How Is Amir Mature In The Kite Runner

Growth is defined as the process of developing or maturing physically, mentally, or spiritually. In the novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini tells a story of a privileged young boy named Amir who is raised by his dad in Kabul, Afghanistan. As Amir gets older, he starts to learn about his privilege and begins to view his relationships differently, especially his relationship with his best friend Hassan. Conflicted between whether or not he views Hassan as his best friend or servant, Amir makes mistakes he never quite learns to forgive himself for. The story sets him on a journey to overcome his childhood obstacles and find himself along the way. Through this journey, Amir learns that his capacity for growth is the foundation for his eventual

Amir has to physically mature and admit what he did as a child to come to terms with his past. He tries to forget by suppressing the memory, but he never learns to forgive himself. Rahim Khan, a father figure from Amir’s youth, is a witness to the guilt that Amir carried as a child. In Rahim Khan’s final letter to Amir, he includes these words, “What you did was wrong, Amir-jan, but do not forget that you were a boy when it happened” (Hosseini 301) as a way for Amir to consider that while his actions are not excused, he’s too young to comprehend his situation. The guilt he’s held onto since the day in the alley is what drives him to travel to Pakistan and make things right. Rahim Khan tells Amir that Baba was also holding onto guilt which made Baba do good things. He continues in his letter, “And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good” (301). It is through Rahim Khan that he recognizes his guilt and can grow emotionally to redeem

When Amir and Sohrab meet, it dawns on Amir that whatever happens to Sohrab from now on will be his responsibility and he must do what it takes to keep him safe. This, unfortunately, goes wrong. Amir tries to place him in an orphanage and Sohrab cries saying “You promised you’d never put me in one of those places, Amir agha,” (341). It isn’t until later that Amir gets a call from Soraya saying they didn’t need to put him in the orphanage, Amir finds Sohrab bleeding out in the bathtub. After living through his parents’ murder, sexual and physical assault from Assef, and suicide attempts, Sohrab is broken and tired. He says to Amir that he wants his “…old life back” (354) – a life with his parents before everything went wrong. Amir knows he can’t provide this for Sohrab but also knows that ‘It’s just you and me now’ (355) and he must rebuild trust with Sohrab. Their relationship in America is filled with radio silence on Sohrab’s end and Amir starts to lose hope. Toward the end of the book, Sohrab and Amir are flying a kite together while Amir reminisces about how he used to fly kites with Hassan. A sliver of hope is found when he sees Sohrab enthralled by the kite battle, “It was only a smile, nothing more. …But I’ll take it… Because when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the