Kite Runner - a Boy Who Wont Stand Up for Himself free essay sample

In spite of not being trained to do so, he had stood up for himself, and for others, but in a more cautious and diplomatic way; in contrast to Babas strong and heroic idea of standing up. In the course of his childhood, Amir had not been given many chances to stand up for himself. He lived as a boy under the wing of his fathers fame and influence, gaining attention and respect as â€Å"Babas son†. The results are quite obvious – at school he was â€Å"spared the metal rod treatment†, and in Amirs own words, it was also â€Å"the sole reason, I believe, Assef had mostly refrained from harassing me too much. In addition to that, he had Hassan backing him up in almost every other situation. In each nasty little crisis that Amir lands in, from minor bullying to the more serious threats, Hassan â€Å"steps in and fends them off. We will write a custom essay sample on Kite Runner a Boy Who Wont Stand Up for Himself or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page † Having grown up with such sturdy protection, it would be quite reasonable to say that Amir cant stand up for himself, rather than â€Å"wont stand up for himself. † Hosseini shows in his novel that Amirs lack of experience in facing his own problems, in addition to his fathers negative view of himself, caused a rather serious inferiority complex within him, which continually reoccured in the course of his lifetime. Many a time Amir would compare himself to Baba â€Å"I hadnt turned out like him†, or to Hassan â€Å"I wasnt just slower than Hassan but clumsier too†, and in every case he would negate himself. This pitiful mentality seeped into Amirs way of thinking in relation to â€Å"standing up for himself†, as he accepted and submitted to Babas judgement of himself: a weakling and a coward. Because of this, when put in difficult situations, he would tell himself that â€Å"Baba was right† and use it as his cliche excuse: â€Å"Youre gutless. Its how you were made. Nevertheless, Amir had also had his corageous moments. In spite of his disapproving environment, his fathers disappointment, and his own criticism, a tiny flame burnt within him from childhood all the way to adulthood. On the first occasion when they had confronted Assefs gang, Amir said that â€Å"Hassan retreated behind me as the three older boys closed in. † Amir admits that he is afraid, but d espite that he manages to talk back to Assef, as bravely as he possibly can, as it is the only thing he is capable of doing. Hosseini shows us many times in the novel that Amir is an intelligent person. That, together with his quiet and studious nature that he probably inherited from his mother, gives him a more calm and systematic approach to solving problems. Amir knows best about his own physical weaknesses, so his way of standing up is not through violence. It could be said that he stood up for his father in the conflict with the Nguyens, by resolving the problem diplomatically. Another example was when he stood up for himself in relation to his own interests; when he went against Babas hopes and expectations and chose to â€Å"make up stories† after graduating. An interesting point that Hosseini presents here is how Amir relates this decision to his betrayal of Hassan, â€Å"I didnt want to sacrifice for Baba anymore. The last time I had done that, I had damned myself. † This highlights the fact that the true reason behind Amirs betrayal was not cowardice, but a gnawing desire to please Baba. Baba, on the other hand, was an extremely outgoing person. He was a wealthy, powerful, well-known, confident and self-sufficient man. Over and over in the novel, Hosseni creates many situations where Baba does his heroic, and sometimes rather obstinate, deeds. Wrestling the bear, building the orphanage, running a successful businesses, defying the Russian soldier, attacking Karim, working in America, refusing food stamps, handling the Nguyen case, all the way up to his own medication. It seemed as if his whole life was revolved around â€Å"standing up for himself†, or for other people. Looking at it from Amirs childhood view, it is certainly very heroic; but all his actions were based on his personal views, for â€Å"Baba saw the world in black and white. † His strong personal beliefs, supported by his insane strength and wide-spread influence, drew him to do many risky actions that, if analysed carefully, could have led to devastating results. As Amir said, â€Å"The problem was, his nature was going to get us all killed. † The stamp that Baba had placed on Amir was partly due to the visible difference between the two of them, and also due to what was expected of men in the Afghan culture at that time. Amir had mentioned the double-standard which favoured men, and along with it came the extra expectations. Baba was greatly perplexed by what he possibly considered the womanly traits of his son, because â€Å"real men didnt read poetry real men – real boys – played soccer just as Baba had when he had been young. † To Baba, real men were those who were strong, tough, and stood up to everything, and he visualised standing up in terms of fighting, challenging, and witholding justice. If that was what average men were supposed to be like, then certainly his own son would have been the champion of the lot. Unfortunately, Air did not live up to his expectations. His ways of standing up was different from his father; he took a more logical and careful approach. Babas standing up, on the other hand, may be heroic, but not always sensible. Baba had hoped that his son Amir would grow up to be a strong and determined fighter, so when Amir had turned out to be a quiet, peace-loving writer, it generated a huge amount of disappointment and regret within him. Because of this, it can be concluded that Babas statement â€Å"A boy who wont stand up for himself becomes a man who cant stand up to anything† is slightly biased, as it is mainly based on his personal defenition of standing up, which can be quite extreme in Babas case. Ironically, the many cases where Amir did not â€Å"stand up for himself† were mainly caused by Baba; either it was his social influence that had always provided de facto protection, or his belittling remark that had haunted Amir till adulthood, or else his extremely high expectations that Amir could not possibly live up to.