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Identity In The Kite Runner

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Have you ever wondered what it's like to have your identity changed, by one simple mistake? In Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner, identity is a complex theme that is explored in many different ways, including Amir's journey from an Afghani refugee to a successful American citizen. As he goes through these changes , he must learn to deal with conflicts. One of the most prominent examples of this is Amir’s struggle with the guilt he feels for Hassan, and the way his character changes throughout the novel while still struggling with this guilt and anger. The identities of Amir, Hassan, Baba, and Assef were created through situations they faced throughout their lives that shaped who they were as an individual and how they adjusted to their surroundings. …show more content…

"Hit me back… Hit me back, goddamn you!" (Hosseini, 92) in this part of the book Amir is shamed with his guilt of watching Hassans rape and not doing anything to stop it, he tries to get Hassan to throw pomegranates back at him. Amir does this to get the punishment he craves for what he's done, he believes that this will make them even slightly even, for what he's done. Later on in the book Amir faces his redeeming moment with Assef. “ WHAT'S SO FUNNY? - Assef kept roaring with each blow- what was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace.- My body was broken just how badly I wouldn't find out until latest, but I felt healed. Healed at last. I laughed” (Hosseini, 289) This represents Amir finally getting what he feels he deserves for what he had done to Hassan, he has faced his demons and come to terms with his mistake. This helps show Amir's identity and how he has grown and become a stronger, more selfless

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1064 Words | 5 Pages

Assef had promised to get back at the boys for what they had done. He had the chance to fight Amir before, but “Assef had backed down, promised that in the end he’d get us both down. He’d kept his promise with Hassan. Now it was my turn” (Hosseini 286). Assef had made a threat to the boys that he would fight them sooner or later, he kept his word with Hassan by killing him and he now had to deal with Amir.

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1061 Words | 5 Pages

And the harder [he] laughed, the harder [Assef] kicked [him], and punched [him], and scratched [him].”(289) Assef was screaming “WHAT'S SO FUNNY?”(289), but Amir kept laughing because deep down he felt healed, he felt healed because he was finally getting what he deserved for letting Assef assault Hassan. This demonstrates how Amir’s relationship with his past affects the theme that fear changes lives. In this instance, Amir’s life changes because he overcomes his fear and his guilt from childhood. By fighting Assef for Sohrab, he overcomes his fears and problems with standing up for himself and others, and by losing the fight so badly he finally gets the punishment he felt like he deserved for letting Hassan get assaulted. He no longer holds the guilt for what happened to Hassan so heavily in his soul.

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1189 Words | 5 Pages

Amir, frightened and nervous, learns that the official is none other than Assef, the bully who had assaulted Hassan in the alley all those years ago. Assef promises to hand Sohrab over if and only if Amir can beat him in a fistfight. The fight starts badly for Amir, who is unarmed and weak. However, Amir, who can feel his ribs breaking, begins to laugh. He laughs and laughs and laughs as Assef throws down punches and kicks.

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1067 Words | 5 Pages

In the scene where Hassan gets raped, Amir is described as “a coward” who was “afraid of getting hurt” so he decided to turn his back “to the alley, to Hassan” (Hosseini 77). This clearly illustrates Amir’s true thoughts and how scared he was as a kid. Now he has been able to mature as he has been in America

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681 Words | 3 Pages

(77) after what happened to Hassan. This demonstrates how highly Amir regards himself before considering others. As a kind of repaying for his sins, it is comparable to Assef, who raped Hassan and was responsible for Amir’s

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1019 Words | 5 Pages

In search of Hassan’s son, Amir faced Assef, and physically fought him. During the brawl, Amir got fiercely beaten up, but he described himself by saying: "My body was broken… but I felt healed" (303). Despite being hurt, Amir felt at rest because he had eased his consciousness by doing what he should have done years earlier. He experienced an emotion of comfort at being out from under the burden of guilt. He was unable to protect Hassan in the alleyway before, but was able to take the hits for his son as a way of undoing his cowardice actions from before.

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931 Words | 4 Pages

My body was broken – just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later – but I felt healed” (Hosseini 289) This scene depicts the acceptance that Amir finally faces. He starts coming to terms with his past because he feels at peace over the fact that he is finally getting justice for Hassan. That he is brave enough not to run away just as Hassan would stay to fight. Amir sacrifices everything for Sohrab just as Hassan did for him once.

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1257 Words | 6 Pages

This quote establishes how Amir has become a changed man through his self-reflection and positive contributions outside of his own benefit. This quote also is used to solidify the theme of guilt and redemption that is consistently hinted at throughout the novel. The decisions he made in the face of the adversity he experienced in the years after led him to make the selfless choice he

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1067 Words | 5 Pages

In the novel, Hosseini uses Amir’s internal conflict highlights how unresolved guilt and fear can negatively impact one’s life. Hassan’s rape initiates the internal conflict in Amir that lasts the rest of his young adult life. Assef rapes Hassan after the kite running competition prompting Amir to run away in terror and fear. After the incident, Amir celebrates the victory of

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1128 Words | 5 Pages

In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, there are many different important conflicts throughout the story. These conflicts are brought upon by the recurring motifs, such as redemption and loyalty. The different dissensions support the ideas of characterization by how they react to the sudden adversity in their lives. Amir attempts to redeem himself through Hassan’s son, Sohrab, by saving him and giving him a better life. Further developing the meaning of the story, connoting the mental struggle and the way priorities change over time, keeping readers mindful of the motifs and how they impact each character.

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However, in the early section of the book, Amir does not show loyalty, true friendship, or help to his friend. One day, a bully named Assef and two other boys chased Hassan and Amir. Hassan ended up trapped in the alley by the three boys. The boys harass, and rape Hassan. Amir just watched; he did not do anything to help his friend.

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688 Words | 3 Pages

Betrayal is an issue many can relate to, whether it is done by a family member or a friend. In the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, we witness betrayal play a vital role in the downfall of the main character’s Amir and Hassan’s friendship, and how betrayal was the reason for why Amir sought redemption in hopes to move on. The novel begins with Amir as an adult, recalling an event that took place in 1975 in his hometown Kabul, Afghanistan and how this event was what changed the rest of his life and made him who he now is. Despite this heartbreaking occurrence of Amir’s reluctance to help Hassan while he was being raped, it was the reason for why Amir later decided to be brave and stand up for what he believes in.

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(92). Amir yells at Hassan to throw a pomegranate at him since he had hurt him before. Amir wants Hassan to “get even” with him because it will make him feel like being a witness to his assault was not as bad and relieve the guilt within him. After Amir shouts at Hassan, Hassan takes a piece of fruit and smashes it in his own face. He then replies, “There...

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751 Words | 4 Pages

Sacrifice, one the most prominent themes in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, clearly determines a person’s unconditional love and complete fidelity for another individual. Hosseini’s best-selling novel recounts the events of Amir’s life from childhood to adulthood. Deprived of his father’s approval and unsure of his relationship with Hassan, Amir commits treacherous acts which he later regrets and attempts to search for redemption. These distressing occurrences throughout his youth serve as an aid during his transition from a selfish child to an altruistic adult.

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In the passage by Annie Dillard, she writes about a moth who was restrained in a jar, then when it is set free, it is unable to fly. In the story “The Best Gift of my Life,” Cynthia Rylant lives in a rundown apartment with her mother. She dreams of a better life. While she is in her small hometown, called Beaver, she feels smart, pretty and fun. This is similar to the moth being comfortable in the glass jar, because it has not been exposed to anything else all it’s life Whenever Cynthia leaves Beaver she feels like she is a nobody: “But as soon as I left town to go anywhere else, me sense of being somebody special evaporated into nothing, and I became dull and ugly and poor”.

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