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Themes of novel kite runner
Critically analyse Amir character in the kite runner
Themes of novel kite runner
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The power of guilt—how it can easily take over one’s life if one does not seek atonement—is often underestimated. The overwhelming need for redemption results in the inability to move on with a carefree life. In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, this theme is clearly displayed through the character of Amir, the protagonist of the novel. He is unable to enjoy a peaceful life due to his persistent guilt and desire for redemption from his sins. Through Amir’s motives and actions, he clearly illustrates how selfishness leads to sin, guilt, as well as a strong urge for redemption. The main cause of Amir’s sins is his selfishness. Amir often uses his own selfish motives to benefit off of others. For instance, Amir’s continuous quest for Baba’s affection results in him developing a very egotistical personality. This theme is clearly illustrated when Amir betrays his best friend in an attempt to earn Baba’s love. “Maybe …show more content…
Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay to win Baba.” (Hosseini 82). During the rape, Amir chooses to pursue his own selfish desires and hence abandons Hassan. He justifies this cruel act by convincing himself that Hassan’s sacrifice was necessary in order for him to prove his worthiness to Baba and live a happier life. Ironically, this sin has the opposite effect and Amir’s burden only increases. He is filled with guilt and cannot bear to continue living under the same roof as Hassan. Once again, he commits another selfish sin. “I lifted Hassan’s mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it.” (Hosseini 110). Amir accuses Hassan of being a thief in order to force Hassan out of his home. He is self centred, and willing to do anything —even betray his best friend —in order to relieve his guilty conscience. As can be expected, Amir’s selfishness leads him to sin over and over again throughout the book. Nearly all of Amir’s actions an decisions throughout the novel are driven by his guilt from betraying Hassan.
Immediately after the rape, Amir develops and overwhelming urge to be punished and relieved of his remorse. This is evident when Amir throws pomegranates at Hassan, as an attempt to get Hassan to fight back. “`Hit me back, goddamn you!` I wished he would. I wished he’d give me the punishment I craved, so maybe I’d finally sleep at night.” (Hosseini 98). Amir is so consumed by his guilt that he is no longer able to maintain his friendship with Hassan. He yearns for Hassan to punish him back so that he can finally move on. Another example of Amir’s nagging guilt is when he addresses Hassan’s rape for the first time. “`I watched Hassan get raped,` I said no no one… A part of me was hoping someone would wake up and hear, so I wouldn’t have to live with this lie anymore.” (Hosseini 91). Amir desperately hopes that someone will hear this confession. However, he soon realizes that his feeling of guilt is inevitable until he has fully redeemed
himself. After year’s of hiding his guilt, Amir finally returns back to Afghanistan in search of redemption and peace. He completes his first act of redemption by placing a handful of bills under Wahid’s Mattress. “I did something I had done twenty-six years earlier: I planted a fistful of crumpled money under a mattress.” (Hosseini 254). This act of kindness truly illustrates Amir’s growth as a person. He demonstrates new morals by placing items under a mattress in order to help a family in need. Ultimately, this small act of redemption leads Amir towards atoning for his greatest sin. He does so by facing his past at last and saving Hassan’s orphaned son, Sohrab. During Amir’s quest for redemption, he stands up for Sohrab against Assef and relieves his quilt of having not done so for Hassan during the rape. “For the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace…I felt healed. Healed at last.” (Hosseini 303). Though Amir feels horrific physical pain, he laughs because he feels mentally “healed.” His desire for redemption is fulfilled and he is finally at peace. Amir’s selfish sins lead him onto a long quest for redemption, peace, and relief of his persistent guilt. Throughout Amir’s life, he struggles to redeem himself in order to find peace. His inner suffering powers the start of a life-changing mission that surprisingly leads to good. Guilt leading to good is evident in not only The Kite Runner, but the real world as well. Guilt is a powerful feeling that can completely change a person’s morals and push them towards redemption. Amir’s guilt and vital need for redemption from abandoning Hassan result in the fortunate rescue of Sohrab. As Khaled Hosseini once said: “True redemption is…when guilt leads to good.”
Although Hassan is his best friend, there are many instances where Amir reveals his jealousy, most notable when Baba sees Hassan as the stronger boy, "self-defense has nothing to do with meanness. You know what always happens when the neighbourhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fends them off. I 've seen it with my own eyes…” (Hosseini 24). Clearly, Amir hears how his father compares the two, and unlike Hassan who manages to meet Baba’s expectations, Amir grows bitter towards Hassan. He is unable to fight off his envy which later causes him to sacrifice his best friend’s innocence: “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (82), and this is all because he realizes “his shame is complicated by his own realization that in part he doesn’t help his friend precisely because he is jealous of him” (Corbett, 2006). From here, Amir develops strong feelings of guilt that induces him to perform even more destructive acts, such as having Hassan and his father evicted from the house. Amir not only loses a close friend, but now he has to continue to live with remorse as he dwells on these memories. The only way for Amir to redeem himself of his repercussions is through a challenging process of sacrifice and self-discovery. Although one is unsure at this point whether Amir succeeds at his endeavors, it is clear that this story
The way our friends treat us in the face of adversity and in social situations is more revealing of a person’s character than the way they treats us when alone. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, ethnic tensions, nationality, and betrayal become the catalyst that drives and fuels Amir, Assef, and other characters to embark on their particular acts of cruelty. Serving as a way to illustrate the loss of rectitude and humanity, cruelty reveals how easily people can lose their morals in critical circumstances. Through Amir, Assef, and the Taliban’s actions, cruelty displays the truth of a person’s character, uncovering the origin of their cruelty. Amir’s cruelty spurs from his external environment and need for love from his father, choosing
Throughout The Kite Runner this theme is shown many times without this aspect and understanding of this part of the book it would be incomprehensible. Amir eventually learns how to cope with his own guilt and his
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
Novel The Kite Runner Essay In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, there are several major themes. One of the themes that stands out the most is redemption. This theme is shown through the thoughts and actions of the protagonist of the novel, Amir. He is seeking redemption for betraying his childhood best friend and half-brother Hassan.
Sometimes, no matter how big a mistake you make is, you can try to be forgiven, and make up for your mistakes by seeking redemption. No matter what someone does, if they truly want to be forgiven, they can, and will, seek redemption. And more often than not, they will succeed and they will be forgiven. The book, The Kite Runner, is about a kid named Amir, from Afghanistan, who was rich and privileged until having to move to America. And Amir stands by as Hassan is raped, which causes the guilt he has, and this is why he’s trying to strive for redemption.
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.” (2) The Kite Runner follows Amir on his odyssey to redeem himself for his hurtful actions. Through this journey, Khaled Hosseini delivers the message that sins and guilt can always be atoned for.
“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.
“There is a Way to be Good Again”: Past Actions and Redemption in Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. In The Kite Runner, Amir, Baba and Sanaubar’s past actions all negatively affect those that are close to them, yet it is not their past that defines them, rather it is how they decide to amend their wrongdoings that reflects more on their character. After Hassan’s rape, Amir spends the rest of his life trying to redeem himself for the betrayal of his loyal friend and does so after saving Hassan’s son Sohrab.
This embarrasses and frustrates Amir. This frustration is one reason for Amir to slowly but surely push Hassan out of his life. Although it is not the most obvious reason, it is an underlying one. This is a mistake on Amir’s part because Hassan does so much for Amir, being the loyal friend that he is, and for Amir to push someone of such good moral and character out of his life, is a tremendous mistake on his behalf. It is quite obvious that Hassan would give his life for Amir, but, because of where Hassan comes from, Amir struggles throughout his childhood, to find a way to accept the friendship Hassan gives him.
“The guilty one is not the one who commits the sin, but the one who causes the darkness.” – Victor Hugo. In The Kite Runner, the theme of guilt and redemption is shown through the character development of the protagonist Amir. Hosseini used Amir’s guilt of his past to grow the impression that with regret lies a hope for redemption. Amir is a man who is haunted by the demons of his past.
Amir also committed a sin that affected him negatively throughout his life. This sin occurred when Hassan, Amir’s best friend during his childhood, was getting raped by Assef. This situation occurred when the children were chasing kites. Hassan got the kite first, but Assef insisted that he wanted the kite. Assef also had a racial and religious prejudice against Hassan.
In Khaled Hosseini’s novel “The Kite Runner,” he illustrates a fine line between what is defined as morally good and evil. During their lives as kids, Amir and Hassan had always been close, but there had always been one problem. Amir was the son of a rich and powerful Pashtun man who was almost always given everything he wanted, while Hassan was a Hazara boy who had spent his life serving Amir and his family with his father. Although the two of them seemed to always be inseparable when they played games or flew kites, there was always the defining factor of who they really are, a servant and his master.
When individuals heavily rely on others due to their immense respect and veneration for other people’s accomplishments, this voluntary dependence causes them to be incapable of making their own judgements without being easily affected by the values of others. It is only upon an individual’s ability to overcome their own hardships will they suddenly begin to realize their true potential and identity. In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini suggests that when individuals encounter a dilemma that significantly challenges their morality and trust for others, they become capable of overcoming these adversities and as a result, they are able to embrace their true individuality and identity. This is demonstrated through the character of Amir and the massive, internal moral dilemma he undergoes as a result of his lack of independence.
When people sin they go to great lengths to seek redemption after being tormented from their guilt. In “The Kite Runner”, Hosseini writes about the life of Amir, who sinned at a young age and was left with psychological, emotional, and physical struggles that put him on a journey to find redemption. Betrayal is one of the many sins that can create pain and suffering in a person caused by their guilt which leaves them seeking an important healing process called redemption.