The Kite Is Selfish Analysis

Amir is selfish and cowardly, but he is not to blame for his flaws. Discuss.
For the question whether Amir is to blame for his flaws, it is fundamental to understand when someone is truly selfish and cowardly. Being selfish is best defined as being concerned with one´s own profit only, without considering the possible effects this has on others. Being or acting cowardly can be defined as lacking the ability to act in the right way at the right time, especially on moments when you are most vulnerable.
Amir lives in troubled times in Afghanistan, where a war is going on between his homeland and the Soviet Union. Afghanistan is a non-western country, which has norms and values that differ a lot from western countries .To illustrate, in non-western

When Amir wins the kite tournament, Hassan runs after the kite Amir had cut last for him. Assef, a feared bully in their town, and his two friends chase Hassan down in an alley. They want Hassan to hand over Amir’s kite to them, but he is not willing to because of his deeply rooted loyalty. By making this decision, Hassan is the one who pays the price.
Amir’s cowardice and selfishness is seen best in this same situation. Amir is paralyzed the moment he sees Hassan in the alley, surrounded by the bullies. He knows that Assef is about to rape his best friend. However, instead of standing up for him like a true friend would, he just stands there frozen. “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.”
Amir sees the blue kite as a way to win over his father’s love and respect and is therefore concerned with his own interest only, finding it more important than the price Hassan has to pay. Moreover, he is not able to act the way he would have wanted to act later on (cowardice), and he would regret this moment for a long period of his life, because in the end, the physical pain of Hassan hurts Amir psychologically and makes him the other