Like Mark Twain's "The War Prayer" - with both a spoken and unspoken prayer for me, "The Kite Runner" has both a spoken and unspoken message. The spoken message is a message of redemption. After returning to Afghanistan to rescue (and be rescued by) his half-brother's son, Amir finds a degree of contentment upon "becoming good again." It was not until I continued to reflect upon the movie that I recognized the unspoken message. I was troubled by what drove Amir to find the courage, the backbone, the character to stand up to his "General" father-in-law when he was disrespectful regarding his half-brother's son. Although I can see where finding contentment from "becoming good again" contributed to finding the character to stand up to the "General" - of itself - it did not seem sufficient.
Throughout the movie, Amir desired to be like his father, to have his father's character and to be respected by his father for the character that his father recognized in Hassan. Amir saw his father as an individual of towering and unassailable character, which he was. One of the reasons Amir did not see himself with the character of his father, was because he saw himself with flaws that would prevent the attainment of those heights. It was not until Amir learned that his father was not without faults (fathering a child with his servant's wife), that he recognized that his father's flaws did not prevent his father from developing and attaining character. It is this recognition (the unspoken message that we can have flaws and still have character) that allows Amir to find his own character to stand up to the "General."
In essence, the unspoken message is telling us that we, as individuals, may have deficiencies, but that should not stop us from developing, enhancing and embracing our own character. We are too often overly critical of our own shortcomings, and do not give ourselves credit for the quality person that we are. If we are not perfect today, there is always tomorrow! This is an ongoing, ever evolving, ever improving process. The past cannot be changed, only tomorrow can be improved!
Throughout the movie, Amir desired to be like his father, to have his father's character and to be respected by his father for the character that his father recognized in Hassan. Amir saw his father as an individual of towering and unassailable character, which he was. One of the reasons Amir did not see himself with the character of his father, was because he saw himself with flaws that would prevent the attainment of those heights. It was not until Amir learned that his father was not without faults (fathering a child with his servant's wife), that he recognized that his father's flaws did not prevent his father from developing and attaining character. It is this recognition (the unspoken message that we can have flaws and still have character) that allows Amir to find his own character to stand up to the "General."
In essence, the unspoken message is telling us that we, as individuals, may have deficiencies, but that should not stop us from developing, enhancing and embracing our own character. We are too often overly critical of our own shortcomings, and do not give ourselves credit for the quality person that we are. If we are not perfect today, there is always tomorrow! This is an ongoing, ever evolving, ever improving process. The past cannot be changed, only tomorrow can be improved!