Finding Peace (The Kite Runner)

1. When Amir is young he tries to find peace through his father.
   1. He feels that he needs to make his father proud.
   2. He feels that, in order to be happy his father needs to appreciate him.
   3. He would watch his best friend get raped to gain his fathers affection.
2. When Amir is older, he tries to find peace by making up for his past.
   1. Amir will do anything to save Hassan's son.

      Annotations:

      • "I would not leave Afghanistan without finding Sohrab" - Amir
      1. He nearly loses his life fighting Assef trying to achieve this.
   2. He also

Annotations:

• "Those thorny old barbs of guilt bore into me once more, [...]" - Amir

1. He takes on a fight that he is nearly sure to lose just to save Hassan's son.
   1. He is happy because he finally feels at peace.

      Annotations:

      • "What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace." - Amir
      1. This is probably because he feels that he is paying for his past.
2. His guilt also makes him a better person because he understands that everyone makes mistakes.
   1. He accepts Soraya's past.

1. Baba
   1. Baba's way of finding peace is by trying to force other people to avoid making his mistakes.

      Annotations:

      • "Sometimes, I think everything he did, feeding the poor on the streets, building the orphanage, giving money to friends in need, it was all his way of redeeming himself." - Rahim Khan
      1. He tells Amir that the worst thing one can do is to steal and he did just that. He stole Ali's rightful son through his wife.
      2. He gives to the poor and does a lot of good deeds because he fills that this will make up for his past.
         1. Baba becomes a better man through his mistakes.
2. Rahim Khan
   1. Rahim Khan tries to find peace as well.
      1. When Amir is younger
         1. Rahim Khan acts very fatherly towards Amir because he knows what kind of problems Amir and Baba have.
         2. Rahim Khan knows most of the things that happen in Amir's life and understands that Amir is having a rough time and knows that someone needs to be there for him.

            Annotations:

            • "Except now I knew he knew. [...] He had always known." - Amir
      2. When Amir has grown up
         1. Rahim Khan feels that in order to find peace within himself he must inform Amir about his past and about his father.
            1. He tells Amir that he knew about everything (including the rape)
            2. He tells Amir about his father having an affair with Ali's wife and how Hassan is actually his half-brother.
            3. He tells Amir about Hassan since their separation and about Sohrab.
3. Hassan
   1. When Hassan was younger, the way he found peace was to always make sure that Amir was happy.

      Annotations:

      • "For you a thousand times over!" - Hassan
      1. He fought Amir's fights
      2. He made him breakfast
      3. He lied for Amir
      4. He even got raped for Amir