In “The Kite Runner”, Amir fails because he is too much of a coward to save Hassan while he is being raped. He repeatedly neglects the duties of comradery and loses Hassan because of it. He had to return to Afghanistan and save Sohrab, Hassan’s son, to redeem himself. In “The Things They Carried”, O’Brien is afraid of social judgement, which leads to him fighting in Vietnam. He experiences several tragedies while at war, including killing a young boy. Ultimately, O’Brien redeems the murder by facing his past transgressions and telling the boy’s story to give him back the voice that O’Brien took from him. Both Hosseini and O’Brien agree that cowardice leads to personal failures; however, Hosseini argues that using actions and external efforts …show more content…
In the chapter “Ambush”, we see how guilt and the haunting memories of war prevent O’Brien from achieving redemption. He discusses the boy he killed, wishing for “[H]is life back”. [O’Brien] want[s] him to be alive again, to be whole and fine, and [he] want[s] him to have a future” (O’Brien PDF 91). The use of polysyndeton through coordinating conjunction in the quote contributes a heavier emotional weight to the feelings of O’Brien. It makes the statement feel congested, as if O’Brien’s mind is racing and he has no clarity. O’Brien cannot bring the man back, so the only way for him to achieve redemption is to come to terms with his actions and move forward. However, the guilt and burden of taking someone else’s life is not easy for him to overcome, and he cannot be redeemed until he moves past this guilt. The same goes for Amir. After he witnesses Hassan’s rape, he becomes so consumed by the guilt of what he did that he pushes Hassan further away and eventually gets him kicked out. He feels as though “[T]here was a monster in the lake”. It grabbed Hassan by the ankles, dragging him to the murky bottom. [He] was that monster” (Hosseini PDF 58). The murky lake and the monster can be viewed as symbolic elements, with the lake representing the dark and tragic environment of Afghanistan and the monster representing Amir’s compliance and cowardice. Due to the environment and Amir’s actions, …show more content…
Amir redeems himself by finally facing conflict to save Sohrab and carry on Hassan’s legacy. He is finally able to be strong enough to confront Assef, and through that, he can save himself and Hassan by keeping Sohrab alive and atoning for his past mistakes. While he is being beat by Assef, he finally becomes free from the weight of his past transgressions, saying his “[B]ody was broken— just how badly [he] wouldn’t find out until later—but [he] felt healed. Healed at last” (Hosseini 163). The statement, “Healed at last,” carries an ironic tone, as Amir acknowledges how despite being physically broken, he feels whole and restored. The irony shows Amir’s evolution, from someone who used to care about surface level things and physical health, but now understands the importance of maintaining inner peace and morality. In the past, he would have been too scared to take a beating, even if it meant saving someone. However, he has grown and can finally redeem himself by proving he is no longer afraid and is willing to do anything, even if it means sacrificing himself, to carry on Hassan’s legacy. In O’Brien’s case, he carries on the legacy of the boy he killed by accepting what he did in order to tell
In the novel The Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini writes about Amir a young Afghan child who is a coward and who later as an adult seeks redemption from past mistakes. These characteristic effects Amir’s live throughout the novel from childhood to present. However, these are just words on a paper without some proof and the novel happily supports this either through the events or the behavior of other characters. Now let’s start with Amir’s past childhood.
Literary value can be defined as a plot that follows the guideline that Joseph Campbell set before his theory of “monomyth,” inferring from the two videos and Foster’s ideas. Understanding this concept allows us to confirm that the book, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, contains an ample amount of literary value. Amir’s journey to Afghanistan serves as the prototype that Campbell constructed when producing his hypothesis. The two videos and Foster’s book lays out the conditions of a book containing literary value through Campbell’s ideas.
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.
At the beginning he did not posses any heroic qualities, but by taking and accepting the first step of the passage he was able to rediscover his true potential. I believe that Amir came looking to redeem his past mistakes belated, however, he found an alternative way to put himself to peace with his past. I learned that we should stand up for who we are and what we believe to be true. It also learned that the past is unforgettable and immutable. It made me realize that we are all capable of becoming our own hero’s, by simply accepting the call to action and transforming ourselves to return as the best version of who we are. While giving us the chance to explore the
In Khaled Hosseini’s book, The Kite Runner, Amir is an example of growing up, making mistakes, and facing the consequences of those mistakes. Amir grows so much throughout the book. He is a fictional example of maturing and growing up in a realistic manner. Making mistakes is a part of this growth, even though it is extreme. The reader is introduced to Amir and is disgusted about how he treats Hassan and abandons him in a time of needing rescuing.
One moment can shape the rest of someone’s life in a positive or in a negative way. According to Aristotle, “a man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.” In the book “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini you follow a story of a male from Afghanistan named Amir that grew up around the time of the Russian invasion into Afghanistan. Amir eventually moves to Fremont, California in the United States with his father, Baba, for safety from the war. During this book Amir’s is explaining about his childhood relationships around 1975 through flashbacks and what he does to deal with these relationships. Specifically the relationship with his closest friend, Hassan. Hassan was a boy that Amir grew up with because Hassan was a servant in their household. Amir explains that what he is today has come from what had happened when he was twelve. A tragic hero is a character that makes an error in judgment that’s leads to a tragedy in their life. Amir is a
Going through all these different motifs, it taught Amir many different lessons, good and bad. But in the end, Amir finally is able to let go of his guilt and make his awful choice to not help Hassan in his time of need, have somewhat of a better outcome. In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini’s repeated the use of rape, sickness, and sacrifice to represent many different things throughout the novel.
Though some may rise from the shame they acquire in their lives, many become trapped in its vicious cycle. Written by Khlaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner describes the struggles of Amir, his father Baba, and his nephew Sohrab as they each fall victim to this shameful desolation. One repercussion of Baba hiding his sinful adultery from Amir is that Amir betrays Hassan for his father’s stringent approval. Sohrab’s dirty childhood also traumatizes him through his transition to America. Consequently, shame is a destructive force in The Kite Runner. Throughout the course of the novel, Baba’s shameful affair, Amir’s selfish betrayal, and Sohrab’s graphic childhood destroy their lives.
Amir wakes up after fighting Assef in the hospital thinking about Sohrab, “for some reason I can’t think of I want to thank the child” (Hosseini 293). Sohrab is the first thing Amir thinks of when he wakes up in a groggy state in hospital. Sohrab was willing to attempt to save Amir’s life, a man he barely knew, even though it meant risking his own life. In this way, he was able to not only physically save Amir but also mentally because he allows Amir to complete his mission and redeem himself. While struggling against Assef, Amir thinks, “...for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace...I hadn’t been happy and I hadn’t felt better, not at all. But I did now. My body was broken...but I felt healed. Healed at last.” (Hosseini 289). Sohrab feels guilty for what he did to Assef, although it saved himself and Amir. Amir tells him, “There are bad people in this world, some people stay bad. Sometimes you have to stand up for them. What you did to that man is what I should have done to him all those years ago. You gave him what he deserved. He deserved more” (Hosseini 319). While talking to Sohrab, Amir acknowledges that he was wrong and that he could have avoided all his guilt, if he had only stepped in against Assef. But he had not, so part of Amir making up for his sins was to stand up to Assef, and win a fight against him. However, in the end, Sohrab is the one
The movie The Kite Runner is based on the book and it contains both subtle and explicit differences as all books and movies do. Both the book and the movie have very compelling and moralistic themes though at times the movie’s themes seem limited. The themes presented throughout the movie and the book are penance, loyalty, prejudice, religion and growing up. The characterization, overall plot of the movie and the setting of the book seem to be consistent with each other though at times they both may vary both slightly and drastically.
It is difficult to face anything in the world when you cannot even face your own reality. In his book The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses kites to bring out the major themes of the novel in order to create a truly captivating story of a young boy’s quest to redeem his past mistakes. Amir is the narrator and protagonist of the story and throughout the entire novel, he faces enormous guilt following the horrible incident that happened to his closest friend, Hassan. This incident grows on Amir and fuels his quest for redemption, struggling to do whatever it takes to make up for his mistakes. In Hosseini’s novel, kites highlight aspects of Afghanistan’s ethnic caste system and emphasizes the story’s major themes of guilt, redemption and freedom.
War establishes many controversial issues and problems within society and can often expose an individual to many economic and sociopolitical hardships; thus creating an altercation in the way they view life. Amir, from the novel The Kite Runner and the novel’s author Khaled Hosseini, both saw the harsh treatment toward the people of Afghanistan through a series of wars, invasions, and the active power of a Pashtun movement known as the Taliban. Amir, much like Hosseini, lived a luxurious and wealthy life in Kabul. He is well educated and immerses himself in reading and writing. After transitioning from a life in Afghanistan to a life in the United States, both Hosseini and Amir faced obstacles in order to assimilate to American society. In The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, the protagonist Amir parallels the experiences and hardships that Hosseini endured in his own lifetime.
During The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini reinforces the theme of the loss of innocence and redemption. Many characters lose innocence or are the cause of another character losing theirs. Amir both loses his innocence and that of others. His innocence is stolen by his father. In the novel Amir overhears Baba saying, “‘If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son’” (Hosseini 24-25). This affects Amir for his entire life as he tries to compete with Hassan for his father's attention. He does not realize that in doing so, this crumbles his world as he knows it. It makes Amir resentful, calloused, and even cruel, all of which are characteristics of someone who has lost their innocence. In turn, Amir’s loss of innocence causes other to lose their innocence because of his lack of courage and disregard for others feelings.
“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even in a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime…” –Khaled Hosseini. The comparison between the novel, A Thousand Splendid Sons, and movie, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is inevitable. In both cases, each character goes through changes, leaving what was once a part of their daily routines just a memory. The Kite Runner is a movie about friendship, betrayal, and the price of loyalty. It is about the bonds between fathers and sons, and the power of their lies. A Thousand Splendid Suns is an outstanding, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love. It focuses on two women; mothers and daughters, and their complications with living in Afghanistan. Despite the fact these stories aren’t sequels; there are several similarities and difference amongst the two, making some question if they are indeed linked together. “I also think that A Thousand Splendid Suns is, in some ways, a more ambitious book than my first novel [The Kite Runner]. The story is multigenerational, unfolding over almost forty-five years, often skipping ahead years. There is a larger cast of characters, and a dual perspective, and the wars and political turmoil in Afghanistan are chronicled with more detail than in The Kite Runner.” – Khaled Hosseini.
In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, the author follows the development of protagonist Amir through a life filled with sorrow, regret, and violence. Amir encounters numerous obstacles on his path to adulthood, facing a new test at every twist and turn. Amir embarks on the long journey known as life as a cowardly, weak young man with a twisted set of ideals, slowly but surely evolving into a man worthy of the name. Amir is one of the lucky few who can go through such a shattered life and come out the other side a better man, a man who stands up for himself and those who cannot, willing to put his life on the line for the people he loves.