Courage In The Kite Runner

The Courage of The Kite Runner
There are different kinds of courage a person can have. In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, there are different kinds of courage each character in the book has. Amir, Hassan, and Baba, three characters in the book can all be considered courageous, but they’re all courageous in different ways. There’s no one way courage can be described. A man who confronts a murderer can be considered courageous, and a man who leaves his best friend of 42 years can also be regarded as courageous. The only action in common between these 2 events is the fact that they’re doing something that would frighten them. In the story, Amir, Baba, and Hassan did things that frightened them, but they were able to get over their fears do
He stood up to people he knew would be able to make his life miserable, and considering he was able to do that while keeping calm, takes a lot of courage and bravery. “‘If you make a move, they’ll have to change your name from Assef ‘The Ear Eater’ to ‘One-Eyed Assef,’ because I have this rock pointed at your left eye.’ He said this so flatly that even I had to strain to hear the fear that I knew hid under his calm voice.” (Hosseini 42). In this quote, Hassan is is pointing a slingshot at Assef’s left eye, ready to shoot him after he knocked him over with a rock. This shows Hassan’s courage, because as said by Amir, Hassan is scared of Assef, he could hear it in his voice, and he’s standing up to him, ready to shame him. Another example of Hassan’s courage is all the times when he took the blame for everything Amir did. “‘Yes, Father,’ Hassan would mumble, looking down at his feet. But he never told on me. Never told that the mirror, like shooting walnuts at the neighbor's dog, was always my idea” (4) and later in the book, “Hassan’s reply was a single word, delivered in a thin, raspy voice: ‘Yes’” (105). In these 2 quotes, we see even though Hassan got in trouble for Amir’s actions, he always took the blame for him, no matter what the punishment
In the part of the book where he left Afghanistan, it was evident he didn’t want to leave at all. “For me, America was a place to bury my memories. For Baba, a place to mourn his.” (129). It takes a lot of strength to move away from a place you lived your whole life. Amir only lived his childhood in Afghanistan, Baba lived most of his life there. Afghanistan was his home, he was born there, and he belonged there. One of the only times in the book that isn’t emotional courage is the time Baba stood up to the Roussi soldier. He was ready to get shot to keep the soldier from getting time with the woman in the back of the truck. He was completely serious when doing it too. “Tell him I'll take a thousand of his bullets before I let this indecency take place,"(116). The soldier had a gun pointed at Baba, and Baba wouldn’t move until he was dead. Both Baba and the Roussi soldier were serious during the whole ordeal. This took a lot of courage, Baba knew he was about to die, and he was ready