Tuan Tran
Mrs. Richardson-Davidson
AP Literature
1/24/17
Hopeless Nerve
In Khaled Hosseini’s, “The Kite Runner,” Amir goes through a string of conflict to reach the end of his Hero’s Journey. Amir’s quest was not to do good deeds, but rather to find redemption for his best friend, Hassan. Amir starts “The Hero’s Journey” when he hears the words, “Come. There is a way to be good again” (Hosseini 192). Amir then crosses the threshold, finding himself flying to Pakistan to see Rahim. His road of trials begins when he finds out that Hassan’s son, Sohrab is somewhere in Pakistan. He must prove to himself that he can and will find redemption for Hassan. Amir’s belly of the whale is his old childhood bully, Assef. Taking a beating from Assef, Amir has a death and rebirth experience. His transformation is something he has been trying to find since a little kid. He no longer feels as he had stabbed Hassan in the back. Amir’s last final test is getting Sohrab away from Kabul and living with him in America. Although Amir is our protagonist, traits shown by Amir in the beginning of the book as an anti-hero. He is selfish, dishonest, seeks attention, and passive. After his journey, Amir learns what being a hero means, and buries his past once and for all.
Amir’s relationship with his mom never happened because she died after giving birth to him. Amir felt as he’s the reason why his mom is not around, which creates a conflict between him and Baba. Amir doesn’t think his dad is proud of him and isn’t worth for his lover to die for. What Amir failed to realize is that he has an admirable friend who will always have his back. In this story, the scapegoat is Hassan. Hassan usually takes the fall for his best friend and always forgives him for anything that he does. Unfortunately, Amir does not show him the same affection. As a kid, Amir never realized the true meaning of friendship. He let his own pride get in the way of his relationship with Hassan. Despite the endless love and loyalty Hassan shows him, Amir continues to put himself first. After the incident occurs, nothing was the same. Although Hassan had forgiven Amir, Amir cannot bear the guilt when he is around Hassan, so he fails to rekindle their relationship. When Amir leaves to go see Rahim Khan in Kabul, he crosses the threshold. “A week later, I sat on a window seat aboard a Pakistani International Airlines flight, watching a pair of uniformed airline workers remove the wheel chocks.” When he hears the news that Hassan had passed, Amir never received closure as his best friend nor as his brother. This killed any hope or light in Amir’s heart that he was meeting Hassan once again. Amir now cannot bear the thought of abandoning Sohrab because he needs to seek redemption for what he has done. Throughout this journey, Amir’s helper would be Rahim and Farid. Without their assist, Amir would not even consider going for Sohrab. However, there were many things that Rahim nor Farid could have helped Amir with.
The Road of Trials undertakes as the quest for Sohrab begins. The first obstacle Amir must overcome is himself. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” is a popular expression that does not hold any truth in Baba and Amir’s relationship. One of the reasons why Baba showed disapproval towards Amir was because he was never the one to stand up for anybody, including himself. Amir had a problem with showing his dominance. He wasn’t like Hassan, who stood up for Amir. He overcame this with the help of Rahim Khan. Rahim Khan was always kind to Amir, always there to keep him sane. Amir’s guilt ultimately pushed him to find Sohrab and getting him in his hands. Another obstacle Amir had to overcome was getting Sohrab adopted. Because of the lack of proof that Sohrab is his half-nephew he cannot be adopted by Amir. After meeting with an immigration lawyer, his hope slowly dies and tells Sohrab he is going back to the orphanage. Luckily Amir married someone with connections and found a way for Sohrab to be adopted. This leads to his next obstacle. Sohrab had injured himself after discovering he has to be sent back to the orphanage and for nearly a year, Sohrab does not speak to him. Amir has to find a way in order to gain his trust back. One thing that Amir didn’t do is pressure him into talking. Time heals everything and that’s what Amir did. Amir simply bought Sohrab a kite and showed him how to fly. Amir has transitioned. He has matured and the way he handled Sohrab’s situation flawlessly. He sat back and provided for Sohrab and let time heal. Amir gave Hassan something to be proud of. He rescued Sohrab and gave him a new chance at life. “For you a thousand times over,” as he tells Sohrab, a set of words that will be held in a special place in Amir’s heart.
The Abyss for Amir would be facing his old rival, the main culprit of causing all this, Assef. In the process of securing Sohrab, he ran into Assef, the demonic adversary. He enters the place in pursuing Sohrab alone, confronting his deepest fears. This shows huge character improvement; these are his first steps into manhood. Amir confronts Assef stating all he wants is Sohrab. Assef calls him a traitor and continues to beat him effortlessly. An allusion comes into play as Sohrab save Amir by using a slingshot, something that Hassan would always use. This was Amir’s transformation. During his beat down, Amir’s body was broken, but he felt healed. He knew he deserved all those things, and Assef beat the guilt out of him. “I don’t know at what point I started laughing, but I did” (Hosseini 289). He was rebirthed and for the first time in forever, he felt free. Amir’s apotheosis was the moment he knew Sohrab was okay, and he was able to adopt him. Sohrab did not take the news about the orphanage well and ended up on 24-hour suicide watch. When Amir has Sohrab safely in hands, Amir and Sohrab both are free. Amir developed huge character development and now controls his life with no guilt. This is Amir’s freedom to live. Amir has found redemption.
Returning to California from Kabul, our hero has gone through a life changing journey. Because of Amir, Sohrab is safe, secured and is able to have a life in America. Amir left California with a goal, to become the father figure for his nephew, he came back a man and a father. Amir had huge character development and now controls his life without the guilt of his past. This is Amir’s freedom to live. Amir has finally found redemption.
Amir’s character development shows the significant of the title. Hassan was willing to risk it all because he knew how important that kite was to Amir. It was Hassan’s selfless actions that give meaning to the title, “The Kite Runner.” Now that Amir has found the same heroic traits as Hassan, he runs the kite for Sohrab, therefore making him the “Kite Runner.” “It’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws it way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years” (Hosseini 1). Amir has found a way to bury his past and continue on with life. He had come to terms with Hassan, Baba, and set himself free from the demons of the past.