The novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, illustrates Amir, who was once a coward and unable to stand up to anything, but later attempts to make up for his past. Amir betrays his friend who is devoted in doing everything for him, attempting to redeem himself as he grew up. Amir was not like other boys he grew up with. He was never one to stand up for himself, he wasn’t interested or athletic when it came to sports like Hassan, he only had one thing he was passionate about, and that was literature. Thus, longing for the validation that he deeply desired from his father and seeing how Hassan was the kind of kid his father wanted him to be. He overhears Baba talking to Rahim, saying, “You know what always happens when the neighborhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fends them off” (Hosseini 22). Therefore, overhearing what his …show more content…
Amir tries saving Sohrab from Assef so he doesn’t go through what Hassan went through. He suffers a bad beating from Assef, wondering if he put up a good fight, saying, “How could I have? That was the first time I’d fought anyone. I had never so much as thrown a punch in my entire life” (Hosseini 288). Amir has never stood up for himself or Hassan once in his life, but yet he gave his best shot on fighting Assef. Hence, showing his eagerness to save Sohrab, nearly dying if Sohrab hadn’t helped him. He ended up with many serious injuries, though, deep down, he had been looking forward to this beating as a form of punishment for his guilt that he carried since he was a kid. However, Sohrab had been put through many traumatic events that he says he wants his old life back and so Amir tells him, “Sohrab, I can’t give you your old life back. I wish to God I could. But I can take you with me” (Hosseini 355). Amir knows that it is too late to make things right between him and Hassan, but he can still redeem himself by taking care of Sohrab, making sure he is