Sympathy In The Kite Runner

For those who don’t reach the end of the book The Kite Runner, they might consider Amir to be evil or immoral. Based on his actions from his childhood and teenage years he does things that seem inhumane and inconsiderate. However, the full presentation of Amir is very important to the complexity of his character. The events that happen throughout the book make readers feel more sympathetic because the author explains scenarios that readers feel bad that Amir had to go through those experiences. Readers begin to sympathize more with Amir because they understand what being neglected can make a person feel like. They can also relate to what it might be like to not have a mother as well as the despair of being betrayed by someone you love. A
19). This brings readers to another topic that breeds sympathy for Amir. The young Pashtun boy grew up in a big confusing world without the help of his biological mother. Amir grew up not having a mother and knowing little about her. In the evolutionary perspective, every child needs their mother to help them in emotional and physical development. Considering the fact that Amir grew up neglected by his father, Amir never received this crucial experience. Lastly, another factor that contributed to why readers would feel bad for Amir is because of the way the author portrayed the setting. Amir was a very emotional boy and was looked down upon by his father when he would cry. This forced him to go to a private place and shed his tears so he wouldn’t be seen. Amir never had a mother to be there for him. Readers sympathize with Amir because they can understand what an emotional toll being motherless must have taken on Amir, not only as a young boy, which continues to affect him as an
Amir found out that Hassan was his half- brother. He felt betrayed by Baba and believed that his whole life was just a lie (Hosseini, pg. 222) Amir was crushed to find out that not only did he treat his own half-brother so terribly, but that the ones that meant so much to him lied to his face for so long. The mood that readers felt when they imagined how Amir felt when he found out the surprising news was both angry and upset. They would feel angry because they empathize with Amir for being so furious about never revealing his own brother to him. Readers would also be upset because they would understand the pain Amir must have felt when he found out the big secret. As a result, readers would sympathize for Amir because they feel bad for the heartbreak he must have gone through.
These are just a few scenarios from the book that represent why and how readers may sympathize for Amir more than they usually would. The importance of why readers sympathize for Amir is because he is just like any other human. He goes through tough times but finds his way back to make his life better in the end. He made terrible mistakes as a child, but grew up to find redemption through self-forgiveness and