what he has always used to defend himself was that Hassan was just a servant, but now he was his brother. Amir’s selfishness soon turns unjustifiable and as he now feels that it is time to finally get over his guilt and “reorient himself.” Once Amir reorients himself he finds peace as he meets Hassan’s son Sorhab and sees him smile for the first time.He uses this as a way to redeem himself finally facing his guilt as he repeats what Hassan once said to him,“For you a thousand times over,’ I heard myself say. Then I turned and ran,” (Hosseini 371). This quote expresses that fixing past relationships is the last obstacle he has to face before finally getting rid of his guilt for what happened so long ago. Repeating the words, “For you a thousand times over” shows how everything has come full circle meaning Amir has finally found a way to forgive himself for what happened. This quote