Amir’s Drastic Character Change for the Better
Change will occur at one point or another in life. In fact, it is unnatural for a person to not undergo some form of change. Whether it is for good or for bad, it will happen. Change could be a result of many things such as lessons that are learned, or just by growing up. In Amir’s case, he changes through a series of events with lessons learned, and by growing up into a better person. In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir is a dynamic character since he goes from being a selfish child, to an independent young adult, and finally, to a courageous adult.
At the start of The Kite Runner, Amir is a very selfish as he wants all of Baba’s attention, does nothing to stop Assef from raping Hassan, and frames Hassan for theft. Firstly, Amir is always upset and jealous when Baba treats Hassan and him both equally. Hassan usually gets treated as an equal to Amir, but “sometimes, [Amir] [wishes] he would [not]. [Wishes] he [would] let [Amir] be the favourite” (54). This shows that Amir wants Baba’s love to himself and does not want to share with Hassan, which makes him come off as selfish. Another reason Amir is selfish is because he does nothing in the alley to stop Assef from assaulting Hassan. Although he is just a child at the time, even Amir admits that “maybe Hassan [is] the price [he] [has] to pay, the lamb [he] [has] to slay to win Baba” (82). From this, it could be said that it is clear that Amir is only thinking about taking the kite home to Baba, rather than how he is going to stop Assef and save Hassan. Lastly, Amir frames Hassan to get rid of him, so he would not have to face his own mistakes. He did this by “[lifting] Hassan’s mattress and [planting] [his] new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it” (110). Looking at Hassan reminds Amir too much of what had taken place in the alley, so he does this in hopes of getting rid of Hassan, which leaves Baba devastated and Amir with what he wants. Overall, Amir proves to be a self centred child at the start of The Kite Runner.
Around the middle of the novel when Baba and Amir escape to America, Amir becomes an independent young adult, as he will not sacrifice for his father anymore, starts doing multi-person tasks when Baba gets sick, realizes that he cannot rely on Baba anymore now that he is gone. To start off, Amir decides to not sacrifice for Baba anymore, and to start living his own life. When Amir tells Baba that he has decided to pursue his dream to become a writer, Baba questions Amir, but Amir “would stand [his] ground… [he] [does not] want to sacrifice for Baba anymore” (142). Amir’s growing independence is clearly represented through this, as it shows he does not need Baba’s acceptance and attention to feel satisfied with himself. Secondly, Amir takes on a more independent role when he starts doing more work during the time Baba is sick with lung cancer. Baba becomes more sick with time after he is first diagnosed, and o...
