Examples Of Vanity In The Kite Lear - 1424 Words

Liberty from Vain Vanity is a feeling; according to Merriam-Webster, it’s that feeling of being proud. Yet, vanity doesn’t translate to pride, though the words are often used synonymously. Vanity relates more to what we would have others think of us, whereas pride relates to how we feel about ourselves. It is possible for a person to be proud without being vain, for a person to feel pride without their cultures ethics. In the Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini tells the story of a young Afghan boy, Amir, whose childhood interactions with his father and Pashtun culture shape his moral compass. Vanity especially influences his desires to achieve through the fulfillment of his father s expectations as well as Pashtunwali, the set of social norms†¦show more content†¦[or] Honor and pride†(Hosseini 121). When Baba says â€Å"nang and namoos,† he refers directly to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun’s code of conduct. In order for â€Å"the man† to have a sense of satisfaction from namoos, or pride, they must have tora and nang: courage and honor. The expectations of â€Å"Amir† pile up as Baba begins wanting his heir to become more and more like he himself was. However, throughout Amir’s life, he has always known that Baba believed â€Å"there is something missing in [him]† (Hosseini 17). Amir has always known he has never been able to match the expectations of his father and has never been able to feel the sense of â€Å"namoos†, or Pashtun pride, that he has always dreamt of. This creates a life path filled with feelings of worthlessness and shame. The largest strike towards his namoos happens in his childhood; with Amir stating in the beginning of the book, â€Å" I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975†(Hosseini 1). That very day, Amir scars the honor and pride of his best friend Hassan by letting him be raped, for â€Å"Hassan was the price [he] had to pay, the lamb [he] had to slay, to win Baba†(Hosseini 65). As Amir ran away from this in cident, â€Å"[he] actually aspired to cowardice.† By stating that â€Å"I became what I am today at the age of twelve,† Amir is is emphasizing the fact that he never let go of what happened in his past; letting his childhood shape a path that takes him all the way to where he is now. As