The Theme of Maturity in "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

“Maturity is the ability to reap without apology and not complain when things don't go well,” says Jim Rohn. Maturity helps people know when to act at a specific time or place by depending on the society they live in. It is up to anyone to decide who they want to be and grow up to be. In the Novel, The Kite Runner, the protagonist, Amir starts off as a selfish person but by the end of the story he grows up and becomes a selfless person. By facing his wrongdoings Amir does what he doesn’t necessarily want to do, but what he should do to be an improved person. To begin, Amir only wanted to please Baba and he ran away from his best friend who was being raped by the neighbourhood bully, Assef. Then, Amir notices that he was hurting everyone and feels remorse, leading him to take small steps to improve. Finally, Amir becomes a selfless person and only wants to help others. Therefore, this essay will analyze Amir's maturity and growth as he was selfish when he was younger just like the most of us, but he still improves himself by taking small steps at a time which makes him become a selfless person at the end of the novel.

To begin with, Amir betrays his friend Hassan for theft and keeps Hassan’s rape private after running away for full attention from Baba when he was still growing up, which helps with his growth in the future where he realizes how horrible of a person he was. Amir places his watch and Afghani bills under Hassan's mattress to make him appear guilty of theft and force Baba to Hassan and Ali from the household. For instance, Amir says “Then I understood: This was Hassan's final sacrifice for me... He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again”. Instead of denying the false accusation against him, Hassan admits to the theft in order to protect Amir because he is loyal unlike Amir who won’t even admit to lying about the accusations and owning up to his mistake, which proves that he is selfish. Amir watched his friend Hassan get raped and ran away instead of helping. For example, Amir says “I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan – the way he'd stood up for me all those times in the past – and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran”. The fact that Amir had to debate what to do rather than stepping in and helping Hassan even if Hassan has always been so loyal to Amir shows that he only cares about himself. “... 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”, says Amir. Since Amir does not think about how Hassan would feel after choosing to keep his rape private only for Baba’s affection that he thought he deserves only for himself, justifies that he is self-centred. Amir wants the blue kite to prove to Baba that he is a winner like Hassan to earn Baba’s love and approval even if he would betray his best friend who sacrifices so much for Amir. This just shows that he is egotistical because he has the opportunity to do the right thing in the situation which is to tell Baba about the rape but he did not because he only thinks about himself when his friend was startled from the event and he needs a friend the most. Thus, Amir betrays his friend in countless situations like debating as to whether to run away from Hassan get raped to choosing to keep it personal which is a part of his journey of becoming a man.

Next, Amir begins to realize the mistakes he makes in the past and starts to feel guilty for his actions, therefore he tries to take small steps to be a better person. To begin, Amir lets Hassan take the blame for all his childhood errors for years without any regrets, but after Amir accuses Hassan of stealing his watch he shows remorse for the first time. Amir says “…and I wondered how and when I’d become capable of causing so much pain”. Amir finally feels guilty for letting Hassan take the blame. He realizes how loyal Hassan has been to him all the time and how he only causes Hassan pain, therefore he thinks about how he could make up for the pain he causes to Hassan throughout the novel. Furthermore, Amir apologizes for his father storming out of the store for refusing to give his ID by offering to pay for damage costs. Amir says “...I returned to the store and apologized to the Nguyens. Told them my father was going through a difficult time. I gave Mrs. Nguyen our telephone number and address, and told her to get an estimate for the damages. Please call me as soon as you know. I’ll pay for everything, Mrs. Nguyen. I’m so sorry”. The fact that Amir apologizes for his father’s actions rather than walking out with Baba shows that Amir is starting to feel guilty for the mistakes he makes in the past and that he is trying to redeem them by being an exceptional person. Also, Amir tries to always forget about his past because he does not want to take responsibility for his actions. He says, “I don’t want to forget anymore”. Amir finally understands his misbehaviour and wants to finally take action, and he is not trying to hide from his past. Thus, Amir feels remorseful and regretful which results in him trying to reflect on his mistakes in his past and he begins to accomplish more good deeds to become a better man.

Finally, Amir stops trying to impress Baba, and starts focusing on fixing his past by being loyal and selfless. To begin with, Amir's maturity starts when he marries Soraya and she tells him about her whole past instead of hiding from it. Soraya tells Amir about her past of running away with her boyfriend but Amir did not let that get in the way of their relationship. He knows that no one wants to marry her because she runs away with a man, but it does not bother Amir as he knows that she regrets it. They both make mistakes which makes their pasts difficult, but Amir thinks that both deserve a second chance to fix their past. Next, Amir says “Come, there is a way to be good again’’. Amir tries to redeem himself for what he did to Hassan by deciding to adopt Sohrab. Sohrab is Hassan and Farzana’s son who was sent to an orphanage because his parents die from murder. He treats Sohrab the way that he wishes Baba can and ensures that he will never have to earn his love. The fact that he starts his own family shows that he has achieved maturity significantly. Furthermore, Amir goes back to Kabul to confront Assef for raping Hassan and Sohrab. My body was broken — just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later — but I felt healed. Healed at last. I laughed”. After Amir confronts Assef, he feels like he receives his punishment for never standing up for Hassan. He also fights Assef in order to take Sohrab, and it gave him part of his punishment for allowing the rape to happen. Also, Amir finally pursues a career as an author by writing a short story about two boys who fly kites in Kabul, which means he does not care about Baba who always criticizes him for wanting to write because he thinks that writers are unsuccessful. He does what he loves and does not care what anyone thinks about him. Then, Amir is more generous and trustworthy as he starts to compensate for his past by doing good deeds.

Therefore, Amir is selfish at the beginning but starts to realize his deceiving actions and starts to better himself by accomplishing devoted and loving gestures. Essentially, Amir was always jealous of Hassan and only wanted to be the center of attention which made him selfish. Furthermore, Amir starts to recognize his envious behaviour and starts to regret it. Lastly, Amir decides to achieve generous deeds to help redeem himself from his past. Amir changes significantly from childhood to adulthood. Amir experiences guilt for the first time, as he immaturely ran from the past. Then he realizes that his past is what makes him the person that he is today and he needs to take responsibility for his past mistakes. Doing what we do not want to do is harder for some, but just like Amir it can be achieved. Change is always hard for many people but everyone changes, in good and bad ways, but in Amir’s case, he changed for the good.