Amir's Childhood In 'The Kite Runner'

The Kite Runner The novel, The Kite Runner, is a story about a boy, Amir, and the experiences he has within his life. He faces many struggles in his childhood that his friend Hassan helps him get through. Afghanistan, the country where the two boys live, is also going through hardships. In the beginning of Amir’s life Russia invades Afghanistan and later the Taliban takes over. Throughout the story, there are two main themes, love and war.
Hassan is Amir’s childhood friend and also one of Amir’s family’s servants. Hassan shows a great admiration for Amir and would do anything for him. However, Amir does not feel the same. Even though they are friends, he does not appreciate all that Hassan does because Amir is jealous of the attention Amir’s …show more content…
He was always jealous and took for granted the friendship he had. It was not until later in Amir’s life, after Hassan passed away, that Amir loved part of Hassan like he always should have. This part was Hassan’s son, Sohrab. Amir traveled back to Afghanistan to help Sohrab have a better life, to keep him out of an orphanage. Amir had to go through many difficult obstacles to help bring Sohrab to America. He had to first find Sohrab and when he did he had to face his childhood bully, Asseff, again. Amir was beaten and ultimately sent to the hospital just to get Sohrab back. After all the problems of just getting Sohrab back from Asseff, he also had to go through troubles of getting him into America. However, all of Amir’s effort paid off because he was able to save and protect Sohrab. Amir showed love to Sohrab that he should have given to Hassan …show more content…
During Amir’s childhood his home country is invaded by Russia. At one point he and Hassan hear loud gunshots coming from outside. Hassan’s father held them both explaining to them that it was just some neighbor shooting animals when really it was the Russians. By the time Amir was eighteen, he and his father were forced to leave their home. They had to leave because Amir’s father, Baba, was wealthy and highly liked which did not please the Russians, making them a target. They had to go through Russian checkpoints to leave. The Russian men at these checkpoints would take money and even tried to rape a woman just so a small group, including Amir and Baba, could get through to the next town. Many other people were forced to leave their homes and some even had to leave the country. The families that left their homes had to be smuggled out of Kabul in covered trucks and some even in trucks that usually carry gas. Many people died or got sick from the trip out of the