To some people, sin is saying Gods name in vain, it may be fighting with your family or even just a simple white lie. Everyone has a different interpretation of what sin means and which are greater sins than others. In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, each character exhibits sin at some point, but they each find what they think is redemption for their sins. Throughout the novel, there are many examples of the relationship between sin and redemption. This relationship is shown amongst various characters. It displays how everyone has a different way of dealing with sin and finding a redeeming moment that is right for them. It is the guilt that one feels that has them look for redemption to mend the sinful actions that they have committed.
Guilt is a powerful emotion that can lead you down two paths in life; one is to seek redemption, while the other is having guilt build up inside you as a result of not excepting your actions. During the process of redemption, it may not seem like they are being remorseful but they might justify it as being a necessary precaution they need to take to protect others. In The Kite Runner, Soraya shares her greatest sin to Amir and also explains how she wants to become a teacher so that she can help children learn to read and write. Amir says he has done the same with Hassan, even though he knows it is untrue. Amir would ridicule Hassan when he would question the definition of a word. This shows how his guilt overpowered his right judgment but justified it as being the right thing to do. “I envied her. Her secret out. Spoken. Dealt with.” (Hosseini, 174). Amir felt that if he told Soraya the truth, she would not be able to forgive him. Amir admires that fact that Soraya had dealt with ...
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... one feels after they have sinned. The characters in The Kite Runner, are very much like modern day individuals who make mistakes and have a strong feeling of remorse for what they have done so they try and make up for it in any way possible. Amir found a way to redeem himself for the sins he committed as a child; he did this through saving Sohrab. This was how he showed his repentance towards Hassan. Baba found his redemption by allowing for Ali and Hassan to live with them. What he did was wrong but the way he handled the situation was mature on his behalf. The relationship between sin and redemption was displayed many times throughout the novel and was shown through various characters. It is the guilt that one feels that leads one to their redeeming moment; perfect or not perfect this was a way for one to ease themselves from the sins they have committed.
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
... Finally, Amir chooses to redeem himself by opting to protect Hassan’s son Sohrab. The guilt which estranged Amir from his childhood friend in a way manages to reunite him with Hassan, albeit in a different manner. Thereby, the two works that are Macbeth and The Kite Runner not only present before the humanity, the immense power and potency of guilt, but also emphatically reveal the eventual consequences of the guilt traceable to an evil act or an act of cowardice or betrayal. These two works expose the psychology of guilt in a very vivid and threadbare manner, which explains their appeal and the human interest they accrue.
Amir learns of many things going on in another world that will hopefully help with his guilt once and for all. In Rahim Khan's call he says “there is a way to make things good again,” this may be the most powerful quote in the book as it shows both the reader and Amir that there is a solution to his guilt. Amir eventually finds out from Rahim that Ali was sterile: “she left him childless after three years and married a man in Khost. She bore him three daughters”. Amir puts the dots together and is outraged, but not only that it adds a major connection to the theme of guilt. Baba carried around the guilt of having sex with the wife of what he viewed as his brother, it shows a deeper theme that it's a generational thing starting with Baba betraying Ali and Amir betraying Hassan. Amir shows him coming to see Rahim as: “a way to end the cycle”. Amir recognizes this as his only way to relieve himself of his guilt and also Babas.
The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, shows how lying and deceit is a counterproductive route when trying to live with a dreadful past, exhibited through the actions of Amir. Amir’s decision to withhold the truth and blatantly lie in several situations due to jealousy and his desire for Baba to be proud of him amounts to further pain and misery for himself and those he deceives. Because of Amir’s deceit towards Baba and Hassan, his guilt from his past manifests itself into deeply-rooted torment, not allowing him to live his life in peace. The guilt from Amir’s past is only alleviated when he redeems his sins by taking in Sohrab, contributing to the theme that the only way “to be good again” is through redemption, not shunning the past.
Redemption is gaining honor and self-forgiveness through a selfless act that reflects off of one’s regretful actions of their past. In the novel, The Kite Runner, Amir is the main character who goes through many life struggles and mistakes, then finds himself on a road to redemption. Amir and Hassan were best friends throughout their childhood and Hassan was the honorable, trusting best friend, the one to always take a stand for what he believed was right. Amir’s lack of courage caused him to stay silent in the worst of times, letting Hassan get tortured for the things he did not deserve. The themes of sacrifice, honor and redemption are carried out in many ways throughout this novel being shown through the actions of Hassan, Baba, and Amir.
Redemption is defined as the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. Throughout life, individuals are faced with numerous incidences of redemption that can be taken up or ignored. Those who choose to take the opportunity are often able to grow mentally and accelerate much further than those who do not. However, what must be taken into account is that true redemption is for oneself rather than for others. For example, redemption by finally getting a well-deserved promotion which impresses others is not truly beneficial redemption. What must occur is happiness for the promotion within. In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the employment of redemption as a central idea prevails throughout the novel, specifically in the life
Guilt tends to stick with us as Platous said, “Nothing is more wretched than the mind of a man conscious of guilt.” In The Kite Runner Amir lives with the guilt of having witness Hassan get raped. “I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost the rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had, But I didn't, I just watched Paralyzed.” Throughout the most part of the book we see that Amir lives full of guilt for not helping Hassan and the guilt really gets to him towards the end of the book.
As he grows into a man and pushes his regrets to the side - though not ever completely out of his mind - he learns to live through and accept the pain he caused both himself and his best friend, Hassan. Towards the end of the novel, Amir goes to great lengths to earn the redemption he feels he needs in order to finally be at peace. The Kite Runner asks the audience what it truly means to be a good person - do we need to be born with goodness in our hearts, do we live the way that is comfortable and right according to ourselves, or do we have to constantly fail and prove that we are good?
As said by Lehman Strauss, “To atone for means to make amends.” Atonement for a sin can be achieved when one redeems himself. One is never truly free of their sins until they attain redemption otherwise it haunts them for their entire life. True redemption is when guilt leads to good. In The Kite Runner, Amir tries to atone for his sins by rescuing and adopting his nephew, Sohrab. His guilt led him to perform a good deed.
“It's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out” (Hosseini). In The Kite Runner, Hosseini shares Amir’s journey to atonement. As Amir states, he was unable to bury his past, similar to his father, Baba, who spent the majority of his life haunted by his sins. While both father and son are consumed by guilt, the way in which they atone for their iniquities is dissimilar. 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 his. 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.
In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, “True redemption is when guilt leads to good” (302) is the theme of the novel. Feeling endless guilt is tiring; it hangs on a person’s shoulders and drags him or her down everywhere. Amir felt constant guilt his whole life from the way he treated Hassan and after he overheard Baba talking to Rahim Khan about how he never stands up for himself. Amir tried to find redemption his entire life, but did not succeed until he went back to Kabul to find Sohrab. Amir cowardice caused him to live a guilty life, but in the end it led to true redemption.
“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.
“Forgive and forget” is a common phrase in our society. However, one may argue that mistakes are never truly forgotten. The Kite Runner suggests that the best way to resolve your past and make up for your mistakes is through doing good. Through Rahim Khan’s wisdom, the actions of Baba, and the journey of Amir, Khaled Hosseini illustrates that the need for redemption, due to unresolved guilt, can haunt someone throughout their life.
In a lifetime, one will face an abundance of personal battles in their decision making. When bad decisions result negatively, people find peace mentally in redeeming themselves of their sin through redemption. In Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner”, the main character, Amir, commits a sin and goes through great lengths to find redemption. Using metaphors, personification, and irony Hosseini expresses the theme of sin, suffering and redemption. Achieving redemption is a long journey people seek after suffering the consequences of sin.
The themes of the loss of innocence and redemption is used throughout the novel The Kite Runner to make a point that one can lose innocence but never redeem it. Once innocence is lost it takes a part of oneself that can never be brought back from oblivion. One can try an entire life to redeem oneself but the part that is loss is permanently gone although the ache of it can be dampened with the passing of time and acts of attempted redemption. Khaled Hosseini uses characters, situations, and many different archetypes to make this point.