Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Themes of kite runner
Theme of redemption in kite runner characters
The kite runner essay on theme
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Themes of kite runner
The Kite runner is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini, published in 2003 by Riverhead Books . It takes place before Afghanistan’s revolution and its invasion by Russian forces. The kite runner is a vivid and engaging story that gives a picture of how long Afghanis struggled to triumph over the forces of violence, forces that threaten them even today. In this novel , four themes have been introduced, first of all Redemption is a way to make up sins committed , secondly, Adversities contribute to a person’s personality , thirdly , Fear can lead to severe mistakes and long term consequences, before last, After pain and struggles come survival and lastly, Friendship is the essence of a bond that seek the best mutually.
Redemption is a way to make up sins. Amir have embodied an evil character from one side by not treating Hassan the way he deserved even though Hassan used to take responsibilities for him and always wanted to see him joyous; Despite that , Amir always seemed ungrateful and reveals a lack of mutuality various times.
“ What would you do If I hit you with this “,”Hit me back” ( hosseini 92). This is one of the examples that showed the contempt of Amir to Hassan throughout their childhood. Regardless of all his wicked actions, he raised his head up and suddenly decided to change from a sinful person to a person who cared and sees the good of the entourage ( Hassan , Sohrab ) . Amir needed to redeem himself, he needed to show his admirable image and his true personality, after all he really owed his life to Hassan.
Rahim Khan said : “ There is a way to be good, a way to end the cycles with a little boy , An orphan, Hassan’s son somewhere in Kabul” ( Hosseni 222 ).
To this end , Amir has left his p...
... middle of paper ...
... can change their relationship, neither the ethnicity ,nor the religion. Despite that saying , he contradicted himself when he was in the alleyway and asked himself if he should really defend Hassan since he was a Hazara.
“ I know, he said , breaking our embrace” Inshaalah we’ll celebrate later. Right now , I’m going to run that blue kite for you “ Hassan always shows loyalty and devotion to Amir, but eventhough the mutuality was not in the same level. Amir eventually fixed his mistakes .
Friendship is like money, easier made than kept.
The kite Runner is an extraordinary book that teach several lessons or morals through the themes about redemption, adversities, fear, and friendship. The order of events that Hosseni used made a perfect cense to show how a sinful person can become better. Life would be more beautiful if people took action to redeem their sins.
The Kite Runner is a powerful story of love and trust blended with elements of deception and human wickedness at its worst. The full beauty of the story lies in the sundry
Kite Runner depicts the story of Amir, a boy living in Afghanistan, and his journey throughout life. He experiences periods of happiness, sorrow, and confusion as he matures. Amir is shocked by atrocities and blessed by beneficial relationships both in his homeland and the United States. Reviewers have chosen sides and waged a war of words against one another over the notoriety of the book. Many critics of Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, argue that the novel would not have reached a lofty level of success if the U.S. had not had recent dealings with the Middle East, yet other critics accurately relate the novel’s success to its internal aspects.
While Amir is a Sunni, his childhood friend Hassan is Shi’a, an inferior division of Islam. Simultaneously, Amir and Hassan belong to different ethnic groups-Amir is Pashtun while Hassan is Hazara. During his childhood, Amir would constantly mock Hassan’s illiteracy and poke fun at him. But, the pivotal demonstration of pressure from his surroundings that makes Amir commit his own act of cruelty is when he watches Assef rape Hassan for refusing to give him the kite that Hassan caught for Amir. To this, Amir describes the look of Hassan’s face to “a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb” (76). Throughout his upbringing, Amir constantly believed that his father blamed him for killing his mother in childbirth. To Amir, Hassan’s rape is a sacrifice that Hassan has to pay the price, the lamb to kill, in order to win his father over. To justify his refusal to intervene, Amir reminds himself that “[Hassan] was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (77). Amir’s surroundings cause him to have a negative outlook on people that his society deem lower. Amir knows he is morally wrong for not helping Hassan, but his need for his father’s love overpowers his friendship. Adding to his pressures, Amir believes that Baba prefers Hassan over him, a belief that further drives him to be cruel to Hassan. As a result, Amir’s motivation for validation and love from his father
Amir’s development from being “a boy who won’t stand up for himself,” to a man that stands up for the morally responsible thing to do (22, Hosseini). When Amir was a child, he tried to escape from his sins in the past by hiding them with lies. However, this only made it worse for Amir, causing him to be an insomniac for much of his life and putting himself through constant torment. Only when Amir became a man, like Baba wanted him to be, was Amir able to face the truth of what he done and put himself on the path of redemption. Even when Amir was suffering a violent beating from Assef, Amir was able to laugh because he knew he was doing what he should have for Hassan years ago. Amir’s development from a child, who lies in order to cower from their own mistakes, into a man, someone who is not only able to admit his sins, but atone for them, is essential to communicating the theme of redemption being the only way to settle with your
The Kite Runner, is the first novel written by Khaled Hosseini. The Kite Runner is set in Afghanistan before the war in the city of Kabul, and then eventually in America. The novel relays the struggles of Amir (A young Shi’ boy), Hassan (a young Hazera servant boy) and Baba (Amir’s father) as they are growing up in an ever-changing Afghanistan. The young boys face difficult challenges most adults will never have to experience. Amir, Hassan, and even Baba must overcome cruelty in every aspect of their lives.
Redemption of Guilt Guilt is a result of sin, and sin is a result of misaction. In the novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the protagonist, Amir, goes on a journey to redeem himself for his sins. When Amir was 12, he witnessed his best friend, Hassan, get raped in an alley. Instead of standing up for his friend, Amir ran away in selfishness and cowardice. The guilt of his choice plagues Amir for the rest of his life, until one day, he gets a call from an old uncle, who tells him that “there is a way to be good again.”
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. Baba ran from the truth, and so did Amir to protect the family name, even if that meant betraying the people closest to him. Baba was a man more worried about his image than anything, and that is what he taught his son as well. Slowly that is all Amir knew how to do: protect his family and himself, leading him into a life of guilt, and running from people when situations were challenging, instead of making the admirable decision and help a
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.
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
Hassan’s purity in their childhood pushed Amir to lean away from his struggle of what he was, and take initiative for what was right, even if he refused at first. Amir knew he couldn’t let Hassan down a second time in spite of fear. Once Sohrab was rescued, he tied the knot in Amir’s character development and battle with his self- acceptance. Amir was put once again on the spot with his actions on how to deal with Sohrab. He eventually takes action and adopts Sohrab, going through all the risks and struggles. While having terrible influences like the demeaning ideology of Afghan society, Amir overcame his main internal struggle with influences like Sohrab and Hassan, and without the balance of influences, Amir would not have evolved as he
Hosseini creates this parallel by characterizing Sohrab very similarly to the way he characterized Hassan. Thus, In both instances, Amir must help someone who is unable to help themselves. Initially, Amir is not willing to sacrifice anything of his own in order to help Hassan. He knew that he could either “stand up for Hassan… and accept whatever would happen to [him]. Or [he] could run. In the end, [he] ran” (Hosseini, 77). His decision results in a lot of emotional distress for him, and ultimately causes him to push Hassan and his father out of the house. Baba’s disappointment in the departure of Hassan and Ali goes to show that Amir did not achieve his goal of winning his father’s approval, because he was not willing to lose anything on order to earn it. However, in the latter portion of the book, when Amir is again forced to make a decision similar to the one he made in his childhood, he is willing to sacrifice. When Assef demands that Amir “earns” Sohrab from him, Amir recognizes that now is is “his turn” to sacrifice for someone he loves. As a result of his sacrifice, he is able to save Sohrab from Assef’s abuse., and finally be at peace with
Amir contemplates: “I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan- the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past- and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran” (Hosseini 77). Amir was too scared to stand up for himself let alone stand up for someone else. He made a life changing decision that will haunt him forever. Guilt ridden, Amir makes another horrendous decision: to get rid of Hassan. Hassan’s loyalty is contrasted by the disloyalty Amir shows him when he frames Hassan for theft (Hosseini 104). Amir could not face Hassan after what he had done, it was depressing to think about it. Amir has always looked down on Hassan and looked up to Baba. He ponders this: “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba. Was it a fair price? The answer floated to my conscious mind before I could thwart it: He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (Hosseini 77). Amir tries to justify his actions by telling himself that Hassan was just a Hazara and nothing more. He does this to feel better and less guilty about letting Hassan get raped. Amir’s betrayals are his selfish attempts to gain the love and attention of his
He had to “ decide who I [he] was going to be. I [he] could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan- the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past- and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run” (Hosseini 77). While Amir had a choice to go save Hassan or run, he chooses to run. Amir was too concerned about Baba being proud of him to stay true to his morals. He did not want Hassan getting any attention after his accomplishment of the day. Amir gets extremely jealous when Baba’s attention is not fully on himself. To justify his cowardice act Amir thinks only of gaining his father's approval instead of the betrayal to his friend. Amir would get upset when Hassan could do anything better than him. Amir would go as far as no longer doing something he liked if Hassan was better. This is a prime example of emotions getting in the way of Amir’s rational
Throughout his life Amir does things that he regrets and treats Hassan as if he was less than him. Despite their friendship, Amir recognizes their difference in status and takes advantage of that. Hassan, someone who always stood by Amir’s side and protected him at all costs, was treated the same way by Hassan. Amir failed to protect Hassan as a friend and this is when Amir’s guilt surfaced. He felt guilty for being a witness to something he could have stopped and later in the novel, when he was older sought redemption for all of it. Indeed, all of Amir’s guilt was heightened by Rahim Khan’s revelation to him that Hassan was his brother. This changed everything for Amir. He felt that his whole life was a lie and his guilt for everything that he did to Hassan and what happened to Hassan was increased. Khaled Hosseini showed the importance the characters had towards family. This revelation of Hassan being his brother and Sohrab being his nephew gave Amir even more motivation to seek redemption and finally do the right
Hassan, an 11 year old boy, a servant and a Hazar, has not had life come very easily. His mother was never accepting of his face deformity, refusing to hold him as a newborn. Sanaubar had taken one glance at the baby in Ali's arms, seen the cleft lip, and barked a bitter laughter. [...]. She had refused to even hold Hassan, and just five days later she was gone. (2.29-30) Unfortunately, she decided to run away five days after his birth, leaving him without a mother for the rest of his life. Although his mother was not accepting of Hassan’s face, Amir has a different opinion. He describes Amir as having an almost perfectly round face, a face like a Chinese doll chiselled from hardwood. From the start through to the end Hassan remains the same Loyal, forgiving and good-natured character. Amir calls Hassan a "coward" and begs Hassan: "Hit me back!" (8.88). Hassan just takes it and never fights back. Hassan remains loyal and honest to Amir throughout the story, despite Amir’s actions towards him.