“Exile is more than a geographical concept. You can be an exile in your homeland, in your own house, in a room” -Mahmoud Darwish. In “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, exile is a prominent obstacle that numerous characters such as Baba, Hassan, Amir, and Sohrab, must overcome. Exile for many people is associated with geography, but it can happen in many instances, such as a certain room or even a person’s own conscience which can cause underlying problems to prevail. In Kabul, Baba is a man of importance who sits upon a great fortune, but when he must flee from his homeland, his strong spirit is hindered when he falls into sickness and hardship. In Afghanistan, Baba was known as the man who would “take a thousand bullets” for anyone …show more content…
Throughout the novel, Hassan is the most forgiving character, regardless of how many times Amir repeatedly hurt him. When Amir framed Hassan, it was the last straw as his forgiving spirit had been damaged. At that moment, Hassan could not forgive Amir and he had to make the difficult decision to leave his home “slumped in the back seat” of Baba’s car (Hosseini 109). Hassan had intentionally exiled himself from Amir in order to prevent any further damage. Later, Hassan was involuntarily exiled from the same home when a couple of Talibs “ordered him to get...out of his house by sundown,” naturally, “Hassan protested...and they shot him in the back of the head (Hosseini 218). This obviously had a huge impact on Hassan because he is no longer living after his second encounter with exile. Emotionally, mentally, and physically impacting Hassan in some way, exile plays a big role in Hassan’s personal walk of …show more content…
For example, Amir sitting in his room full of gifts, but he felt as if all of them represented “blood money” (Hosseini 102). He felt just as unattached to the gifts as the people who gave them to him did. The gifts did not mean anything to Amir, nor did they mean anything to the people who attended his party. Even though “it was [Amir’s] birthday,” these people only came for “the real star of the show,” which is Baba (Hosseini 94). Amir felt out of place while he was standing in the middle of his very own birthday party. His own room was full of gifts that were bought with the “blood money,” which made Amir feel as if he was in exile in his own backyard and
Amir hid money under Hassan’s bed because he wanted Baba to fire Hassan and his father from their jobs as workers for Baba. Amir did not want to see Hassan anymore because Amir felt so much guilt for not doing anything when Hassan was getting raped. The flashback brings back a memory so the story will tie back together.
He made a sweeping, grandiose gesture with his hands. " Afghanistan for Pashtuns, I say. That's my vision." (40) Assef rapes Hassan went they are children and later Hassan’s son Sohrab. He also stones people to death for fun and people see him as a hero for it.
Although Hassan is his best friend, there are many instances where Amir reveals his jealousy, most notable when Baba sees Hassan as the stronger boy, "self-defense has nothing to do with meanness. You know what always happens when the neighbourhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fends them off. I 've seen it with my own eyes…” (Hosseini 24). Clearly, Amir hears how his father compares the two, and unlike Hassan who manages to meet Baba’s expectations, Amir grows bitter towards Hassan. He is unable to fight off his envy which later causes him to sacrifice his best friend’s innocence: “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (82), and this is all because he realizes “his shame is complicated by his own realization that in part he doesn’t help his friend precisely because he is jealous of him” (Corbett, 2006). From here, Amir develops strong feelings of guilt that induces him to perform even more destructive acts, such as having Hassan and his father evicted from the house. Amir not only loses a close friend, but now he has to continue to live with remorse as he dwells on these memories. The only way for Amir to redeem himself of his repercussions is through a challenging process of sacrifice and self-discovery. Although one is unsure at this point whether Amir succeeds at his endeavors, it is clear that this story
Whenever Amir would ask Hassan to do something he was reluctant to do, Hassan would still agree if he begged because “[he] never denied [Amir] anything” (Hosseini, 4). Hassan loves Amir an extraordinary amount, so much that he would commit an action that he otherwise would never have wanted to commit. Even when Hassan figures out that Amir has betrayed him, he still sacrifices himself for the safety of Amir. When Hassan lies and tells Baba he stole the watch Amir had framed him for stealing, Amir says Hassan’s lie stung “like [he’d] been slapped… [Hassan] knew [he] had betrayed [him] and yet he was rescuing [him] once again” (Hosseini, 111). Hassan knew what would happen to Amir if Baba caught him trying to get rid of his servants, so he lied to protect Amir, even when Amir had wronged him. Baba and Amir flee to America, yet Hassan remains loyal to them while still in Afghanistan. Rahim Khan asks Hassan and his family to move into Amir’s old house, as he can not maintain the house by himself, but instead they move into the mud hut Hassan used to live in. Hassan’s reasoning is “’what will [Amir agha] think when he comes back to Kabul after the war and finds that I have assumed his place in the house?’” (Hosseini, 219). Not even during the war, when he does not expect Amir to come back, does he temporarily take residence in Amir’s old house. Out of loyalty and respect, he lives where he always had, even when Rahim Khan is
Amir begins to feel redemption when he goes to Pakistan and Rahim Khan has letters from Hassan to Amir. In the letters, Hassan begins talking about his wife and
Amir's blunt rejection to Rahim Khan’s request to bring Sohrab is an act of betrayal to Hassan. He betrays Hassan one more time, even when Hassan dies as a loyal friend. Through the book, Amir’s ongoing troubles haunt him as the years go by, but I believe he would take any opportunity to redeem himself.
Amir makes mistakes and hurts his friend Hassan, and immediately afterwards he felt guilt, and wanted forgiveness, but Hassan acted like Amir did nothing, which bothered Amir even worse. And that lasted on, throughout his childhood he’s constantly upset about what he has done to Hassan, he doesn’t feel like it can be fixed. And he strives to do things throughout the novel to achieve that. One good deed he does trying to be good again, was when he goes back home, he is at a house with Farid and
Hassan would do anything for his friends and treat everyone, even bullies, with respect because his respectful dad, Ali, taught him to always be loyal to all, and never hurt anyone. Ali was Baba’s servant and long-time friend, and stayed close to him throughout their childhood and adulthood. Amir's actions showed how much of a coward he was. Amir suffered his whole life living with the guilt of knowing that Hassan was raped, much like Baba lived his whole life in guilt knowing that he stole the truth from Ali by committing adultery.
When Amir decides to plant his own watch and money under Hassan’s mattress he planned on getting Hassan in trouble from Baba. When Hassan is asked if he stole the watch and money he said yes. “I flinched, like I’d been slapped” (105). In this quote Amir shows that he was not expecting Hassan to respond in the way that he did. Right here is where Amir should have seen that Hassan cares about him and acted loyal like a real friend should have. Instead Amir Betrays Hassan again by not saying a word and letting Hassan take the blame for something he did not do. Amir continuously shows that he is Hassan’s betrayer by more actions that he
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.
The only reason that Hassan got raped was that he was trying to get a kite for Amir. Now the kite acts a reminder to Hassan of his wrong-doing and it will now begin to haunt him for a long time. Although when in America, Amir does not get reminded about Hassan, deep inside he still feels guilty. Amir immediately begins to feel the most guilt when he goes to Iran when Rahim Khan, Amir’s childhood friend, asks him to come. He feels that Rahim Khan has reminded him of his “past of unatoned sins”(Hosseini 2).
That is also prevelant in Slumdog Millionaire when Latika and Jamal are able to run without being punished themselves at the end. Hassan was always a great and loyal friend to Amir, he never got to pay it back to Hassan; however, with saving Sohrab and making it possible for the spirit of Hassan to stay, he helped Hassan and found his source of
While Baba attempts to live his life according to the Afghan saying, “Life goes on, unmindful of beginning, end.crisis or catharsis, moving forward like a slow, dusty caravan of kochis [nomads]” (Hosseini 356), Amir strays from this traditional perspective. Baba chose to continue his life unmindful of his past, while Amir, eventually decides to confront him. Although both Baba and Amir have acted immorally, the choices they make find redemption affect the success of their individual attempts. In the novel, Amir’s quest for atonement is more effective than Baba’s because he acts virtuously, while his father, acts selfishly. Ultimately, Amir is the more successful of the two because, in opposition to Baba, he seeks holistic atonement and is willing to make sacrifices to achieve redemption.
When Amir takes Baba to the doctors, the doctor suggests chemotherapy for Baba to prolong the cancer but Baba did not want any medication. Amir tells the reader, “He had the same resolved look on his face as the day he’d dropped the stack of food stamps on Mrs. Dobbins’s desk” (156). Baba did not want help even if his life was on the line. Baba also starts to take pride in Amir when he tells General Taheri, “Amir is going to ne a great writer,” Baba said. I did a double take at this” (139). Amir is starting to realize that his father who was untouchable and was a legend in Kabul was truly human. When Amir tells Baba that he wants to marry Soraya, Baba calls General Taheri to set up a meeting between the two men. As Amir dropped off Baba at the Taheri’s for the meeting, he says, “Baba was hobbling up the Taheri’s driveway for one last fatherly duty” (163). In this instance, Amir sees Baba as a true father. Amir feels Baba’s acceptance when Baba tells Amir on lafz, “It’s the happiest day of my life Amir” (166). Baba is telling Amir that through everything in his life from him marrying Sophia, to Amir winning the kite tournament, all the way to Amir graduating high school, Baba has never been prouder. After Baba’s death, Amir says, “As words from the Koran reverberated through the room, I thought of the old story of Baba wrestling a black bear in Baluchistan. Baba had
...a kite for Amir to put a smile on his face, and now that Hassan passed away, Amir is left with Sohrab who he repeats the same action with. In a way Amir did not truly find redemption as he was only trying to free himself from the consequences of sin rather than change for the better. In conclusion, redemption is so important because it frees a person from the sin and suffering they have endured.