The Kite Runner, written by Khalid Hosseini, is a novel which takes place in Afghanistan. It revolves around a boy named Amir, who struggles to make the right decisions throughout his life and lives with a past full of shame. Throughout the story, shame is shown as a destructive force.
Shame can negatively influence your thoughts and emotional state. In The Kite Runner, the author presents the idea that shame follows you throughout your life. Amir tried to cope with his shame by burying it in his past. This can be seen on the very first page when Amir says “The past class it’s was out.”(Hosseini 1). This implies that Amir has a shameful past and that it keeps coming back to haunt him. Amir’s shame takes a toll on him mentally and makes him lose hope that he will ever be able to repent for his sins. The shame of Amir’s past is brought up consistently …show more content…
From early on in the novel, Amir struggles to deal with shame and the destruction it brings upon his life. It is quite clear that Amir doesn’t have a very good relationship with his father, and shame brought even more destruction into their relationship. When Baba is speaking with his close friend about Amir, he says “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.” (Hosseini 24). Amir overhears this, and it hurts him deeply. This imposes destruction on Amir emotionally and he feels even more shameful because he knows his father is ashamed of him. This also leads to his personality becoming more cowardly and reserved. He begins to hate himself and constantly seeks Babas attention and approval. He also develops a feeling of inferiority to Hassan because he thinks Baba cares more for him and expresses that he is proud of Hassan. To Baba, Hassan would be his “ideal” son. This shows that shame is a destructive force because it not only destroyed Amir’s relationship with his father, but his relationship with Hassan as
Shame can negatively influence your thoughts and emotional state. In The Kite Runner, the author presents the idea that shame follows you throughout your life. Amir tried to cope with his shame by burying it in his past. This can be seen on the very first page when Amir says “The past class it’s was out.”(Hosseini 1). This implies that Amir has a shameful past and that it keeps coming back to haunt him. Amir’s shame takes a toll on him mentally and makes him lose hope that he will ever be able to repent for his sins. The shame of Amir’s past is brought up consistently …show more content…
From early on in the novel, Amir struggles to deal with shame and the destruction it brings upon his life. It is quite clear that Amir doesn’t have a very good relationship with his father, and shame brought even more destruction into their relationship. When Baba is speaking with his close friend about Amir, he says “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.” (Hosseini 24). Amir overhears this, and it hurts him deeply. This imposes destruction on Amir emotionally and he feels even more shameful because he knows his father is ashamed of him. This also leads to his personality becoming more cowardly and reserved. He begins to hate himself and constantly seeks Babas attention and approval. He also develops a feeling of inferiority to Hassan because he thinks Baba cares more for him and expresses that he is proud of Hassan. To Baba, Hassan would be his “ideal” son. This shows that shame is a destructive force because it not only destroyed Amir’s relationship with his father, but his relationship with Hassan as