Gender Themes Of Masculinity In The Kite Runner

Masculinity in The Kite Runner
Gender roles have been the perforated lines within our society for centuries, holding us together while simultaneously possessing the ability to tear us apart. We’ve had these ideas of what it means to be masculine and feminine so engrained into our society for such a long period of time that even as we enter a much more progressive era they still seep into the way we raise our children. Traditionally, masculinity can be seen as a combination of three common attributes: strength, honor, and action. Strength is generally referring to emotional toughness and independence, honor to loyalty and generosity, and action to competitiveness and risk-taking. Although it is more often than not ignored, males experience the …show more content…
It’s most prominently seen in his relationship with Hassan due to the fact he believes his father is more partial to him although he’s just their housekeeper’s son. Hassan possesses nearly all of the attributes his father considers favorable in a son; he is brave, loyal, and does not cry nearly as easily as Amir. As a result, Amir is incredibly jealous of the relationship Hassan has with his father. Hassan is rather oblivious to Amir’s feelings, and honestly wants nothing more than to be his best friend. He would (and does) do anything for Amir. Rather than being able to discuss the way he’s feeling and address the issue Amir acts out in toxic ways because he has had the idea men cannot talk about their feelings so deeply engrained into his mind throughout the entirety of his life. Amir exploits Hassan’s good-nature in order to take credit for winning the kite running competition. His logic is that by winning he will be someone his father will be proud to call a son, however after he fleas Hassan’s encounter with Assef rather than standing up for him he realizes he is nowhere near what his father would expect of him. He’s a young boy who witnessed something horrible, the first thing he should have done was to talk to someone about it. The environment Amir was raised in didn’t …show more content…
Amir’s character had many struggles, but if we take a step back it’s very apparent that the traditional idea of masculinity played a role in some way or another in a vast majority of them. I think it is important to realize that if we change the ways we approach raising young boys to encompass the notion that they don’t have to be anything they aren’t it would create better parental relationships as well as alleviate much of the anxiety young boys experience for being different. By creating balance gender roles lose their power, and you are simply left with a human