Sydney Carton and Amir - Ozbun

Even though the two pieces were created nearly one hundred and fifty years apart, The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini and A Tale of Two Cities written by Charles Dickens show vasts amounts of similarities and differences between the two main characters. These characters being Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities, and Amir in The Kite Runner. At some point in each of these characters lives they realize that they should have done something differently. One regrets it for life, and another decides to act upon it and make serious changes. Two completely different authors, yet these characters draw similarities and differences as their lives travel in two completely different directions.

To start there is one major similarity between these characters. In the beginning of the story, Sydney Carton does not appreciate his own life whatsoever. In actuality he greatly despises it and it is quite obvious right from the start. However there is a desperate attempt to change these thoughts on life throughout the rest of the book. SImilarly Amir makes a decision early in his life to get rid of his best friend Hassan and to frame him to earn another’s trust. Just as Sydney does, Amir seeks to overcome his challenges in life to seek a greater meaning of happiness but it does not come as easy as he would like. Both characters share a similar spiritual journey up until the end of each book. Sydney ends his journey by feeling forever at peace with himself and with the knowledge that he finally lived his life with meaning. In which he sacrificed his life to the guillotine through strong love, for not only the one he loved Lucie but also the rest of her family. Likewise, towards the conclusion of The Kite Runner, Amir finds peace in being beaten by an old enemy in his old home. The same enemy that raped Amir’s best friend Hassan. Which eventually led to Amir betraying Hassan and forcing him to leave early in his life despite all the great things they had been through.Not only did Amir find peace in being beaten by the his old foe, he found it to be redeeming for the anguish that he had once caused his old best friend. “My body was broken—just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later—but I felt healed. Healed at last. I laughed” (Hosseini, 289). This quote greatly signifies the importance of himself being beaten. Amir knew he had been greatly messed up, yet his mind told him it was right in the fact that he finally was healed after years of guilt for his decisions in the past.

Although there was one large similarity, there are many smaller differences as well between the two main characters of their respective books. The personalities of the two show their greatest differences. Sydney as stated previously is lacking motivation in his own life. He also shows little to no respect for anything he does, and has no sympathy towards others whatsoever. Despite being in a great field of work, he finds no interest with what he does and thinks drinking is the resolution or solvent to all of his struggles. In contrast, Amir is quite the opposite. He finds a greater meaning in life than Sydney does in the beginning. Amir is a more lovable character from the get go with the character traits he possesses. Although he betrays his best friend early in the book, Amir is very knowledgeable and intelligent. Not only that but he contains a sensitive side within himself as well which is obvious once his friend has left his life. Amir wants nothing more than to impress and please his father. This is the primary motivator to his life when the book begins. In contrast, Sydney lacks motivation to please anyone or to do anything with his life. "I am a disappointed drudge, sir. I care for no man on earth, and no man on earth cares for me" (Dickens, 81). The quote stated by Sydney in the previous sentence shows how little he cares for his own existence and the existence of others. Also it is a description of why he drinks excessively. This continues until he meets Lucie. When he meets her, his whole life begins to turn around in the blink of an eye and the thought of her motivates him to become a better person not only in her eyes but the people and society around him as well. Lastly, both characters are driven by the same resulting factor, to become better people in life.

In conclusion, the protagonists of The Kite Runner and A Tale of Two Cities come from two quite different parallels of life. Living two different lives but have similar ideals later in each of the books when it comes to striving to be a better person. In addition, both characters have plenty of differences including motives, personality traits, lifestyles, thoughts, and regrets. Although written years apart, it was quite simple to find the commonalities and deviation between the two. The intelligent writing of the authors Charles Dickens and Khaled Hosseini brought together unique characters impressively despite the immense difference in plots.