The Kite Runner ~ motivation

"Then a smile played on my father's lips. He opened his arms. I put the kite down and walked into his thick hairy arms. I buried my face in the warmth of his chest and wept. Baba held me close to him, rocking me back and forth. In his arms, I forgot what I'd done. And that was good" (page 79).

Amir's motivation for ever entering the kite fight was to make his father proud of him. He had always been jealous of Hassan and Baba's love for him. Baba was his father, and Amir did not like sharing him with Hassan. He thought Hassan was the perfect son and felt like he could never live up to his father's expectations. Amir always tried to please his father, but he was never fully satisfied with him. In Amir's opinion, this kite competition was a way of earning his father's love. Amir was willing to do anything in order to make his father proud and all he could think about was bringing him the last fallen kite - the blue kite that had been the reason for Hassan's terrible fate. Amir watched the horror being done to his childhood friend and did nothing; he even thought about the kite instead of his best friend. He checked to see if the kite was torn before even checking to see if Hassan was okay. Amir's motivations were very self-centered. He acted out of jealousy and fear; he wanted to be his father's favorite and was too scared to stand up for Hassan in the alley. This event stays forever ingrained in Amir's mind.