The Selfish Sacrifice - 910 Words

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is an unforgettable, powerful and heartrending novel of two friends bonded by childhood and of the forces that tear them apart. Amir, the protagonist, is a young boy who is constantly faced with the challenge to stand up for what is right, however, he always fails to fight his own battles and constantly depends on his friend, Hassan, for aid. Amir is emotionally unstable due to deprivation of love from his father, who is his only source of affection. He yearns to be accepted and acknowledged by his father, and he is prepared to do whatever it takes to earn his affection. On the day of the kite tournament, Amir sacrifices his friend’s innocence for the blue kite, which he believes will earn him Baba’s respect. However, Amir’s sacrifice of Hassan’s innocence is not worth Baba’s endearment and this can be clearly seen through; the loss of his childhood, the guilt that eats him from inside and the love which only lasts him momentarily. With every action comes a cost and Amir’s betrayal towards Hassan, costs him the loss of his blissful childhood. In the book, The Kite Runner, due to his guilty conscience, Amir is unable to enjoy his childhood, as the following quote implies, â€Å"But, always, my mind returned to the alley. To Hassan’s brown corduroy pants lying on the bricks. To the droplets of blood staining the snow dark red, almost black.’’ (Hosseini 96). This statement shows how Amir was unable to enjoy his school life, because his thoughtsShow MoreRelatedSelfishness Essay648 Words   |  3 Pagesself-interest. Contrary to popular opinion, all healthy individuals are selfish. Choosing to pursue the career of your choice is selfish. Choosing to have children#8212;or not to have children#8212;is selfish. Insisting on freedom and individual rights, rather than living under a dictatorship, is selfish. Indeed, even ordinary behaviors such as breathing, eating and avoiding an oncoming c ar when crossing the street are selfish acts. Without selfishness, none o f us would survive the day#8212;muchRead MoreEssay on The Necessity of Selfishness 1054 Words   |  5 Pagesbefore their own. They expected their offspring to submissively sacrifice incongruent desires and wishes. Parents did not tolerate selfishness from anyone at anytime. Then came the millennials, also called the me generation. The typical millennial, concerned only with his or her own happiness, pursues self satisfaction relentlessly. They only reflect upon their fellow man’s needs when it benefits them. Millennials have been called lazy, selfish, and worthless by their peers. This leads one to ponder selfishness’Read MoreA Righteous Sacrifice: Worth It or Not1138 Words   |  5 PagesA Righteous Sacrifice: Worth It or Not Many people are willing to sacrifice for what they desire, whether out of selfish or selfless motives they are willing to sacrifice themselves or others. This sacrifice is a costly and even puzzling act. One must wonder, is this sacrifice for better or for worse? Here are two stories that will show two different sides to this query. In Future Primitive â€Å"Hogfoot Right and Bird-Hands,† there is an old woman who lives sometime in the future. Her pet cat had recentlyRead MoreCompare And Contrast Abigail And John Proctor In The Crucible1049 Words   |  5 Pagesperson while John Proctor is seen as the good and honest character; even though he made some bad decisions.Throughout the play the two characters Abigail and John Proctor show many differences in the characteristics of: lying/truthfulness, self-sacrifice/selfishness, and fear/courage. Through the characteristics lying/truthfulness Abigail is very easily seen as the liar, John is more honest and truthful. Abigail lies to cover up her affair and to prevent charges of witchcraft. Abigail is most toRead MoreReligion And Its Impact On The Environment1452 Words   |  6 Pagesjust pushing them off and believing they are justifiable by God. If they truly want to follow God and his teachings, they would take care of the environment that he created, and take responsibility for their actions. As a whole humans are very selfish creatures. According to many great philosophers the difference between humans and animals is the presence of self-consciousness. Humans can distinguish their own thoughts and feelings from others, and act differently on that knowledge. Humans alsoRead MoreEssay about The Illusion of Love in Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily512 Words   |  3 Pagesan â€Å"eyesore among eyesore† (Para.2), with â€Å"a smell of dust and disuse† (Para.4). What darkens the once well decorated house? The tarnish is fake love. None of Emily, her father and Homer grasps the true essence of love—sacrifice and giving. First, the father’s love is selfish. As written in the last paragraph of the second chapter, his father â€Å"drives away† all the pursuers, (Para.14, Chapter 2) showing his love is so overwhelming that it keeps Emily away from any men. In this way, he has isolatedRead MorePersuasive Essay : The Selfish Gene 1733 Words   |  7 Pagesabout success in the wrong way. According to Richard Dawkins’ ‘The Selfish Gene’, we are all born with inherently selfish genes, in-built for our survival: to self-preserve, to keep oneself safe from predators, to get what you need and keep it to survive. But this does not fit in our current society. As Dawkins states himself, â€Å"Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish. Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to, because we may then at least have the chance toRead MoreAlive Nando Parrado808 Words   |  4 PagesAnyone whose goal is something higher must expect sacrificing something bigger to achieve that goal. In life we have to take our goals and expand them and by doing so there are many sacrifices you have to do in order to obtain those goals. Sacrifices are all around us, some are bigger than others, making the goal higher and harder to get, but with a positive outlook and no fear in failing everybody can accomplish anything. When your own life is your goal than the risks are all you can take. It isRead MoreThe Myth Of The Wasteland781 Words   |  4 PagesSacrifice. The Wasteland will try to tear you down, make you a monster or strip you of your will to fight. The Wasteland†¦ and to a lesser degree, life itself. Every day is a struggle against the forces that attempt to compromise and erode anything good in your heart. It helps to have a cause, a purpose; but I have seen too many who have put their faith in those alone and been lead grievously astray. Every pony has a virtue, whether they realize it or not. And it is your virtue and your friendsRead MoreSummary Of The Giving Tree 1706 Words   |  7 PagesSilverstein called the tree â€Å"her†. This gave the tree a gender. Another use of figurative language used in The Giving Tree, is narrative poetry. The Giving Tree had many different meanings, but there was the one that kids’ moms are willing to self-sacrifice for them and they take it for granted. The poem, The Giving Tree, could be used as preparation for the future, by telling kids around the world how much thei r moms do for them on a daily basis and how much it means for them to get a â€Å"thank you†