Ok, this blog is going to pertain to that one question, "is Amir a sympathetic character?"
Although in my mind I wished he wasn't, Amir does impose a severity to which humans accustom themselves to--fear. Therefore, I believe Amir is a sympathetic character (even if he is a coward). More often than not, humans act out of selfishness and only think about and for themselves. The whole topic brings to mind the show "What would you do?", and it is evident that people, unless having gone through the same or a similar experience, find helping a threat unlike those who who find it as a challenge. A challenge to rectify the injustices and stop these type of occurrences. I completely understand, though. Amir should have done something to help Hassan. However, I wouldn't know what to do. I wish I would be courageous enough to do something at the sight of something as horrific as that, but I just don't know. It sounds plain and simple in writing and words but actions speak louder than words. This is the only way I could see Amir as a sympathetic character--do first, regret later. What do you guys think?
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Amir presents himself as a character that is not desperately searching for sympathy like Victor Frankenstein --rather he has a form of narration that is similar to Holden from Catcher in The Rye, in my opinion, although Holden is definitely more pessimistic. Amir is very similar to Bigger from Native Son, where he is dominated by his fear. Even in his time of comfort shared with Rahim Khan, the person who Amir saw as his "writing mentor", Amir himself was unable to be honest about his guilt about Hassan out of fear --fear of judgement and lost of respect. I appreciate Amir's honesty and his sense of self-loathing is something that feels very natural, so in a way, Amir is sympathetic character despite his cowardice.
ReplyDeleteLike Aaron, I think Amir is very much like Bigger in Native Son. Although Bigger was attempting to fight and release himself from the burden of 'white' oppression. Amir too was fighting a bear, his father, but more specifically his father's lack of love towards him. Like Bigger, Amir found only liberation at the expense of others. Yet it was this same liberation that brought him the turmoil in his life.
ReplyDeleteI do think however, that Amir is a sympathetic character. Amir at the age of 12, like most children who experience seeing someone raped is traumatized. His age and fear renders him unable to move or react. Amir's commentary during the rape, such as "Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay..." seems to be a mere human coping mechanism in the face of a threat.