Kite Runner Compare And Contrast Essay
`Of Mice and Men, and To Kill a Mockingbird; what do these novels have in common? Both show childlike innocence, and how it is annihilated in society by adults. However, Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, thinks the exact opposite. His novel encompasses the topic of growing up, and how it is fueled by making and fixing mistakes that prompt mature decisions in the future. Throughout the novel, Khaled Hosseini depicts coming of age through the main character, Amir, a boy living in Afghanistan with his best friend and servant, Hassan. As a child, Amir makes bad decisions that end up hurting Hassan. The decisions he makes when he is more mature reflect Amir nearing completion on his path to manhood. In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini portrays that coming of age
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requires facing adversity, addressing antecedent mistakes, and address problems without giving rise to the same blunders.
The first step on the path to adulthood is facing adversity.
When a child encounters a problem, it usually leads to an err, but being able to learn from these mistakes is an essential part of being an adult. When Amir is a boy in Kabul, he is jealous of Hassan because of the attention he gets from Baba, Amir’s father. One day in 1975, Amir wins a kite tournament, and when Hassan goes to retrieve the winning kite for him, he is ambushed. The attackers give Hassan a choice: give up the kite, or be physically assaulted. Hassan is too loyal to give up the kite as it is the trophy that Amir gets for winning the tournament, and so the attackers rape him. When Amir sees this happening, he chooses not to intervene, and thinks, “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba¨ (Hosseini 77). Hosseini puts Amir in this situation to show the difference between a man and a boy. Amir makes a childlike decision when he abandons Hassan for his own selfish reasons. Once Amir decides that he cannot slay that lamb, is when he will grow up. However this does not happen in the alley, as Amir’s childish brain is plagued by selfishness and cowardice. These are qualities that
Amir will later have to change in order to complete the process of coming of age. These same qualities are also present after the attack. After the attack, Amir decides that the only way to get rid of his guilt, is to get rid of Hassan. Amir proceeds to frame Hassan for stealing his birthday money as well as his watch. When Amir goes to tell Baba that Hassan took his watch, he thinks, ¨I knocked on Baba’s door and told what I hoped would be the last in a long line of shameful lies¨ (104). Hosseini’s purpose of making Amir get rid of Hassan, was to show that bad decisions cannot fix bad decisions. After Hassan leaves, Amir realizes that the guilt lies in his conscience, and is now an ingrained part of him. Amir is not mature enough to learn this before his actions had taken affect, and ergo, Hassan leaves Kabul. The “shameful lies” refer the aftermath of Amir’s decision, which turns out to be quite large. Amir is not mature enough to take responsibility for his own actions, and creates mistakes that will not fade away over time. Hosseini conveys an important message here: making mistakes is a part of life. It is how one handles those mistakes that decides who they are. Amir handles this badly, and needs to be redeemed to remove this roadblock on the path to adulthood.
In order to move past faults, it is necessary to take responsibility for any mistakes made in the past. After Amir lets Hassan get attacked, he has a lasting guilt that never leaves him. However, he pushes down on that guilt again and again by convincing himself that what happened to Hassan was not his fault. After Amir frames Hassan, he remembers that Baba once told him, the worst crime to commit is theft. When Hassan admits to what Amir accused him of, Amir accepts responsibility for what was done. Amir knows how loyal Hassan is, therefore steals Hassan’s right to tell the truth. When Amir realizes this, he accepts all responsibility for the past events. He says, ¨I wasn’t worthy of this sacrifice; I was a liar, a cheat, and a thief¨ (105). Here, Amir is shown when he first takes responsibility for his mistakes. When Hassan saves Amir from the truth, Amir feels ret for his actions. He feels both responsible for the pain that he caused Hassan, as well as the pain he causes himself. Amir taking responsibility for his faults makes him feel the need to redeem himself. Although Amir wants to redeem himself, he puts off this action for over twenty five years, as he carries on with the guilt. When referring to Hassan’s rape, he says, “”Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years” (1). When Amir says he “has been peeking” in the alley, he is referencing the guilt that has stuck to him throughout the years. Everytime he remembers this, he looks back on the one mistake that defined the person he is. Amir knows he is responsible for what happened in the alley, and therefore cannot shake the regret that he carries with him. This guilt builds and builds over time until he cannot push it down any longer, and is forced to confront his mistakes in order to fix them. He cannot move past his mistakes, because he is simply “peeking” in the alley, instead of The effects that had on Amir show how it is necessary to take responsibility for mistakes in order to begin to move past them.
To complete the process of maturity, it is necessary to face the same problems without repeating the mistake. To illustrate this step in the process, Hosseini puts Amir in the same situations as when he was a child. When Amir is on his way to Kabul, he stays in an acquaintance's house. The family is short on food, but gives it all to Amir, as he is their guest. In an effort to help, he does something that he did once before. Amir says, “Earlier that morning, when I was certain no one was looking, I did something I had done twenty-six years earlier: I planted a fistful of crumpled money under a mattress” (242). Although it was a mistake the first time Amir did this, as an adult, Amir makes the grown up decision to help his acquaintance's family. One of the reasons Hosseini makes Amir do this when no one is looking is to so that for some time, Amir will be the only one that knows about the money. He does this for self validation rather than recognition of others. Amir made the morally right decision. Another case where this occurs is when Amir goes to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from the Taliban. Instead of running, Amir stays. As he is being beaten up, Amir thinks, “My body was broken-just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later-but I felt healed. Healed at last” (289). Amir is finally devoid of guilt that he carried for so many years. Hosseini shows that Amir finally feels the physical pain he has been craving for so long. Amir needs to feel like he got what he deserved to finally be free of the bonds of regret. Amir is faced with the same situation and proves his maturity by making the choice of a man.
The Kite Runner shows Amir’s path to adulthood and growth as a person. Khaled Hosseini portrays the three stage path to adulthood. Firstly, facing adversity in order to make mistakes and accept them as part of life. Secondly, facing and taking responsibility for those mistakes in order to feel the need to fix them. Lastly, encountering problems without making the same mistakes to avoid further trouble. Growing up is a necessary change that people need to go through, and encouraging people to go through this process earlier will create a more refined society. Hosseini tries to convey this message to readers, as well as one more: it is never too late to fix your mistakes. If readers do so, and encourage others too as well, conflicts in society would decrease, making a much happier world.
requires facing adversity, addressing antecedent mistakes, and address problems without giving rise to the same blunders.
The first step on the path to adulthood is facing adversity.
When a child encounters a problem, it usually leads to an err, but being able to learn from these mistakes is an essential part of being an adult. When Amir is a boy in Kabul, he is jealous of Hassan because of the attention he gets from Baba, Amir’s father. One day in 1975, Amir wins a kite tournament, and when Hassan goes to retrieve the winning kite for him, he is ambushed. The attackers give Hassan a choice: give up the kite, or be physically assaulted. Hassan is too loyal to give up the kite as it is the trophy that Amir gets for winning the tournament, and so the attackers rape him. When Amir sees this happening, he chooses not to intervene, and thinks, “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba¨ (Hosseini 77). Hosseini puts Amir in this situation to show the difference between a man and a boy. Amir makes a childlike decision when he abandons Hassan for his own selfish reasons. Once Amir decides that he cannot slay that lamb, is when he will grow up. However this does not happen in the alley, as Amir’s childish brain is plagued by selfishness and cowardice. These are qualities that
Amir will later have to change in order to complete the process of coming of age. These same qualities are also present after the attack. After the attack, Amir decides that the only way to get rid of his guilt, is to get rid of Hassan. Amir proceeds to frame Hassan for stealing his birthday money as well as his watch. When Amir goes to tell Baba that Hassan took his watch, he thinks, ¨I knocked on Baba’s door and told what I hoped would be the last in a long line of shameful lies¨ (104). Hosseini’s purpose of making Amir get rid of Hassan, was to show that bad decisions cannot fix bad decisions. After Hassan leaves, Amir realizes that the guilt lies in his conscience, and is now an ingrained part of him. Amir is not mature enough to learn this before his actions had taken affect, and ergo, Hassan leaves Kabul. The “shameful lies” refer the aftermath of Amir’s decision, which turns out to be quite large. Amir is not mature enough to take responsibility for his own actions, and creates mistakes that will not fade away over time. Hosseini conveys an important message here: making mistakes is a part of life. It is how one handles those mistakes that decides who they are. Amir handles this badly, and needs to be redeemed to remove this roadblock on the path to adulthood.
In order to move past faults, it is necessary to take responsibility for any mistakes made in the past. After Amir lets Hassan get attacked, he has a lasting guilt that never leaves him. However, he pushes down on that guilt again and again by convincing himself that what happened to Hassan was not his fault. After Amir frames Hassan, he remembers that Baba once told him, the worst crime to commit is theft. When Hassan admits to what Amir accused him of, Amir accepts responsibility for what was done. Amir knows how loyal Hassan is, therefore steals Hassan’s right to tell the truth. When Amir realizes this, he accepts all responsibility for the past events. He says, ¨I wasn’t worthy of this sacrifice; I was a liar, a cheat, and a thief¨ (105). Here, Amir is shown when he first takes responsibility for his mistakes. When Hassan saves Amir from the truth, Amir feels ret for his actions. He feels both responsible for the pain that he caused Hassan, as well as the pain he causes himself. Amir taking responsibility for his faults makes him feel the need to redeem himself. Although Amir wants to redeem himself, he puts off this action for over twenty five years, as he carries on with the guilt. When referring to Hassan’s rape, he says, “”Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years” (1). When Amir says he “has been peeking” in the alley, he is referencing the guilt that has stuck to him throughout the years. Everytime he remembers this, he looks back on the one mistake that defined the person he is. Amir knows he is responsible for what happened in the alley, and therefore cannot shake the regret that he carries with him. This guilt builds and builds over time until he cannot push it down any longer, and is forced to confront his mistakes in order to fix them. He cannot move past his mistakes, because he is simply “peeking” in the alley, instead of The effects that had on Amir show how it is necessary to take responsibility for mistakes in order to begin to move past them.
To complete the process of maturity, it is necessary to face the same problems without repeating the mistake. To illustrate this step in the process, Hosseini puts Amir in the same situations as when he was a child. When Amir is on his way to Kabul, he stays in an acquaintance's house. The family is short on food, but gives it all to Amir, as he is their guest. In an effort to help, he does something that he did once before. Amir says, “Earlier that morning, when I was certain no one was looking, I did something I had done twenty-six years earlier: I planted a fistful of crumpled money under a mattress” (242). Although it was a mistake the first time Amir did this, as an adult, Amir makes the grown up decision to help his acquaintance's family. One of the reasons Hosseini makes Amir do this when no one is looking is to so that for some time, Amir will be the only one that knows about the money. He does this for self validation rather than recognition of others. Amir made the morally right decision. Another case where this occurs is when Amir goes to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from the Taliban. Instead of running, Amir stays. As he is being beaten up, Amir thinks, “My body was broken-just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later-but I felt healed. Healed at last” (289). Amir is finally devoid of guilt that he carried for so many years. Hosseini shows that Amir finally feels the physical pain he has been craving for so long. Amir needs to feel like he got what he deserved to finally be free of the bonds of regret. Amir is faced with the same situation and proves his maturity by making the choice of a man.
The Kite Runner shows Amir’s path to adulthood and growth as a person. Khaled Hosseini portrays the three stage path to adulthood. Firstly, facing adversity in order to make mistakes and accept them as part of life. Secondly, facing and taking responsibility for those mistakes in order to feel the need to fix them. Lastly, encountering problems without making the same mistakes to avoid further trouble. Growing up is a necessary change that people need to go through, and encouraging people to go through this process earlier will create a more refined society. Hosseini tries to convey this message to readers, as well as one more: it is never too late to fix your mistakes. If readers do so, and encourage others too as well, conflicts in society would decrease, making a much happier world.