The human memory has the ability to store significant moments of our lives, allowing them to have a strong effect on us as we grow older. Whether the events are positive or negative, they still shape our personality and actions in the present. In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, there are many characters who are influenced by the past and act accordingly. One of these characters is Amir, who must grow from his pusillanimity as a child to redeem himself. A critical element that Amir must contend with is the cowardice in his past. Throughout his memories, a certain phrase he overheard his father say sticks out, “‘A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.’” (Hosseini, 22) Baba’s view of him clarifies …show more content…
A significant point when Amir understands that he must change his actions was at Baba’s funeral, “Listening to them, I realized how much of who I was, what I was, had been defined by Baba and the marks he had left on people’s lives… now he was gone. Baba couldn’t show me the way anymore; I’d have to find it on my own. The thought of it terrified me.” (Hosseini, 174) This thought process was the start of Amir’s personal journey; it was what led him to return to Afghanistan and later to adopt Sohrab. Comprehending that he would need to create his own path would be the start of his road to redemption, and would motivate his actions to be more altruistic. When Amir confronted Assef once he had returned to Afghanistan, he said, “My body was broken- just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later- but I felt healed. Healed at last.” (Hosseini, 289) The mission to save Sohrab provided an opportunity for Amir to finally right his past mistakes; he finally forced himself to fight back against his enemies. By fighting Assef, Amir absolved himself and rid his conscience of the guilt of not rescuing Hassan. Although throughout most of his life, Amir tried to forget about the things he had done wrong, by the end of the story, he had corrected his errors and was becoming the son who Baba would be proud