Amir in the Kite Runner - Essay Example

Baba, his father is quite well off in the economic standards of Afghanistan. For this reason, Amir is raised and grows up familiarized and used to always getting to have what he desires to have. Perhaps the single thing he feels he is dispossessed of having is a profound and genuine emotional relationship with his father, Baba. This deprivation is a problem for him in which he places the guilt on his own self. He feels as though Baba wants Amir to have been more like him. In addition, Baba also makes Amir feel guilty for the death of his mother who has passed away while giving birth to Amir.

Amir, therefore, is constantly overcome by jealousy and feels great envy to any person who might be getting the affection and fondness of his father. His relationship with the his friend, Hassan plays a great role in this part as this does nothing but intensifies this feeling of jealousy and envy. Even though Hassan is the closest friend of Amir, Amir considers Hassan is subservient to him. Because Baba shows as if he is fonder of Hassan than him, Amir tries to behave forcefully though attacks that avoid direct confrontation.

This is shown through mockery of Hassan’s unfamiliarity by pranking and playing tricks. However at the same time, Amir is never able to protect and guard himself against anyone else who might attack or hurt him because good-hearted Hassan always comes in to defend him. All of these elements play a crucial role in his weakness and timidity in sacrificing his sole rivalry for Baba’s approval and love. He sacrifices Hassan to be able to acquire the blue kite that Amir believes will make Baba finally appreciate and approve of him.

The transformation of Amir’s nature and character is evidently seen and observed in the novel as he grows from a self-centered young boy to a self-sacrificing man. After doing nothing to stop the raping of Hassan by Assef, Amir comes to realize that he is not any much better off than he was. Quite the reverse has happened. His feeling of responsibility and guilt is unyielding, and he acknowledges that it is his self-centeredness that caused the loss of his joy instead of increasing it as what was originally intended.

As he goes on with his life in San Francisco, Rahim Khan, a man that Amir felt who understood and appreciated him more, then appeals Amir to come to the United States. He desires Amir to return, ambiguously letting Amir know, "There is a way to be good again" (Hosseini 192). Amir decides to leave all in the U.S. and finally returns to Afghanistan. Once back in his home country, Rahim Khan updates Amir of what has happened since he last was in Afghanistan. Rahim, Hassan, and his wife, resided in the house of Baba.

Hassan had a child with his wife Farzana, and hi name is Sohrab. Unfortunately, the Taliban heartlessly killed Hassan and Farzana, making Sohrab a poor orphan. Rahim Khan tells Amir to save Sohrab. Amir is, at first, unwilling, but Rahim Khan finally tells him something that Baba never told him