Amir's Role In The Kite Runner

The theatrical narrator role had shifted back to Amir, as he talked with Rahim Khan about the huge aftermath of his past actions. The photograph that Rahim Khan gave to him was the first time Amir saw Hassan smiling after the rape incident. Like Rahim Khan, Hassan began his letter by retelling the most recent acts of the Taliban’s unjust violence. He shared Amir’s nostalgia for the Afghanistan they knew of when they were children. He always had Amir in his mind, even after he left with Ali. It was evident that Hassan was a great father, although his son was growing up in a much more dangerous place than he did. Considering his ultimate fate, Hassan’s farewell was heartbreaking. If Amir had admitted his faults and sincerely apologized, Hassan would have completely forgiven him. This showed that
Hassan believed Amir, deep down, was a good person. However, Amir came too late because Hassan had died under the hands of the Taliban. “‘The pretext was that [the Taliban] had evicted a trespasser. Hassan's and Farzana's murders were dismissed as a case of self-defense. No one said a word about it. Most of it was fear of the Taliban, I think. But no one was going to risk anything for a pair of Hazara servants’" (186). This situation perfectly described how powerless the Hazaras were in Afghanistan, as there was no punishment or even a scornful reprimand for the soldiers that killed Hassan and Farzana for no suitable reason. This shattered any optimism Amir might have had for being able to redeem himself by apologizing to Hassan in person and making changes to rekindle their friendship. Once more, Hassan served as an innocent sacrificial lamb to civil injustice and violence.
Amir grieved at Hassan’s passing but through, this he had received a rare opportunity for redemption. Sohrab was Hassan’s precious son and the last remnant of Hassan living in the world. Knowing that Baba’s approval was the thing Amir craved the most, Rahim Khan resurfaced Baba’s old concerns about the lack of courage in Amir. Baba had believed that “a boy who won't stand up for himself [would become] a man who can't stand up to anything” (188). Rahim Khan also told Amir about the sterileness of Ali and how Hassan’s biological father was not a stranger to Amir at all. With these missing puzzle pieces falling into place, Amir finally realized that Baba would have been more pleased if he saw him standing up for Hassan because in truth Hassan was his half-brother. Amir figured that adopting Sohrab and fulfilling his duty as an uncle would be the only thing that would redeem himself. The revelation had also revealed the fact that Baba had back-stabbed his closest friend, just like his son. Amir’s decision to whether go to Kabul or not turned into his greatest test on maturity and
courage.