Summary Of Khaled Hosseini's 'The Kite Runner'

In Khaled Hosseini's novel, The Kite Runner, the protagonist, Amir, undergoes a drastic transformation that brings him from a scared boy that hungers for the attention of his father to a full grown man that is willing to stand up for himself and commit selfless acts to right his previous wrongs. Amir must overcome an upbringing in a war torn country and his own jealousy and cowardice to become a man that fights for what he thinks his right. This transformation is one that Amir brought upon himself due to the guilt that he possesses in the novel. Early in the story Amir is faced with a life defining moment. After Amir is finished winning the kite-fighting tournament, he goes looking for Hassan, his half-brother. Amir finds Hassan in an absolutely dreadful situation. Hassan is being held down and raped by three boys. Amir is faced with a crucial decision, does he man up and stand up for Hassan, or does he run away. Amir takes the later of these options, Hosseini writes, “I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step

Amir is not a fighter, he will be the first to admit it, but he feels obligated to save Sohrab, he feels that he must do this for Hassan. The fight goes poorly for Amir, he gets beaten badly, but he finally finds peace during his beating. Hosseini writes, “'WHAT'S SO FUNNY?' Assef bellowed. Another rib snapped, his time left lower. What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace. I laughed because I saw that, in some hidden nook in a corner of my mind, I'd even been lookin forward to this” (Hosseini 289) This shows Amir's transformation. It may have taken Amir years and taking a good beating to get there, but Amir has finally found peace and is standing up for himself and not running from his