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Features of postcolonial fiction
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Depicting Amir’s redemption in the story, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses a powerful flashback, recurring conflicts, and an altering tone of voice to illustrate the idea of Amir finally being able to redeem himself by the end of the story. Hosseini skilfully inserts the powerful flashback to show the significant change Amir had at the end of the novel. In scrutinizing Amir’s every decision he makes throughout the novel, Hosseini encourages the reader to grasp the idea of Amir finally redeeming himself for his sins at the end of the novel. Hosseini wants the reader to be on a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the novel to keep the reader interested in Amir’s journey to seek redemption for himself. Hosseini utilizes recurring conflicts …show more content…
At the beginning Amir is a timid and cowardly boy, when he is faced with a challenge that he thinks he can’t win or overcome, Amir would give up and not stand up for himself or others. ‘“ How can you call him your friend?” But he’s not my friend! I almost blurted. He’s my servant!”’(pg.41). From just this scene, Amir is depicted as a weak person who’d have no problem just throwing one of his dearest friends into the fire to save his own self which is very selfish. Amir’s tone of voice when confronted with situations like this is very feeble and narcissistic making his character appear very weak. However, Amir realizes this and as the story goes on he slowly becomes less self-centered and much more capable of sticking up for himself and others. ‘“And one more thing, General Sahib”, I said. “You will never again refer to him as ‘Hazara boy’ in my presence. He has a name and it’s Sohrab.” No one said anything for the remainder of the meal.”’(pg.361). Amir is at the dinner table with his wife and her family when General Sahib refers to Sohrab as a “Hazara boy” which angered Amir into something he rarely did. Amir stood up not for himself but for Sohrab by calling out General Sahib who is his father in law which is very significant because Amir undermined his authority by speaking against him. This shows the change Amir experienced from the beginning of the story to the end …show more content…
Amir has always enjoyed kite running especially when he was younger and was accompanied by his best friend, Hassan. Amir wants Hassan’s son, Sohrab to feel the same thing so he takes Sohrab out and lets him run the Kite he gave him. ‘“ Do you want me to run that kite for you?” His Adam’s apple rose and fell as he swallowed. The wind lifted his hair. I thought I saw him nod. “For you, a thousand times over,”(pg.371). Amir is out with Sohrab doing something he and Hassan did when they were younger, trying to connect with Sohrab the same way he connected with Hassan. This time it’s not Amir controlling the kite, it’s Sohrab and it’s also Amir who eventually runs down the kite for Sohrab, something Hassan would always do when both him and Amir were younger. This is significant because Amir is able to go back to his childhood and remember something he cherished so deeply and be able to share it with Sohrab. This ultimately completes Amir’s redemption because he is able to continue his best friends legacy with his son. Hosseini uses a powerful flashback to show how Amir is able to remember something so symbolic and meaningful in which he shares with Sohrab. This shows how Amir has redeemed himself after being a terrible friend to Hassan in the
Amir’s redemption is a large part of the novel and is carried out almost entirely until the end of the story. He travels to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from the orphanage he was placed in after the death of his parents. He promises to find him a safe home with someone but after time passes he feels like this is not enough. He then speaks to his wife and decides to take Sohrab back to the United States with him and take care of his as if he was one of his own. Earlier in the novel when Baba is speaking Amir over hears his conversation as he is referring to him stating, “A boy who won 't stand up for himself becomes a man who can 't stand up to anything” (Hosseini, 22). Thus meaning that if he is able to stand up for himself as a young boy, when he is grown he will not be able to stand up for anything that is in his future. This is true throughout the story until he stands up for himself and Sorhab when he is arguing with his life long bully, Assef. Amir lacked the courage to defend himself in the novel until he finally took charge and went against
During the course of these four chapters Amir is on a mission to find Sohrab, Hassan’s son, in the city of Kabul. Initially Amir is uncooperative on Rahim Khans dying wish to see Sohrab once more. When Rahim Khan confronts Amir about being “A man who cannot stand up to anything,” (Hosseini 221). This ignites a flame within Amir to prove Rahim Khan wrong. If this statement had not been spoken to Amir, the events in twenty through twenty-three would not have happened. Based on the previous chapters of The Kite Runner Amir can be described as placid as well as
In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini the, main Protagonist is a man that goes by the name Amir. Some argue that he is an anti-hero, or not a hero. No. Amir is a hero. Amir is just another person who was lost at one point and needed direction and needed clear the guilty feelings he had. Through these actions he creates a heroic journey, he follows a hero’s path.
In the end, I ran.” ( ) This section of The Kite Runner was astonishing and unfathomable, but nevertheless sets the scene for Amir’s journey to redemption. Subsequently Amir began to develop guilt and believed the only way to be free from it was to push Hassan into leaving, which he achieved but soon realized that wasn’t what he had wanted. Years later, Amir had gotten the chance to redeem himself and become good again by rescuing Hassan’s son from the war ridden Afghanistan and bring him back to America.
Amir’s development from being “a boy who won’t stand up for himself,” to a man that stands up for the morally responsible thing to do (22, Hosseini). When Amir was a child, he tried to escape from his sins in the past by hiding them with lies. However, this only made it worse for Amir, causing him to be an insomniac for much of his life and putting himself through constant torment. Only when Amir became a man, like Baba wanted him to be, was Amir able to face the truth of what he done and put himself on the path of redemption. Even when Amir was suffering a violent beating from Assef, Amir was able to laugh because he knew he was doing what he should have for Hassan years ago. Amir’s development from a child, who lies in order to cower from their own mistakes, into a man, someone who is not only able to admit his sins, but atone for them, is essential to communicating the theme of redemption being the only way to settle with your
Amir shows proves his redemption in the most human way he could. He took responsibility for his actions, went through the worst to fix his actions, and took the consequences for his actions, which may in the end was rewarding. Amir is admired by the reader, because not everyone can do what he did. He certainly proved he had good in him the entire time and was just caught up with moment. Amir achieved redemption and was rewarded with an undeniable bond with his
Flying kites was a source of Amir 's happiness as a child as well as a way to attain his father’s approval. In Kabul, Afghanistan, a kite flying tournament was held annually. Young boys laced their string with glass and attempted to cut the strings of other kite flyers. That last on standing was deemed the champion and the idol of all the younger children. Before Amir competed in his kite tournament, Baba said, “I think maybe you 'll win the tournament this year. What do you think?” (Hosseini, 50) Amir took this opportunity and told himself that, “I was going to win, and I was going to run that last kite. Then I’d bring it home and show it to Baba. Show him once and for all his son was worthy. Then maybe my life as a ghost in this house would finally be over.” (Hosseini, 50) Amir wanted the approval and affection of his father badly enough that he was willing to allow Hassan to get raped in order to attain it. After this kits became the symbol of Amir 's betrayal to Hassan. The kite ultimately becomes the way that Amir connects with Sohrab, mirroring how Amir connected with Baba when he was a
There are many parallels between the first half of Amir’s life and the second half. Specifically, Hassan runs the blue kite for Amir during their adolescence and later Amir runs the kite for Sohrab. Moreover,
The Taliban would kill people over a wrong glance which makes it super risky and there was no guarantee that Amir would make it home alive. Amir also showed bravery (288) when he fought Assef. He could have been a coward and left, allowing for Sohrab to take the beating like Hassan had done for Amir in the past, but instead he fought. This was brave because Assef was extremely violent with no moral which makes him a vicious fighter. There was a good chance Assef was going to kill Amir during the fight, but Amir did it anyways because he wanted to save Sohrab. The final example of Amir being brave was when he stood up for Sohrab to the General: “And one more thing, General Sahib,” I said. “ You will never again refer to him as ‘Hazara boy’ in my presence. He has a name and it’s Sohrab.”’ (pg. 361). The General and Amir had always had a shaky relationship and Amir had always been a bit timid towards the General. However, Amir didn’t stand for Sohrab being called a ‘Hazara boy’, a racist term that was offensive. Instead he stood up for Sohrab and made sure that Sohrab was not going to be called names like that which was brave of Amir. Amir's bravery shows that he has put in the effort to be worthy of forgiveness.
Furthermore, The Kite Runner shows the theme of guilt and redemption through the character development of the protagonist Amir.
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, follows the maturation of Amir, a boy from Afghanistan, as he discovers what it means to stand up for what he believes in. His quest to redeem himself after betraying his friend and brother, Hassan, makes up the heart of the novel. For most of the book, Amir attempts to deal with his guilt by avoiding it and refusing to own up to his mistakes. Because of his past, Amir is incapable of moving forward. His entire life is shaped by his disloyalty to Hassan and his desire to please his father over helping his friends. Throughout the novel, his attempts to atone for his sins end in failure, as neither physical punishment nor rescuing Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from Assef prove to be enough for Amir to redeem himself. Only when he decides to take Sohrab to the United States and provide his nephew with a chance at happiness and prosperity that was denied to his half-brother does Amir take the necessary steps toward atonement and redemption. Khaled Hosseini uses a series of symbols to reinforce the message that atoning for one’s sins means making up for past mistakes, rather than simply relying on forgiveness from either the person one betrays or from a higher power.
...achieves redemption and finally succeeds in overcoming his guilt. Hosseini uses this struggle to persuade those who feel extreme guilt for a wrongdoing to seek forgiveness and to help others in need. The author emphasizes that atoning one’s sins comes from reaching out to others. He expresses this when Amir offers to help Sohrab and he rids himself of guilt from his former relationship with Hassan. In addition, Hosseini writes to those who challenge the ideals of society in order to encourage them to create and follow their own values. The author uses Amir’s struggle in his relationship with Baba and his acceptance with Amir’s writing career to demonstrate this idea. Throughout his novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini develops a main character that questions his decisions, yet conforms to societal ideals to represent his theme of redemption and self-acceptance.
“For you, a thousand times over.” In The Kite Runner by Kahled Hosseini, there is a recurring theme of redemption that is portrayed by various literary devices. Kahled excellently juxtaposes devices such as irony, symbolism, and foreshadowing to show redemption within his first novel.
The story The Kite Runner is centered around learning “to be good again.” Both the movie and the book share the idea that the sins of the past must be paid for or atoned for in the present. In the book, Amir can be seen as a troubled young boy who is struggling with a tremendous amount of guilt. It is easy to blame Amir’s actions on his guilt and his father’s lack of love for him.
When attempting to remember a specific instance from the past, one finds that it is difficult to recall specific elements of the past. However, when met with a familiar sound or scent, the mind automatically calls upon every detail of the memory associated with that trigger. Both characters, Jamal and Amir, find themselves vividly remembering certain instances of the past in times where they are reminded of the past. In Amir's circumstance, whenever he is reminded of a kite or another symbolic object from his childhood, he remembers how he betrayed Hassan. In Jamal's case, each question brings up a pivotal memory from his childhood, whether it be jumping into the latrine to meet a celebrity or watching his mother killed before his eyes. Because memory works in this way, it effectively improves the situation both characters found themselves in. Eerily, these memories are never demanded, they arise and haunt without any provocation. This shows how truly nagging the past can be to someone who has experienced a traumatic event. These flashbacks contain much symbolism in The Kite Runner. One poignant figure of symbolism is the string of the kite. As the story closes, Amir flies a kite in San Francisco with his wife and Sohrab. As he cuts the kite of the opposition, this action symbolizes the final ending of the memories of how he betrayed