Amir

Amir

1. Young Amir

   • Personaility
     • Sensitive
       • Amir is sensitive to what his father thinks and he is always trying to satisfy him
         • "And that right there was the single greatest moment of my twelve years of life, seeing Baba on that roof, proud of me at last." (71)
     • Intelligent
       • Amir is good with his words, he uses this to his advantage to help himself feel bigger than Hassan
         • "'I want you to stop harassing me. I want you to go away,' " (94)
     • Selfish
       • Amir does not like when Baba buys him and Hassan the same kite
         • "Sometimes I wished he wouldn't do that. Wished he'd let me be the favourite." (54)
     • Coward
       • Amir never stands up to Assef due to the fact that he is scared of him
         • "I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt." (82)
       • Amir does not help Hassan when he is getting raped
         • "I stopped watching, turned away from the alley." (82)
       • Amir does not tell Ali what happened to Hassan because he does not want to get in trouble
         • " 'You would tell me, nay? Inshallah, you would tell me if something had happened?' " (86)
       • When going to America, Amir is scared to admit that he is getting car sick and hides it from Baba
         • "Baba grumbled something under his breath. I wanted to tell him I was sorry, but suddenly I was salivating, the back of my throat tasting bile." (117)
     • Jealous
       • Amir was always jealous of how Baba treated Hassan
         • "Sometimes I wished he wouldn't do that, Wished he'd let me be the favourite." (54)
     • Arrogant
       • Amir believes that he is more than Hassan, knowing that he is Pashtun and Hassan is Hazara
         • "[...] Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay to win Baba." (82)
     • Cruel
       • Amir embarrases Hassan with the pomogranates that he throws at him
         • Amir threw many pomegranates at Hassan on the hill to try and make himself feel better than what he thinks Hassan is. (98)
     • Gloomy
       • Amir believes that his connection with his father is not strong due to the fact that his mother died when giving birth
         • "Because the truth of it was, I always felt like Baba hated me a little. And why not? After all, I had killed his beloved wife, his beautiful princess, hadn't I?" (20)
     • Deceitful
       • Amir uses the watch that Baba gives his to get Hassan in trouble, but this only results in them leaving the house
         • " 'We are leaving, Agha sahib,' Ali said." (112)
     • Pashtun
       • Amir's father Baba is Pashtun and this is handed down to Amir as he inherits this from him
   • Physical Features
     • Short, neat cut hair
       • Amir has short, neat hair that is probably done that way as a request by his father, to show the respect that Amir has for his father he probably does not complain at all about this nor is it the most important issue in the world for him
     • Protruding nose
       • Amir has a more protruding nose then Hassan, which shows his religion as well, Amir being Pashtun and Hassan being Hazara
     • Flat eyes
       • Amir has flat eyes that do not show very much but rather hide

2. Old Amir

   • Personality
     • Selfless
       • Amir is willing to sacrifice for other people around him now, going back to Afghanistan for Sohrab because of what he did for Hassan is an example of this
         • ""Again, the car sickness. By the time we drove past the riddled sign that read THE KHYBER PASS WELCOMES YOU, my mouth had begun to water. Something inside my stomach churned and twisted. Farid, my driver, threw me a cold glance. There was no empathy in his eyes." (240)
     • Intelligent
       • Amir is a writer with a book out, meaning that he is smart enough to write a book which is much harder than it seems
         • "[...] My last novel, A Season for Ashes, [...]." (248)
     • Kind Hearted
       • Amir is understanding, and is willing to look past people's flaws to look at the bigger picture of who they are
         • Amir looked past what Baba did and still appreciated him as a father regardless of the lie that he told (235)
     • Compassionate
       • Amir tells Sohrab about the past, telling him about how he treated his father to try and give him help over his depression over the lost parents
         • " 'What...what did he tell you about us?' " (321)
       • Amir does not leave Soroya over her past, he continues to love her regardless
         • " 'No, Soraya. Not even close,' I said. 'Nothing you said changes anything. I want us to marry.' She broke into fresh tears." (174)
       • Amir tries to connect with Sohrab, helping him to adjust to new life in America regardless of the fact that he is a quiet outcast
         • " 'Did I ever tell you your father was thee best kite runner in Wazir Akbar Khan? Maybe all of Kabul?' " (387)
     • Corageous
       • Amir finally stands up to his guilt and fights for Sohrab
         • " 'All right,' I said, not knowing what else there was to say. I wasn't about to beg; that would have only sweetened the moment for him.' " (300)
       • Amir returns to Afghanistan, which he was scared to go back to
         • "Then I told him I was going to Kabul. Told him to call the Caldwells in the morning. 'I'll pray for you, Amir jan,' he said." (239)
       • Amir stands up for what he believes in to Farid, telling him why he is going back to Afghanistan
         • "'It was wrong of me to assume.'[Farid said] I sighed. 'Don't worry. You were more right than you know.' "(252)
     • Pessimistic
       • Amir looks at the bad things that he has done which give him an extreme amount of guilt throughout the novel
         • "I wasn't such a good friend, I'm afraid." (321)
     • Strong
       • Fights Assef no matter how scared he was to do this, he does it because he knows its the right thing to do
         • "My body was broken-just how badly I wouldn't find out until later-but I felt healed. Healed at last. I laughed." (303)
     • Proud
       • Stands up to General Taheri when he calls Sohrab "that Hazara boy"
         • " 'And one more thing, General Sahib.' I said. 'You will never again refer to him as 'Hazara boy' in my presence. He has a name and it's Sohrab.' " (380)
     • Religious
       • Amir turns to the religion that he avoided for years, a religion that he was told was not real by his father and more importantly he begins to preach these words when he goes back to America, keeping what he said true to his God
         • "I bow to the west and kiss the ground and promise that I will do Zakat, I will do Namaz, I will fast during Ramadan and when Ramadan has passed I will go on fasting, I will commit to memory every last word of His holy book, and I will set on a pilgrimage to that sweltering city in the desert and bow before the Ka'bah too." (364)
   • Physical Features
     • Scar on Lip
       • Amir gets this scar in the same area that Hassan had his cut, showing the relationship between the two through this scar in the future
         • " 'The worst laceration was on your upper lip,' " (311)
     • Clean Shave
       • This is different to most people in Afghanistan and when he goes back he has to put on a fake beard in order to get back into the country safely
     • Short Hair
       • Amir cuts his hair, which is also different to what is seen in the Taliban when he goes back to Afghanistan, as they all have long hair that has been put in their turbans