Amir, the main protagonist of my book, The Kite Runner, seemed like a very immature little kid to me. He was friends with his Hazara servant, Hassan, yet he refused to even be seen with him when his father's friends were over. Amir also deeply resents Hassan because Amir's father treated Hassan like another son; Amir wanted his father's love all for himself. I don't think Amir truly considered Hassan a friend, since he would only spend time with Hassan when nobody else was around. Amir also tormented Hassan at times, taking advantage of Hassan's illiteracy by teaching him the false meaning of words. And as well, Amir was extremely proud of his father's achievements; he spoke of them often, and usually in a slightly awed tone of voice, with just a slight hint of arrogance which, to me, seems like gloating. In my opinion, Amir seems quite selfish and perhaps just a little bit shallow. I think that Amir is definitely a relatable character; there are probably a lot more people in this world who are just like him, selfish and just slightly shallow. Amir's character seems real enough too; he behaves like most twelve year olds do. They care only about what they themselves get and forget everyone around them unless it happens to impact them directly. Twelve year olds also tend to be immature, a little bit shallow, and love to gloat, exaggerate, and lie. There is one thing I find quite interesting though, and that is the fact that Amir, unlike a lot of twelve year olds, loves to read, particularly poetry; most children of his age just want to run around and play. I don't think Amir is very sympathetic, perhaps to those who are around him everyday, but definitely not to those who he either does not know, or does not know well. And I definitely feel no sympathy for him. A lot of his actions tend to be selfish, and the consequences he later suffers are, quite honestly, much deserved. With that said, Amir, for me, is definitely a likeable character, mainly because he reminded me of myself when I was his age. Although I dare say that I wasn't as shallow as he is, I was definitely quite selfish, and needless to say, I was incredibly immature. Nevertheless, Amir is a very interesting character to read about, especially as he starts to uncover the truth about his and his Baba's lives and escapes the Russian invasion of Afghanistan
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ReplyDeleteHey Ray,
ReplyDeleteGreat interpretation! I too can relate to Amir, because at one point (and even a bit now), I was also extremely selfish and uncaring to others. I feel that it's part of human nature to have these kind of feelings, but maturity only comes when you can suppress them. Almost always, there is a special event that "sparks" the start of the change within us, and I believe that Amir too will soon undergo a change. However, I do not agree with you on the fact that you think that Amir does not truly consider Hassan as a friend. Sometimes, our jealousy and pride are so overwhelming that we cannot express our true feelings. In these cases, we are so scared of being criticized or ridiculed that we can not say or do what we truly want to. Instead, we say or do something we do not mean, and before we can take back our words and actions, a misunderstanding is creating and bonds are broken.
RAYMOND.
ReplyDeleteJust a little thought here, as Francis said, I definitely think that Amir and Hassan are friends and that deep down Amir cares about Hassan. While Amir might mask his affections for Hassan because of their ethnic differences, it is evident that the two boys spend a lot of time in eachothers company and they relate to eachother rather symbiotically. The love/hate relationship is a reflection of the inconsistencies of human nature and shows how external pressures corrupt internal thoughts.
Hey there Ray, you got 3 comments already?! You lucky adolescent. Its good that you can relate to Amir in the book while being incredibly humble. I agree with you in your opinion of Amir based on what you wrote; how he is selfish and slightly shallow. Hopefully, throughout my book I can also relate to my character just like you have.
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