The hero’s journey concept has transcended cultural barriers and engraved itself into the modern culture. It traditionally follows the transformation of the weak, and often cowardly youngster, into the knight in shining armor battling through trials and temptations to restore order in society. In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner and J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the heroes embark on journeys that transform them from boys into heroes. However, each transformation does not follow the classical hero’s journey but expands the definition of what it means to be a post-modern hero. Amir is able to save himself and find inner peace and meaning, eventually completing his goal of saving Sohrab. By contrast, while Holden fails to defend and
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As he is being beaten up and nearly killed by Assef, Amir thinks to himself about the pain he feels defending Sohrab: “What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace.[...] my body was broken—just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later—but I felt healed. Healed at last” (Hosseini, 289). Amir only “[feels] at peace” in a brave act of selfless sacrifice for the well being of Sohrab. It is only then, after his “body [is] broken,” that he finally heals. Moreover, when talking to General Sahib about the real reason for Sohrab’s adoption, Amir reveals himself as a selfless hero and tells the General the truth. He declares, “My father slept with his servant’s wife. She bore him a son named Hassan. [...] That boy sleeping on the couch is Hassan’s son. He’s my nephew. That’s what you tell people when they ask. [...] and you will never again refer to him as ‘Hazara boy’ in my presence again” (Hosseini, 361). By sacrificing the image of being a strong Pashtun man -- too pure for any old “Hazara boy” -- for treating Sohrab like a real person, Amir stands up for the right thing. He cares more about respecting the legacy of his friend than embellishing people’s view of himself and his family. By bringing up his father’s tainted legacy of how he “slept with his servant’s wife,” Amir gives up the mantle of Pashtun “man” for that of a real …show more content…
When Amir is in the hospital recovering from injuries sustained while saving Sohrab from Assef, Amir learns of one injury in particular that is unique. He whispers, “I kept thinking about some else Armand/Dr. Faruqi had said: The impact cut your upper lip in two, he had said, clean down the middle. Clean down the middle. Like a harelip” (Hosseini, 297). Amir’s “harelip” reveals his atonement for sins committed relating to the rape of Hassan and his ultimate transformation from the guilty, cowardly shell of a boy into the shining, selfless hero like Hassan. Furthermore, in the park with Sohrab, after his grand acts of courage and altruism, he asks Sohrab to fly the kite with him. He says, “[Sohrab’s] Adam’s apple rose and fell as he swallowed. The wind lifted his hair. I thought I saw him nod. ‘For you, a thousand times over,’ I heard myself say” (Hosseini, 371). The phrase “for you, a thousand times over,” symbolizes Amir’s transformation into a more selfless and more loyal character like Hassan, for Hassan always said that phrase to Amir. Amir has come full circle, from a weak boy to a heroic man, and now demonstrates this in his loyalty to Sohrab. Because Amir saves Sohrab and ultimately himself -- his mark of atonement and inner peace -- he becomes a true
As he is being beaten up and nearly killed by Assef, Amir thinks to himself about the pain he feels defending Sohrab: “What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace.[...] my body was broken—just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later—but I felt healed. Healed at last” (Hosseini, 289). Amir only “[feels] at peace” in a brave act of selfless sacrifice for the well being of Sohrab. It is only then, after his “body [is] broken,” that he finally heals. Moreover, when talking to General Sahib about the real reason for Sohrab’s adoption, Amir reveals himself as a selfless hero and tells the General the truth. He declares, “My father slept with his servant’s wife. She bore him a son named Hassan. [...] That boy sleeping on the couch is Hassan’s son. He’s my nephew. That’s what you tell people when they ask. [...] and you will never again refer to him as ‘Hazara boy’ in my presence again” (Hosseini, 361). By sacrificing the image of being a strong Pashtun man -- too pure for any old “Hazara boy” -- for treating Sohrab like a real person, Amir stands up for the right thing. He cares more about respecting the legacy of his friend than embellishing people’s view of himself and his family. By bringing up his father’s tainted legacy of how he “slept with his servant’s wife,” Amir gives up the mantle of Pashtun “man” for that of a real …show more content…
When Amir is in the hospital recovering from injuries sustained while saving Sohrab from Assef, Amir learns of one injury in particular that is unique. He whispers, “I kept thinking about some else Armand/Dr. Faruqi had said: The impact cut your upper lip in two, he had said, clean down the middle. Clean down the middle. Like a harelip” (Hosseini, 297). Amir’s “harelip” reveals his atonement for sins committed relating to the rape of Hassan and his ultimate transformation from the guilty, cowardly shell of a boy into the shining, selfless hero like Hassan. Furthermore, in the park with Sohrab, after his grand acts of courage and altruism, he asks Sohrab to fly the kite with him. He says, “[Sohrab’s] Adam’s apple rose and fell as he swallowed. The wind lifted his hair. I thought I saw him nod. ‘For you, a thousand times over,’ I heard myself say” (Hosseini, 371). The phrase “for you, a thousand times over,” symbolizes Amir’s transformation into a more selfless and more loyal character like Hassan, for Hassan always said that phrase to Amir. Amir has come full circle, from a weak boy to a heroic man, and now demonstrates this in his loyalty to Sohrab. Because Amir saves Sohrab and ultimately himself -- his mark of atonement and inner peace -- he becomes a true