Both Amir and Holden grow and change over the course of their journeys in The Kite Runner and The Catcher in the Rye, but while courage and inner peace that Amir's gains allow him to make peace with his past, Holden's slow growth, understanding of people, and maturity do not specifically translate into any colossal changes in his life; unlike Hosseini, who suggests that heroism is something you achieve by redeeming yourself and making peace with the past, Salinger suggests that heroism is not about the end point where you finally achieve greatness, but along the journey where you improve yourself . a coward who can't defend himself and over the course of the book this starts to change and eventually changes completely by the end of the book. Amir has never been the type of guy to fight or stand up for himself. For example, Amir hears Baba say to Rahim Khan: “Do you know what happens when the neighborhood kids make fun of him? Hassan intervenes and pushes them away... I'm telling you, Rahim, there's something missing in that boy” (Hosseini, 23 years old). Baba complains to Rahim and doesn't understand why Amir lacks the courage to assert himself. He is perplexed that Hassan is the one to step in and defend Amir. He is also very confused about whether a Hazara is braver than his son. Baba knows that Amir is not violent and only wants to defend himself. Amir hears this and is very upset that Baba doesn't approve of it. For Amir this is the awareness of being a coward and his father notices it. Later in the book, Amir sees Hassan being raped and thinks about intervening and being brave because he says, “I had one last chance to make a decision. One last chance to decide... middle of paper... he doesn't like anything. This makes him an unlikely hero as most heroes aim to please people and people. This can also be used to show how a tiny amount has changed. At first he didn't like anything, but by the end of his trip he began to miss people. This once again shows how Salinger perceives heroism as small changes that occur during a journey. Both Amir and Holden grow up throughout The Catcher in The Rye and The Kite Runner. Amir's growing courage leads to success, while Holden's slow understanding of people and maturity don't really lead to much of an achievement. While Hosseini in The Kite Runner tries to show that heroism has a very clear idea and allows you to make peace with your past. Salinger suggests that heroism is not about the ending and how you change, but along the journey in which changes are made.