In the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the main character Amir has issues with his true self. Amir doesn't know who he is to himself or to others. Amir always tries to impress his dad and earn his fathers love over Hassan. Speaking of Hassan Amir doesn't know weather or not they are friends. Amir realizes who he is only through experience and knowledge. Maybe that's what people need, change through knowledge and experience.
For example, Amir doesn't realize Hassan's worth to him as a friend. Amir frames Hassan for theft of money and a watch. When he tells his father, Hassan and his father Ali decide they want to move away. Amir doesn't realize Hassan is Amir's biggest friend until Hassan goes away. "If this were one of the Hindi movies Hassan and I used to watch this was the part where I'd run outside, my bare feet splashing rainwater. I'd chase the car, screaming for it to stop. I'd pull Hassan out of the back seat and tell him I was sorry," p. 108-109. This shows how Amir only realized Hassan was more than a servant but more of a friend, the friend he never had. This shows how Amir grew up through experience.
An example of how Amir changes through knowledge is when Rahim tells Amir everything about Hassan and what happened while Amir was gone.Rahim tells Amir that Ali was not Hassan's father. A solider had sex with Hassan's first mother who ran away because she had a band. That's why Amir's dad liked Hassan so much. Because he felt so bad about Hassan's past and how Hassan doesn't know about it. Amir at this point is extremely sorry for thinking his dad loved Hassan more than him. Amir feels stupid for sending Hassan away because he was jealous.
In conclusion, Amir grows up through Knowledge and experience. I think experience and Knowledge is the best way to grow up. It is a hands on process that can put a toll on you but in the end you learn a lot. Coming of age is all about knowing how to deal with issues and the only way to do that is to have experience. Other wise you will never know how to handle things maturely.
