Family and friendship is one of the most important things in a person’s life. Without it, people can release their weaknesses, and break the bonds of family and friendship.  Amir is a brilliant example in the story “The Kite Runner” written by Khaled Hosseini. Amir shows readers what happens when you let your weaknesses over power you. Throughout the story Amir faces challenges and choices which impact him for the rest of his life, not worrying about how that would impact others causing him to be selfish and cowardice. However, once Amir starts to realise that the bonds between friends and family are able to overcome any weaknesses. He discovers that it is worth trying even if it takes a long time, allowing him to start learning how to change those weaknesses into strengths, becoming selfless. Amir develops a better understanding of the importance of family and friendship, for it allows him to grow as a person. 

Amir had been seeking Baba’s attention since the day he was born. Baba was the most important thing in Amir’s life, for that reason Amir would do anything to show his father that he is worthy of being his son, causing him to be selfish. Ever since Amir was a newborn the readers were able to see the desire in his eyes which longed for a father that would love him. The biggest show of his selfishness was the day of the kite runner tournament. “ I think maybe you’ll win the tournament this year” when Baba said this to Amir, Amir knew that he would do anything in order to win the tournament, this way he would get the love that he had always longed for. Amir then became the most selfish person he could have become. It came down to sacrificing his best friend in order to appease his father. “Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay to win Baba.” He threw Hassan to the wolves (Assef and his friends) even though Amir and Hassan had been as close as brothers since he was a baby “…there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break. Hassan and I fed from the same breast.” They had done everything together since they were children, yet Amir would still give Hassan up for his father because blood meant more to him then Hassan at that moment. Amir’s only thoughts were that family was the most important thing to him, and no matter the consequences he would do anything for his idea of the perfect family. Khaled Hosseini wanted his readers to understand the importance of family and friendship, even though it was the family he was born into doesn’t mean he should let his selfish needs overcome the greater good of others. We may not be able to choose our family but we can choose our friends and the bond between friends isn’t something that anyone should be willing to give up. Friends are just as important as family, for they are the family that you choose. 

Cowardice, Amir’s second most distinctive weakness that relates to family and friendship. Amir tries to get his family and friends to fix his problems, instead of solving them himself. The pomegranate tree was a recurring symbol throughout the story, symbolising the friendship between Amir and Hassan. Many days after the kite runner tournament Amir wanted to take Hassan to the pomegranate tree to read him a story. However, it did not go as planned, Amir started throwing the fruits at Hassan “Hit me back!” Amir kept yelling at Hassan, trying to get Hassan to punish him for his own mistake, hoping that Hassan would fix his problem instead of fixing it himself. Showing the readers that Amir is a coward who is trying anything to get others to fix his problems, but only breaking the bond between the two boys, even more, their friendship now hanging by a string. Family and friendship no longer mattered to him, for his mind is clouded by darkness. All Amir wants is for his mistake to be fixed, but without the friendship between the two boys, Amir feels as if there’s a void inside him, and it will only get bigger the longer it takes to resolve the problem that lingers around Amir’s mind. “Then Hassan did pick up a pomegranate. He walked toward me. He opened it and crushed it against his own forehead “There” he croaked” the pomegranate that Hassan crushed against his skull was a representation of the friendship of Amir and Hassan, it finally broke. After that day no fruits ever boar from the tree again. Representing that the friendship broke and could never be the same. Khaled Hosseini used Amir as an example of what will happen if we keep relying on others to solve the problems in our lives, the more we try to get others to resolve it the more likely the friendships we have will break. We need to stay strong and not cower away from things that are hard as Amir did otherwise we are cowards. 

Amir has developed a lot in regards to his family and friends. Amirs weaknesses have started turning into strengths. The moment where we can see the most progress in his understanding of how important family and friends are, in a person’s life is when he sacrificed himself to Assef in order to protect Sohrab. It was his last chance to protect the only blood relative that he had left, and he made sure he would do anything to protect him, no matter the cost. “My hands are stained with Hassan’s blood; I pray to God doesn’t let them get stained with the blood of his boy too.” Amir has finally realised what happened to Hassan was his fault, and he needed to find a way to fix that mistake. The only way he knew how was to help Hassan’s son, for he wouldn’t let Sohrob suffer the same fate his father had to injure. When he made the choice to sacrifice himself even though there was a decent chance that he wouldn’t make it out alive he showed an act of selflessness, not thinking about what would happen to him and instead thought about Sohrab as his only focus. “My body was broken- just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later- but I felt healed. Healed at last. I laughed.” The void that was eating up Amir from the inside out was now healed, for he believed that Hassan would be proud of him for performing an act of selflessness. Amir has started to develop in regards to family and friendship, he understands that family and friends need to be protected, a lesson he didn’t understand at first when he broke his friendship with Hassan. There is hope, hope for all of us. Khaled Hosseini made sure to let his readers know that no matter what happened or happens in a person’s life our family and friends will always be there for us. He turned Amir’s weakness of selfishness and cowardice into a strength; showing readers the importance of family and friendship, without it a person will waste away, always wanting to change the past. The scene showed us that even if it takes years it is going to be worth it. Amir is our example of that, he laughs because of the relief he finally feels by doing the right thing for his family, it takes time but the outcome is worth it.

Family and friendship is a very important part of a person’s life. Without it, people feel like there is something missing, a void in themselves that they can’t ever fill. Throughout the novel, the author showed us that we need to be careful when we do something, for it could greatly impact someone’s life, and that family can bring out the darker sides of ourselves. Amir was the best example showing us that at the beginning he wanted nothing more than to feel appreciated by his father leading to a broken bond of friendship, which couldn’t be repaired. All of Amir’s weaknesses developed this idea of family and friendship and how it greatly affects our mindsets, as much as we might want to change it we can’t. Family is something we’re born into and can’t change, but friends are our chosen family. When families bring out the weaknesses and strengths we possess such as Amir’s selfishness, cowardice, and selflessness, once we begin developing as a person we begin seeing that our family is able to bring out our weaknesses in the beginning, but in the end, we start realising that our family can be a strength. We develop as people, turning our qualities into something positive. “The Kite Runner” teaches its reader very important life lessons about family and friendship, the values that you should keep with you throughout your life.