Betrayal In The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini has a variety of themes throughout the novel that many can relate to. One of the main themes this novel has shown is betrayal as Amir tries to avoid the guilt he has in himself but doesn’t redeem himself this way. Redemption is also a part of another issued that ties in with the theme of betrayal in the story and is a struggle for Amir that he faces. This betrayal drives the plot of the book and is a major conflict to the protagonist. Abuse of power is another theme in the novel that predominant in the story with the socioeconomic conditions in Afghanistan and how individuals discriminate again one another based on how they look and their religion. This also includes the differences in social class

ands well and how it affects how others view you. Overall, the Kite Runner features themes of betrayal, redemption and abuse of power in the novel through the protagonist’s feeling of fear and the Afghan society.
One of the main themes of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini throughout the novel is betrayal with Amir’s and Baba’s feelings of guilt driving the recurring motif on the novel. For most of the novel, Amir had to deal with avoiding his guilt towards himself. However, by doing this it hasn’t helped him towards clearing up his conscience. This is the reason he continues to cringe every time he hears Hassan’s name. Once he realized that Baba betrayed Ali he then becomes aware that everything he thought he knew was not true. All of these tensions and guilt from throughout the novel, and lead to a form of redemption to be found in the end of the novel. In the first chapter, we are introduced with this theme when Amir states, “That was a long time, but 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. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for last twenty-six years.” The author uses this to emphasize the theme of sin and betrayal and by Amir telling his story in retrospect instead of chronological it allows the reader to have the power of hindsight. Based on Saraswat, “As Amir retells the story of his life, he weighs each event against his sin, his betrayal of Hassan.” Towards the end, is until we learn that he is not the only character seeking for redemption.
The time where Amir's betrayal is at its top point is in the seventh chapter.

The difference in response between Amir and Hassan when he faces Assef’s gang shows the different views from one another, despite of the close friendship. On page 137 it says, “I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. [...] In the end, I ran.” This is the moment where Amir begins to feel so much guilt and fear in his life. He was too afraid to do anything to protect his friend and do something about it. When he says, “In the end I ran” not only did he do that physically but also mentally as he ran away from the problem without intervening to stop

it.
In addition, redemption is another relevant theme in the novel also relates to betrayal. Amir’s guilt continues throughout the story and doesn’t know how to handle it to redeem himself his. Ever since he was a child, this has been one of his greatest struggles to do and redeem himself to Baba for his mother’s death. After the betrayal he did to his best friend, he spends his rest of his life trying top redeem himself and justify his actions in his head. He is able to find some kind of redemption when he gets into a fight with Hassan’s rapist, Hassan. On Page 303, Amir feels more at peace when he says, “What was so funny was that for the first time since the winter of 1975 I felt at peace. I laughed because I saw that, in some nook in the corner of my mind. I had been looking forward to this.” This quote demonstrates how after Assef almost kills him he feels more at peace. This is because if he could take the beating from he can do anything got Hassan, feeling better about himself in his mind. In a way, he begins to redeem him for his actions and standing up for Hassan.
Another instance where the theme of redemption takes in the beginning of the novel when Amir starts to blame himself, “Because the truth of it was, I always felt like Baba hated me a little.

And why not? After all I had killed his beloved wife, his beautiful princess, hadn’t I? The least I could have done was to have had the decency to have turned out more like him. But I hadn’t turned out like him. Not at all.” In this part of the novel, Amir blames himself for his mother’s death and feels guilt for it. Amir also believes this is another reason why he needs to redeem himself to be the perfect son for his father. He believes Baba blames him for it and always thinks about it and how it may have affected his distant

relationship.
Lastly, another theme that is significant in the novel and mentioned repeatedly is abuse of power. The conditions in Afghanistan have shown the separation between the majority and minority and how these two social classes are treated differently. They are also discriminated by their physical appearance and religion. Not only are these differences compared in Afghanistan but also in the US when Baba and others give up lives for low paying manual labor for these immigrants. In the second chapter, Sanaubar contempts on her husband’s appearance which stood out in the text. An example of this is when she mentioned “This is a husband? She would sneer. I have seen old donkeys better suited to be a husband.” This text shows how people with power can sometimes make others feel less powerless. It shows the interactions people have and how they treat one another based on their status or physical appearance. In a couple of paragraphs previous of this portion, Amir remembers some of the slurs that are used for Hazaras. On of the ethnic slurs was “load-carrying donkey similar how she mentioned. Ali and Sanaubar are Hazaras and there may be self-hatred when she said, “I have seen old donkeys better suited to be a husband.” This may demonstrate how she utilized a slur Pashtuns use against her people and may have hatred towards her own.
In conclusion, these themes thought the novel have been significant and have drove the plot and characters. Not only did it go into depth and how the characters struggles, but also mentioned real life issues that are occurring in Afghanistan and the U.S. The issue of race and politics are predominant in the novel and have played a huge role on how the characters interact with one another. Another issue is discrimination and how the socioeconomic class, physical appearance and religion also play a part on how other view you. This happens everywhere and is a problem in this story. This novel has several scenarios where the protagonist and other characters have felt betrayed. For redemption, it has been a life obstacle for the main character, Amir. He has faced through this since he was child and has been living with the guilt. Through the novel, he learned hope to redeem himself and learn to stand up for himself and lose that fear of not doing anything. People often make mistakes, including betraying the trust of someone we care about. By having that guilt, redemption is the next step to learn this lesson.