Conformity is a highly powerful being. Conformity alone can destroy entire civilizations, crush large empires, and cause many of the world’s greatest leaders to fall. But conformity exists in varying degrees from that that convinces a president to act on a national crisis like another country would to a child deciding to bully a peer to fit in to a crowd. Yet, no matter how great the degree of conformity there is always an essence on the inside that causes one to question the conformist acts they perform. It is that tension that arises between conformity and inward questioning that makes a human human. Imagine a society where everyone conformed; there would be no individualism and freedom of expression. But imagine a world where everyone questioned; the world would just fall into anarchy. Both need to be present in a person and society for it to function properly, …show more content…
The Kite Runner revolves around the theme in literature of man versus self. Throughout the novel Amir faced many internal battles; one of them being his need to redeem himself after allowing his friend to get raped. As mentioned earlier, it was the outward conformity that caused Amir to not act on Hassan’s rape in the alleyway. But as he grew the tension between conformity and questioning started to rise and result in an imbalance. Without this imbalance where the inward questioning was overcoming the outward conformity, Amir would have not been able to rescue Sohrab. Amir could never forgive himself for doing nothing to stop Hassan’s rape, but by saving Sohrab, Hassan’s son, Amir was able to make it up to Hassan, even if Hassan was not alive to see it. Without rescuing Sohrab, Amir would have not been able to obtain self-redemption and forgive himself for his mistakes. Therefore, “that outward existence which conforms, [and] the inward life which questions” helped bring out the overall meaning of The Kite