There is a notable difference between being dead and dying. Everyone dies, some die for ninety years, some for three. There is no escaping death. However, with this mentality, a question arises: does anyone really live? Humans are born into this world with a blank slate and an infinite number of pages to fill; the sole purpose is to live fully and completely within this notebook. People are meant to live every second to its fullest potential, basking in the vastness of the world without hesitation. With the fear of losing a second in an entity of time, the main goal is to preserve it by any means necessary, spending all the time we have surrounded by friends and loved ones. If we think about this behavior for a moment, all of this is a push someone feels when they are given an expiration date. It therefore seems that living and dying are two contrasting words with the same meaning. It is Khaled Hosseini (born in Kabul, Afghanistan) who argues most effectively that what matters is not death, but rather the pages that precede it. In The Kite Runner, an exuberant novel written in 2003, Hosseini uses personal references and knowledge of the Soviet invasion of his home country to extend classical ideals of life and death. Indeed, it is proven that perception and reaction are the factors that influence this ethic. Hosseini continually demonstrates that death in life is possible. The characters are so desperate for vitality and happiness that they spend their entire lives dying for unattainable goals. While Hassan, and the tragedy that surrounds him, lives on vibrantly throughout life and death. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Amir is a great example of death in life. He is constantly presented as dying, in one sense or another. In the early stage, Amir shows signs of morbidity. Feeling responsible for his mother's death during childbirth, Amir struggles with guilt, longing, and desperation. In turn, he spends his life dying and starving for his father's love and approval. Fearing a life of guilt and burden, Amir's mindset begins to change. So, shining through his recurring thoughts, “[he] always felt as if Baba hated him a little. And why not? After all, [Amir] killed [Baba's] beloved wife, his beautiful princess [not] [him]? The least [Amir] could [do] [is] have the decency to [become] a little more like [his father]” (19). Baba's behavior, words, choices and behaviors impact Amir throughout his life, leaving the boy devastated and guilt-ridden. Feelings that arise from the dilemma “[he] [has] not become like [Baba]” (19). Desperately, Amir reacts to his father by frantically trying to earn his respect. Despite the good intentions behind Amir's actions, it is clear that he is the author of his own death. In the space of a few chapters, Amir finds himself dying of a new sense of guilt, blossoming from the injustice against Hassan. Failure looms over his head, prompting Amir to confess that he had "[hoped] [...] that someone would wake up and hear, so [he] would no longer have to live with [his] lie[.] But [when ] no one woke up…[he] understood the nature of [his] new curse” (72) Amir is so eager to reduce his sins and free himself from guilt, that his life revolves around this, and only this. Often feeling empty, abandoned and incomplete, Amir begins to miss the world around him Amir never truly experiences life, provingthat ideal death in life is possible. Likewise, in Amir's situation, if an event is perceived so negatively that it becomes an obsession, it has the ability to destroy life and demolish the potential of true life. Meanwhile, Baba has his own unique way of showing failed attempts to live an authentic life. life of happiness. His most obvious, and perhaps worst, offense is his constant disappointment with Amir. The world for Baba is clean, black and white, where everything and everyone has their place. But Amir is a benevolent spirit and lacks conformity to Baba's standards. Anger and sheer confusion are the only response Baba can muster. He wants nothing more than for Amir to grow up exactly like him. Instead, Amir is a “boy who can't stand up for himself” (22), and Baba's worst worry is that Amir will then “[become] a man who can't stand up for anything” (22). These actions and thoughts will ultimately lead to Baba's downfall. Filled with loss, emptiness and guilt, Baba struggles to come to terms with an imperfectly sculpted son and a boy he can never claim as his own. Baba's decisions are the cause of his own awareness. Baba, Hassan's biological father, knows that he can never legitimately accept Hassan as his own. The knowledge of this causes unspeakable turmoil, which can never be shared or understood by anyone else. When Ali, Baba's childhood friend and the man Hassan calls father, decides to leave with Hassan, Baba's suffering is amplified. Amir's father begs, screams and fights for Hassan and Ali, but to no avail. “'Please,' [says] Baba, but Ali [...] has already turned to the door, followed by Hassan. I will never forget the way Baba said it, the pain in his supplication, the fear” (107). Because of the tragedy of his sins, a life of desperation is cemented in Baba; attributes masked behind judgment and anger. Baba is best described as “[a] man torn between two halves [...] [Amir] and Hassan. [Baba] loved them both, but he could not love Hassan the way he wanted, openly and as a father. So, he took out his anger on [Amir] instead [...] When he saw [Amir], he saw himself. And his fault. [...] [he] was also hard on himself. [Baba], like [Amir], was a tortured soul” (302). Inconceivable emotions transform Baba, and he spends the rest of his life filled with urgency to atone for his greatest sins. Everything Baba did, “feeding the poor, giving money to needy friends, was all a way to redeem himself…” (302). However, nothing helps Baba, who remains disgruntled, grief-stricken and on the verge of death. Thus, Baba demonstrates that spending a life longing and desperate is the equivalent of spending a life dying; thus showing the extraordinary power of death in life. Assef is another example of the dissolution of existence which is an incentive to human perception. The classic textbook example of a sociopath, Assef is murderous, hateful, and evil; marketing all words that stand out as prominent quality traits for destruction. The problem is that Assef appears truly happy with his life and his choices, speaking and saying the same way; “You don't know the meaning of the word 'liberator' until you've... stood in a room full of targets, let the bullets fly, free from guilt and remorse, [knowing] that you are virtuous and good and respectable, [knowing] that you are doing God's work” (277). Assef talks about how his life is complete, happy, admitting that he is “guilt-free” and “doing God's work”. Upon closer inspection, it seems that Assef actually shares a bond with the other characters. He is in a state of pain, desolation and death throughout his life. All of Assef's behaviors and choices can be.