ipl-logo

Identity In The Kite Runner

526 Words3 Pages

Identity is who a person is, identity is based off of how a person thinks or acts. An example might be if you are a mean or cruel person, your actions reflect your thoughts and thus is the creation of identity. A popular but undeniable symptom of destructive thinking- be it your own or someone significant, is a lack of self esteem or identity. Amir as a child demonstrates the lack of identity, and Baba acts as the core of destructive thinking. Baba is mentioned as someone who views the world in black and white (16) and Amir never fit into that view. How limiting and destructive must one's view be to exempt their own child? Their view must be very limiting and abusive. Hosseini reasons a positive change of identity through the loss of destructive thinking, demonstrated with the death of Baba, shown in the significance of Amirs growth- returning to Afghanistan and the rescue of Sohrab. …show more content…

Back then he didn’t risk his life, why should he now? That is what shows a significant change, that Amir defines himself by that moment and yet he is willing to risk his life for someone he doesn't even know. Considering that Amir doesn't feel that positive about Kabul in the first place, going in while it is war torn was a huge leap out of his comfort zone and he makes this explicitly clear, “I have a wife in america, a home, a career, and a family. Kabul is a dangerous place, you know that, and you’d have me risk everything for…”(233) this also proves that with Baba he never would’ve done that. If Baba were there Amir wouldn't have thought twice about not going, especially if his health were still declining, or even if Baba were in good health. Amir wouldn't have gone. But with Baba gone and the absence of abusive parental thinking, Amir thinks about the trip, and eventually goes to save Sohrab, and bring on a positive change in

Show More
Related
1061 Words | 5 Pages

Amir was very afraid growing up and Baba was worried that “ A boy who won't stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.” (22) When Amir spoke of the danger in Kabul, Rahim Khan asked Amir, “ Is that what you've become?”(221) Amir ultimately made the decision to go to kabul, but was it because he knew Rahim was wrong, or because he was

Read More
577 Words | 3 Pages

This transition of his reflected a new independence and self support, from his upbringing in Afghanistan where expectations and family obligations set his aspirations back. The move to the United States allowed Amir to confront the ghosts that have been haunting him, particularly this burden of guilt from his betrayal of Hassan, not only his childhood friend and half-brother but his real family. Familiar surroundings provided Amir with emotional space to reflect on his actions and seek redemption for himself. Through his writings, he struggled to face his sins and make amends for his past mistakes, which demonstrated a sense of accountability and moral responsibility. Baba's journey to life in America is faced with challenges as he tries to grapple with his identity and tries to adjust to a different lifestyle.

Read More
827 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel, Baba definitely sets the moral bar, and is concerned that his son, Amir doesn't have the courage to stand up for himself. I personally found it very difficult to relate to this novel, however i feel as though this particular quote supports my view on individuality. “The problem, of course, was that Baba saw the world in black and white. And he got to decide what was black and what was white. You can't love a person who lives that way without fearing him too.

Read More
534 Words | 3 Pages

Even in the end of the book, General Sahib questions why Amir has a Hazara child in concern because he has “to deal with the community’s perception of our family” (Hosseini, 360). The fear that the General has reflects the fear that Baba had when it came to his family image.

Read More
1039 Words | 5 Pages

Baba forgave him, but Ali decided to leave anyhow. This act was cowardly of Amir. He decided that he wanted to get rid of Hassan instead of facing his problem and express his regret to Hassan. In 1981 Amir and Baba fled from Afghanistan and went living in the

Read More
771 Words | 4 Pages

He had to make his own life choices, and he was even married, a little before Baba died. Even though America grew on him, Amir still loved Afghanistan, his home country. His love for Hassan showed when he went back to wretched Afghanistan and he rescued Hassan’s son Sohrab, who was an orphan because Hassan and his wife were killed in Afghanistan. When he visited Afghanistan he drew up great valor and fought one of his enemies from when he was a kid. Although he suffered many, many injuries he still showed his love for a helpless, suffering kid.

Read More
993 Words | 4 Pages

Amir couldn’t do the same. All he could do was sit there paralyzed and watch as Hassan gave up everything for Amir, and for the only way Amir could ever impress Baba. This later led to Amir distancing himself from Hassan and led to the disintegration of their relationship, leaving Amir feeling guilty for the remainder of his life for betraying Hassan. The book also portrays several

Read More
931 Words | 4 Pages

Lastly, Amir sacrifices his life to accommodate for Sohrab, Hassan’s son, after being taken by the Taliban. Amir resembles Baba because he too takes up redemption for the awful things he did. He understands the great danger Sohrab is in. He risks his life to help Sohrab; this shows loyalty to Hassan. Even though Sohrab is not Hassan saving his son shows that Amir is loyal to him.

Read More
595 Words | 3 Pages

He is a successful, wealthy man with a pristine reputation in their city of Kabul. At this point in time Baba plays the role of the hero. Everyone knows his name, and everyone has a story of how he positively affects their lives. Although Amir sees what everybody else sees in Baba, he also notices a different side that others are not aware of. Baba feels shame for his son and Amir knows it.

Read More
1386 Words | 6 Pages

Amir wasn’t the only one to change during the course of the immigration. Baba was forced to become a gas station worker compared to having a rich, powerful life in Kabul. By becoming more humble and determined to raise his only child, his domineering personality became less intimidating for Amir and the two were able to bond together in a foreign world. Rather than growing further apart, Amir and Baba grew closer together by sharing commonalities: Indignity and poverty. Additionally, Baba was able to build a relationship with Amir by taking care of him for the first time.

Read More
301 Words | 2 Pages

He deliberately put himself in between then soldier and the woman, and didn't back down. He stood up for what he believed was right, and he didn't seem to care what happened to him in the process. He just cared that the lady was okay. The third and final way that Baba showed courage in this novel was when he left everything he knew in Kabul, and took Amir with him to

Read More
438 Words | 2 Pages

When Amir starts a new life in the United States he still is living with his guilt from over twenty years ago. At that point his closest companion Rahim approaches him to come back to Afghanistan for a visit. Once there Rahim clarifies that Hassan had been killed and his child Sohrab had been left a vagrant. This becomes Amir's way of redemption. Saving Sohrab could somewhat atone for the mistake he made by Hassan.

Read More
1119 Words | 5 Pages

Amir is born and spends the majority of his childhood in Kabul, Afghanistan. He lives only with his father, Baba, due to his mother’s death during his birth. Baba owns a successful business which is

Read More
942 Words | 4 Pages

Baba lies, and Amir and Hassan are influenced by the deception, and Amir’s life is changed as a result. Deception leads to immense suffering and unintended consequences; Hosseini harnesses character’s internal conflicts to showcase the suffering and consequences the character’s had to cope with as a result of deception. Baba was very self-conscious about his image, and as a result he chose to lie to Amir and Hassan about their true fathers without thinking about the possible consequences. Baba thought he was justified in lying because he wanted to protect his Pashtun pride. In lying, Baba contradicted his beliefs; as he had told Amir “There is only one sin…..

Read More
725 Words | 3 Pages

In most coming-of-age novels, authors define childhood as the period of rose-colored glasses and complete innocence that comes to an end with a sudden profound revelation of reality; however, in Hassan, Amir, and Sohrab’s childhoods that was not the case. Their innocence was stolen from them; their rose-colored glasses shattered. The loss of the rose-colored glasses forces Amir, Hassan, and Sohrab to see reality before they could have a profound revelation and fully understand the harsh realities of life; they come of age and lose their innocence at far too young an age. Throughout the coming-of-age novel, The Kite Runner, loss of innocence is a very common theme made apparent via Amir, Hassan, and Sohrab; the theme, loss of childhood innocence, shapes the novel by introducing the themes of betrayal and redemption. Hassan’s loss of innocence assists in shaping the novel because when Hassan loses his childhood innocence, the novel’s protagonist, Amir, loses his childhood innocence as well.

Read More

More about Identity In The Kite Runner

Related Topics

Open Document