Courage in The Kite Runner Essay

To live with courage is to face the imperfections which adorn our lives, and learn to embrace them as who we are. Burdened with his fathers irrational expectations, Amir, the leading protagonist in Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner, breaks free of his fathers dream of who he is to become and matures into the man he wishes to be.

Respected and valued by the people of Kabul, Baba desires for his own personal attributes to echo through to his son, Amir. In an almost arrogant manner, Baba expresses quite visibly the distaste that he holds towards his own son. Unaware of Amirs presence, Baba confides to a close friend, Sometimes I look out this window and see him playing on the street with the neighborhood boys, I see how they push him around, take his toys from himand, you know, he never fights back. Never (22). Compliantly, Amir sees himself through the eyes of his father. He is an embarrassment, a coward. Where most parents would cherish their children for their individual qualities, Baba places a burden on Amir to leave who he is behind, and become the man his father wishes him to be. With these unreasonable expectations set before him, it is easy to see how a child as young as Amir would run from the pressure both Baba and the Kabul society have placed upon him.

Striving for his fathers affection and pride, Amir finds himself presented with a distressing realization as he compares himself to his life-long play mate, Hassan. In Babas eyes, where Amir is cowardly and weak, Hassan is like Baba, courageous and strong. Searching for a reason behind his fathers affection toward the Hazara servant boy, Amir inwardly bickers, reasoning to himself Hassan hadnt done anything to earn Babas affection: hed just been born a stupid harelip (46). As jealousy grows within him, Amir begins to tear himself away from Hassan and their unspoken friendship. In final parting act to his friendship Amir kneeled to watch as Hassan lay with his chest pinned to the ground Assef was standing over [him], the heel of his snow boots crushing the back of Hassans neck (75). With the desire to win his fathers respect, it would be this sacrifice of friendship which would loom over him for the next twenty-six years, but yet destine him to be a man of courage.

A symbol of success and power, Baba is portrayed to be a man of courage and strength but in truth he is a coward. Though Baba reasons that if [he] hadnt seen the doctor pull [Amir] out of [his] wife with [his] own eyes, [hed] never believe [Amir to be his] son (23). Amir is his more like father then either is willing to accept. Concealed behind a veil of power and wealth, Baba, like Amir, hides from past mistakes and fears to break away from the boundaries of social class. Where Baba has failed to grow past his faults, Amir has learned to accept his own imperfections and breaks free of the sins of his past to become more than his father ever was. To recognize the challenges we bring upon ourselves, and yet still persist in growing into who we wish to be, is courage beyond that of a fairy tale hero.