In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, the character Rahim Khan highlights the main character Amir’s insecurities about paternal approval and courage during his quest for redemption, illuminating the theme of always standing up for what is right. Rahim Khan follows Amir’s quest for favor from his father, ultimately teaching him to be true to himself and illustrating the meaning of the novel. Instead of Baba, Amir’s father, Rahim Khan is the first character to refer to Amir with jan, a term of affection. This causes Amir to question his mindless pursuit of his father’s approval for the first time. Before that incident, Amir thinks Baba is the perfect role model for him. Unfortunately, Baba never shows much affection for Amir, causing him to doubt …show more content…
his self worth as Baba’s son. Because Rahim Khan, Baba’s business partner who has no blood relation to Amir, shows more love for him than his father, Amir realizes for the first time that his father does not embody perfection. Rahim Khan’s affection towards Amir regrettably does not cause Amir to abandon attempts to gain Baba’s favor completely, as he still believes that he needs to satisfy Baba’s expectations. After betraying Hassan for Baba’s favor during the kite flying competition, Rahim Khan helps Amir learn from the incident. For winning the competition, Rahim Khan gives Amir a notebook, something that furthers Amir’s interest in writing which Baba strongly loathed. The notebook appears in stark contrast to Baba’s gifts which only serve to push Amir into a mold that Baba set. Through that action, Rahim Khan all but replaces Baba as his father figure. Amir refers to his father’s gifts as “blood money,” while relishing in Rahim Khan’s gift of the notebook. Rahim Khan’s actions edify Amir that going out of his way to please Baba results in no happiness for Amir. Amir learns to follow what he believes is right rather than trading his morality for the nonexistent love from his father as he vows never to do anything else for Baba’s sake. Thus, Amir learns to stand true to himself through his childhood relationship with Rahim Khan, emphasizing the meaning of the novel. After living in America for years, Rahim Khan contacts Amir with an opportunity for redemption, elucidating the theme of standing up for his beliefs.
Amir still feels guilt over betraying Hassan for Baba’s approval two decades ago, and therefore he takes that opportunity to travel back to Afghanistan. Rahim Khan tells Amir that he can “be good again,” revealing his knowledge of what happened to Hassan. Haunted by his memory of the incident, Amir realizes that he cannot forgive himself until he atones for what he did to Hassan. Through this, he learns that only through correcting his past mistakes can he gain his redemption. Rahim Khan highlights Amir’s desire to make up for his betrayal and helps him throughout his journey. Without Rahim Khan’s influence, Amir would still be wallowing away in America, not knowing how to gain absolution. Thus, Rahim Khan forces Amir to utilize his hidden courage to do what is right rather than hiding away from his mistakes halfway across the world, driving him to do what is right no matter the cost. Soon after meeting with Rahim Khan, Amir learns that Hassan left behind a son in Afghanistan. Terrified at meeting a ghost of his past, Amir angrily refuses to go back to Kabul. Rahim Khan then tells Amir that he cannot stand up for himself just as Baba said during his childhood in order to convince him. This causes Amir to realize that he can both absolve himself of his sins and try to be the man his father wanted him to be. Amir steels his courage and goes into the war zone that is Kabul in search of Sohrab, Hassan’s son. Rahim Khan’s influence induces Amir to do what is right--to go after Sohrab and finally redeem himself of his mistakes. Amir’s courage to stand up for himself and what is right underscores the meaning of the novel. Therefore, Rahim Khan evinces the theme of being true to oneself through catalyzing Amir’s bravery during his quest for
absolution. Thus, in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, the Rahim Khan illuminates the theme of being following one’s heart through highlighting Amir’s insecurities about paternal approval and courage during his quest for redemption.
The Kite Runner is a book about a young boy, Amir, who faces many struggles as he grows up in Kabul and later moves to America to flee from the Taliban. His best friend and brother , Hassan, was a big part of his life, but also a big part of guilt he held onto for many years. The book describes Amir’s attempt to make up for the past and resolve his sins so he can clear his conscious. Amir is worthy of forgiveness because although he was selfish, he was very brave and faced his past.
Despite living majority of his life with the guilt of not helping Hassan, Amir’s nemesis is yet to come. Destiny plays a huge game with Amir and reveals to him that Hassan is his illegitimate brother during his visit with Rahim Khan. Reacting with various emotions, Amir first decides to head back about to America, but in the end makes the first brave decision in his life by going back to Kabul “…to atone not just for [his] sins, but…Baba’s too” (198). Amir tries to compensate for his sin by rescuing Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from the brutality occurring in Kabul. Amir puts his entire life in jeopardy by facing the oppression in Kabul so he could make a genuine effort in eliminating his sins. In an ideal world, when one truly makes an effort to redeem themselves for their wrongdoings, they are usually gifted with forgiveness. However, in reality, Amir’s heroic act of saving Sohrab, did not free him of sorrow because he still has to live with his nemesis for the rest of his life. By taking Sohrab to America with him, Amir constantly is reminded of his hamartia by envisioning Hassan through Sohrab. This shows how the guilt from a cowardly act leads one into a lifelong feeling of
In the end, I ran. I ran because I was a coward” (Hosseini, 77). Deep down, Amir feels as if he should have done something, and because of his nagging guilt, he is not able to lead a peaceful life. He has an overwhelming need to be punished so that he can be absolved of his sin and he will not have to live with remorse anymore. Amir’s guilt leads him on a long and difficult journey towards his ultimate goal of redemption back to his violent and war-torn homeland of Afghanistan.
Rahim Khan was a friend of Baba’s and was like a father to Amir. If Amir needed anything like moral support or a shoulder to cry on, Rahim was there. Rahim Khan was also like a voice of reasoning throughout the book. He gives Amir advice all the time, even in his adult life. One day he calls Amir and says that he can make
Baba is a very high standing man in Kabul, but seems to be extremely harsh to Amir when he was a child. He is a very large, tough man who was very well known in the town and as Amir stated in the novel, “Lore has it my father once wrestled a black bear in Baluchistan with his bare hands” (Hosseini 12). This small detail of Baba makes it known to the reader that Baba is a man of great courage and strength. Some may think that an honorable man is one with no flaws, but many disagree. Every human being makes mistakes, including Baba. When Amir grows up and goes back to visit Rahim Khan in Afghanistan, he finds out that his father lied to him his entire life about Hassan being his half-brother. He also finds out from Rahim Khan that all Baba had back then “was his honor, his name” (Hosseini 223). He did not tell Amir and Hassan that they were brothers because they had a different mother and that would have made their entire family be looked down upon in the town. He did it for their own good, and wanted for them both to grow up as honorable men, like himself. There is a difference in making mistakes and trying to do what’s best to fix them, rather than making the same mistakes over and over again, which is what Amir seemed to do in the novel. Amir was the exact opposite of his father, which made it very hard for them to have a
When he gets, Baba’s friend, Rahim Khan’s call and hears, “Come. There is a way to be good again”(192), he decides to go to Pakistan without any hesitation. Amir has a vital need to be good again and guesses Rahim Khan knows about his past, so he wants to see Rahim Khan to try to begin his redemption. After hearing the stories about Hassan and his son Sohrab, he determines to go back to Afghanistan and saves Sohrab alone. With the strong will to be good, Amir is no longer a coward. Although there are so many difficulties, he eventually saves Sohrab and takes him to America. Furthermore, Amir tries to atone his previous sin. After he saves Sohrab, he spares no effort to make Sohrab happy and earn his trust. “I struggled out of bed and crossed the space between us. ‘I won’t ever get tired of you, Sohrab’… ‘That’s a promise. You’re my nephew’ ”(324). To express the love that he didn’t give to Hassan, Amir becomes another man: He is unselfish and generous. He considers Sohrab as the most important person in his life and tries his best to love Sohrab. In the end, when he sees a steady smile spread across Sohrab’s face while flying kites in America, Amir finishes his
However there are some characters that become better people and change becoming a better, stronger, more loyal individual in the end. The individual that demonstrates this development within this novel is Amir himself. All of the guilt Amir holds with him as a child allow him to realize his duty to be loyal to his brother Hassan ion the end. An example of this is when Amir goes back to Kabul, Afghanistan to retrieve his nephew Sohrab. Amir says, “I remembered Wahid’s boys and… I realized something. I would not leave Afghanistan without finding Sohrab.’ tell me where he is,’ I said” (Hosseini 255). Here, Amir is at the orphanage waiting to find out where Taliban has taken his nephew. Amir remembers the three young starving sons of Wahid, a man whose home he had been in earlier, and realized that Afghanistan is not a safe place for Sohrab. Amir is finally aware of one thing, Hassan has always been there to protect Amir like a loyal friend and brother would and now Amir knows that it is his turn to return that loyalty to Hassan by protecting Hassan’s flesh and blood. A second example of Amir’s loyalty to Hassan near the ending of the book is during Amir’s confrontation with General Sahib and the dinner table after Sohrab is safe in America with him. Amir proclaims to General Sahib, “…That boy sleeping on the couch
First, Baba’s looming shame of his affair prohibits him from being a proper father to Amir and Hassan. Baba fails to inform Amir that his best friend, Hassan, is actually his half-brother because of this affair. Years after Baba’s death, Rahim Khan tells Amir of Baba’s act of adultery. With this betrayal, Amir begins to question everything he values in his father, stating that “Baba had been a thief. And a thief of the worst kind, because the things he’d stolen had been sacred: from me the right to know I had a brother, from Hassan his identity, and from Ali [Hassan’s “father”] his honor. His nang. His namoos” (Hosseini 225). Despite his guilt, Baba makes a vow with Rahim Khan and Ali to keep the affair a secret from his own sons, causing a distortion
The book’s opening chapter focuses on Amir's conversation with Rahim and Amir’s "way to be good again” (Hosseini 1). The reason Amir flies all the way to Pakistan leaving behind his wife and life in America is Rahim Khan. Amir desires to make up for what he did to Hassan, so he answers Rahim's quest to “be good again” (Hosseini 1). This meeting allows Rahim to tell Amir what he must do to make up for his past. Rahim tells him he must put his own life in danger to save Hassan’s son, Sohrab. At first, Amir wants to refuse Rahim Khan’s wish, thinking of his life back home. He also thinks about how Hassan’s life may have been different if Hassan had the same opportunities he had. Then he realizes, “ But how can I pack up and go home when my actions may have cost Hassan a chance at those very same things?” (Hosseini 226). Rahim Khan warns Amir that it cannot be anyone else; Amir must make up for his own sins. Although he knows it's dangerous, Amir agrees to get Hassan’s son for Rahim as his dying wish. Amir believes that saving Sohrab is “A way to end the cycle” (Hosseini 227). Amir’s commitment in the face of danger proves his determination to be better and finally atone for his sins. Amir realizes his mistake and knows he can't change what he’d done. Eventually, with Rahim's help, he begins to see saving Sohrab as a “way to be
He resonates with qualities we would identify with in Amir’s mother, even though we never gained more than a few paragraphs on her characteristics. Rahim Khan becomes an ambassador for her, providing a structural support that would have been lost in the novel without him. He becomes a champion for free-thinking, humility and patience, qualities tarnished by the Taliban regimen. Rahim Khan becomes a connection to the ideal Afghanistan, the Afghanistan lost after so many years of war. Afghani expatriates seek connections that link them to their homeland, and Rahim Khan becomes Amir’s connection to both his homeland and his inner self.
I’m telling you Rahim, there is something missing in that boy” (Hosseini, 23). Baba is complaining to Rahim and he doesn't understand why Amir lacks the courage to stand up for himself. He puzzles that Hassan is the one to step in and defend Amir. He also is very confused over the fact that Hazara is more courageous than his son. Baba knows that Amir is not violent and he wishes that he would just stand up for himself.
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.
Amir begins his life as a meek boy who desperately clambered to earn his father's’ affection. He was a cowardly, selfish, short minded boy who would even stab his childhood friend in the back for a slim chance at bonding with his dad. He was outshone by his best friend, who would stand between the bullies and Amir, and fight Amir’s battles for him. His father noticed this, and told Rahim Khan “A
During the very beginning of the book, Amir is on a phone call with Rahim Khan, who tells him, “there is a way to be good again” (Hosseini 2). Rahim Khan acts as a true mentor and encourages Amir to do what is right, giving him wise and intellectual advice. Rahim’s advice is simple and allows for Amir to make his own choice. While Rahim’s words push Amir into conclusively taking action, they do not force anything on him. Rahim is permitting Amir to develop into a man on his own. Rahim Khan’s advice ultimately leads to Amir’s newfound bravery which is demonstrated when he “challenges” Baba and stands up for what he believes is right and for the better good. When Baba is diagnosed with cancer and tells Dr. Amani he does not want to take the chemotherapy, Amir protests, causing Baba to snap, “Don’t you challenge me in public, Amir. Ever. Who do you think you are?” (Hosseini 156). Amir knows what is best for Baba and no longer wants to be subordinate to him, so he stands up for himself and does what he thinks is best in the situation, regardless of his father’s wrath. Finally, upon arrival in Afghanistan, Amir goes to his old house. At first, he hesitates to head in, when Farid mentions that sometimes it is easier to just move on and forget, but Amir replies ,“I don’t want to forget anymore” (Hosseini 263). When Amir says this, he highlights the
Rahim Khan: Baba’s business partner and best friend., a voice of reason in the novel. Rahim understands Amir’s desire for affection and approval from his father, and in a way fills the gap in their relationship, always there with reassurance (approval of his short story, etc). Rahim knew about the assault in the alley and tells Amir there is still time to be good., and later on helps to plan retrieving Sohrab from Afghanistan. Rahim brings Hassan and Amir back to Kabul and uncovers Baba’s secret (Amir and Hassan being half brothers).