Shame And Courage In The Kite Runner

The themes of shame and courage are extremely dominant throughout the novel, the Kite Runner. Most of the characters in this story seem to possess qualities of shame and courage. Particularly the main character Amir, who appears to identify with the theme of shame and struggles with being courageous. Because of this, Amir can not relate to his father very well, who is the total opposite of who he is. He also becomes envious of his servant Hassan, who has the same brave quality his father has. The subject of shame and courage are remarkably important for these characters. It plays a huge role in the relationships they have with one another and also with themselves. The subject of shame is exceptionally prevalent in the Kite Runner. Especially for Amir, who seems to feel a large amount of shame and guilt. He feels shame and guilt for the death of his mother and a substantial amount of guilt for not speaking out during Hassan’s rape. His shame seems to grow larger and larger throughout the story. There’s also a particular guilt he feels for not being brave enough like his father or like Hassan. This affects the bond he has with his father, which causes a rift between them

Courage is a quality that Amir appears to struggle with, while Hassan and Baba seem to naturally possess this quality. For example, in the scene where Assef bullies Amir, Hassan stands up for him by aiming his slingshot at Assef and telling him to leave them alone. This displays the level of courage Hassan has and also his loyalty to Amir. Baba also displays this level of courage when he stands up to the Russian guard, who wanted to rape the wife of the man who was sitting next to him on their way to Pakistan. Because of Amir’s lack of courage, Baba doesn’t respect him very much and he becomes more fond of Hassan, who is brave and courageous just like him. Amir finds himself being envious of Hassan and not a good enough son for his