Topic > Rahim Khan's Influence on Amir in "The Kite Runner"

An individual's personality is often determined by the actions and observations of another person. You may become shy because another person has caused you pain or worry. One may become courageous because another person forced him to fight for position or pride. Whatever the case, these actions help create the identity of the person who reflects on the actions. In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the character of Amir continually changes as the novel progresses, from coward to hero, from heavy guilt to light feeling of redemption. Throughout the novel, Rahim Khan is primarily responsible for establishing Amir's personality by being a father figure and mentor, acting as a conscience when Amir wanders off and guiding Amir away from his guilt and back to his true character. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The character of Amir was greatly influenced by Rahim Khan as a father figure in Amir's life. Since Baba, Amir's father, always wanted a perfect son who was big and strong, Baba always criticized Amir and wished Amir was more like him. Rahim Khan, Baba's long-time business partner and friend, always felt compassion for Amir, but knew that Amir would never live up to his father's expectations in a physical sense. When Baba neglected Amir, Rahim Khan was there for Amir to talk to and Amir described him as “Baba's quiet alter ego, my writing mentor, my friend” (Hosseini 104). Amir always had a strong passion for writing and when Baba rejected Amir's ideas and stories that he had written, once again, Rahim Khan was the person Amir could turn to for advice, help and wisdom. As a birthday gift to Amir, Rahim Khan encouraged Amir's writing talent by giving him a notebook which Amir described very vividly as: "A brown leather-bound notebook, I traced with my fingers along the gold stitching on the edges I smelled leather. 'For your stories,' he said" (106). The gift of Rahim Khan's notebook to Amir symbolizes the trust and optimism Rahim Khan had in Amir, not only in writing but also in meeting his father's expectations. Although Baba disapproved of Amir's passion for writing stories, Rahim Khan constantly reassured him that Amir would grow and impress him, especially when he said, "'You just have to let him find his own way'" (24). In addition to seeing Rahim Khan as a mentor, Amir referred to Rahim Khan as "the first person I ever considered a friend" (201), which portrays him not only as a person of great knowledge but also as someone who Amir he trusted. tremendously. As Amir's mentor, Rahim Khan helped shape Amir's personality. Rahim Khan influenced Amir's personality not only as a mentor, but also as a model of Amir's consciousness. After the main event of Hassan's rape that changed history, Amir felt very guilty because he felt that he could have prevented the rape and saved Hassan from extreme humiliation and torture. Although Rahim Khan was not present at the incident, he could tell that something was wrong with Amir, something was wrong. Rahim Khan could tell that Amir was feeling down and comforted him when he was angry. Amir's guilt remained with him until one day, after he and Baba moved to the United States of America for safety, when Rahim Khan called Amir and said, "Come. There is a way to be again good" (202). As the thought of Hassan floated in his head, that was the.