Evaluating Guilt, Betrayal, and Courage in The Kite Runner
As a child, I often discovered limitations that were not meant to be passed, as well as feelings that lingered after breaking such restrictions. One particularly rebellious day, I stole a twenty-dollar bill from my mother’s purse, which was clearly meant for the babysitter. Soon after, a feeling of guilt prevailed throughout my body, similar to guilt displayed by characters in The Kite Runner. Although guilt is a common sentiment found in The Kite Runner, each individual contains unique levels of intensity and personal consequences. In this powerful novel, Khaled Hosseini advocated the importance of ascertaining guilt, recognizing loyalty, and honoring courage.
One important theme
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found in The Kite Runner is guilt and the consequences that arise with it. The first example of this appeared when Amir taught Hassan a new word, only he claimed it meant the complete opposite of its true implication. After he realized what he had done, Amir felt guilty for teaching Hassan grammar incorrectly because it was not his fault that he did not have the opportunity to learn words at school. To attempt to compensate for his mistakes and personal shame, Amir often gave Hassan an old shirt or a broken toy (Hosseini 29). This is a significant illustration of guilt because it proves how Amir would frequently make mistakes and afterwards lie to himself by indicating that it was harmless; however, deep down he began to feel the pressure of his culpability building up. Another instance of guilt in The Kite Runner occurred immediately after Amir witnessed Hassan being raped. At only twelve years of age, this haunting event majorly affected Amir’s emotions and brought upon regret. After developing such an extensive amount of shame, Amir could not hold his feelings in anymore and decided to take it out on Hassan. He begged for Hassan to throw a pomegranate at him because the only thing that would satisfy his guilt was punishment in return. However, when Hassan’s response failed to please him, Amir’s indignity and anger was fueled even more. This piece of the story was important to the plot because it verifies that Hassan was not willing to sacrifice his loyalty in order to alleviate Amir’s self-loathing. The last case of Amir’s guilt arose when Rahim Khan called him about thirty years after the incident with Hassan and reminded him of his actions against his half-brother. Amir lamented, ““Hassan,” I said. When was the last time I had spoken his name? Those thorny old barbs of guilt bore into me once more, as if speaking his name had broken a spell, set them free to torment me anew” (202). This call with Rahim Khan forced guilt to crawl back into Amir’s life yet again, obligating Amir to crave relief from his growing culpability. As depicted in this novel, the actions of these characters portray the common feeling of guilt and how it affects their existence. In addition to guilt portraying as a common theme seen throughout The Kite Runner, loyalty can also be recognized as an essential piece to the story.
One example of loyalty in this novel occurred when Amir tested Hassan’s loyalty by asking if he would eat dirt to uphold his loyalty (Hosseini 54). However, Hassan responded with a stimulating question, ““would you ever ask me to do such a thing, Amir agha?” And, just like that, he had thrown at me his own little test. If I was going to toy with him and challenge his loyalty, then he’d toy with me, test my integrity” (54). By using this simple question, Hassan was able to withstand Amir’s loyalty test by reversing Amir’s logic onto himself, completely altering their friendship. Amir, being a Pashtun, believed that he was allowed to request such actions from Hassan because Amir towered over Hassan in the social ladder. On the other hand, Hassan viewed their friendship as more important than their ethnic groups. Another instance of loyalty in The Kite Runner is when Hassan stood up to Assef by threatening to take out his eye with a slingshot in order to protect Amir (42). Not only did Hassan once again prove his loyalty to Amir, but he also withstood the possible consequences from Assef due to their ethnic groups. This action of Hassan demonstrated that he is willing to rebel against the social hierarchy of Afghanistan on behalf of Amir’s safety. After Amir witnessed Assef raping Hassan, he framed Hassan by placing his birthday gifts under Hassan’s mattress in an attempt to get rid of him and his constant reminder of Amir’s guilt (105). Unexpectedly, Hassan pleaded guilty to the crime, once again taking a bullet for Amir and verifying his strong loyalty. Sacrificing himself for Amir held importance because Baba would have been angry with Amir if Hassan had not taken the blame. Clearly, Hassan validated firm loyalty and honor throughout The Kite
Runner. Equally important as the subject of loyalty in The Kite Runner is the theme of courage. A fundamental instance of courage happened when Baba stopped a Russian soldier from raping a woman on the truck to Pakistan (Hosseini 116). Baba declared, ““tell him I’ll take a thousand of his bullets before I let this indecency take place,’” (116). Preventing a crime as awful as rape showed that Baba was a courageous and powerful man. ADD SENTENCE TO ANALYZE Baba’s act also had an effect on Amir because he risked his life for a complete stranger, while Amir could not even stand up for his best friend. Furthermore, Baba was able to atone for his past sins through the use of courage and bravery. In the same way Baba used courage to be good again, Amir also demonstrated bravery by traveling back to Afghanistan to aid Hassan’s son, Sohrab (227). By traveling to a dangerous country and temporarily leaving his wife, Amir undeniably revealed to the society that he was willing to take a leap of faith in order to help someone in need. In like manner of Baba and Amir’s bravery, Sohrab presented a large amount of courage when he saved Amir from Assef by using his slingshot (291). Having the audacity to threaten a powerful Taliban with a tiny weapon genuinely contributed to the story by creating a parallel scene. On both ends of the parallel scene, a slingshot was used against Assef to end Amir’s suffering. The characters pulling the slingshot back both displayed courage and altered the plot significantly. These are just a few examples of how characters in The Kite Runner demonstrated courage.
In the book “THe Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, betrayal is is one of the big themes that occurs in this book. Amir shows the most betrayal of all, like him witnessing Hassan's rape and not helping him at all. That was his cowardly thing that he did and experiences guilt from it. Many years pass since that event he starts to feel what other people felt when he would betray them, like when he was betrayed by his father and Rahim Khan, because he found out that Hassan was his brother and he felt betrayal of trust just as he made the people he betrayed feel.
In the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini he uses many works of literature that contain a character, Baba, who intentionally deceives other. Baba is seen has the man who can do no wrong, he helps out people, gave people jobs and more. He always use to tell Amir to never sin and that stealing something away from someone is the worst sin you can do. He could do no wrong right? Babs past decisions of dishonesty towards Amir, Hassan, and Ali have already caused great sin. Is the result of the pressure of Afghan society to blame? In Afghan cultures a man’s honor, ethnicity, and family name are paramount. Well, it can be shown in these three areas of Baba life, Baba life in America, Amir going back to visit Rahim Khan, and
... Finally, Amir chooses to redeem himself by opting to protect Hassan’s son Sohrab. The guilt which estranged Amir from his childhood friend in a way manages to reunite him with Hassan, albeit in a different manner. Thereby, the two works that are Macbeth and The Kite Runner not only present before the humanity, the immense power and potency of guilt, but also emphatically reveal the eventual consequences of the guilt traceable to an evil act or an act of cowardice or betrayal. These two works expose the psychology of guilt in a very vivid and threadbare manner, which explains their appeal and the human interest they accrue.
The theme of loyalty is widespread throughout "The Kite Runner". Hassan is a very loyal character in this story, he is loyal to his brother Amir this is demonstrated from the start he tells Amir “for you a thousand times over” often to mean he would do anything for Amir when the situation calls for it. Amir on the other hand is jealous and feels entitled to his father’s love and care, he does not understand Baba’s love for Ali and Hassan and as such he does everything to discredit Hassan and put himself on better grounds with his father. Hassan’s loyalty is juxtaposed with Amir’s betrayal, for in every act of kindness demonstrated by Hassan he receives and equal or greater amounts of betrayal from Amir. Nonetheless Hassan remains
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.”
Redemption: The novel begins with an adult Amir looking back on the events of his childhood. He is trying desperately to ignore his unatoned sins, but realizes that “it’s wrong what they say about the past…about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out”(Hosseini 1). Even after Amir and his father flee to America to one afternoon from decades ago still haunts him. Amir’s inaction that day impacts the rest of his life and leads to lies, betrayal, and guilt. He desires to be forgiven for his sin and does everything he can to find redemption. Amir is hopeful that “there is a way to be good again”(Hosseini 2).
To begin, the first instance of redemption is found and portrayed through irony. As Amir's mother died giving birth to him, he has always felt guilty. Leading up to the annual kite-fighting tournament, Amir feels as if winning will redeem her death, and solidify his relationship with Baba. When he comes upon Hassan who is cornered by Assef, Amir feels as if his rape might be justified: “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay to win Baba. Or was it a fair price?” (Hosseini, 82) If Amir gains the kite, he wins Baba's heart. Ironically, the sacrifice of Hassan is the catalyst to Amir's need for redemption. Instead of redeemi...
Betrayal is one of the most prominent themes in the novel The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. Hosseini chose to represent this theme through the decisions and actions of the main protagonists. Both Baba and Amir chose to betray the people close to them, which resulted in major ramifications for themselves and the people around them. With their betrayals came feelings of guilt. However Amir 's guilt was exponentially more conspicuous than Baba 's. It followed him into his adult life, and the impacts were quite negative and detrimental to both his personal health and his personal relationships. Hassan, on the other hand, chose to remain loyal to those close to him, regardless of the situation or the threats placed upon him. While this resulted in major consequences, it also demonstrated his capacity for kindness, caring, and loyalty. Even though he was confronted with traumatic experiences due to his loyalty, he was able to accept it, move past it and eventually heal. In turn, although his life was short, it was filled with meaningful realizations
In The Kite Runner Amir was always rude and tried to deceive Hassan. Hassan was a Hazara and he always stayed faithful to Amir and Baba. Hassan even says to Amir, “And I dreamt that someday you will return to Kabul to revisit the land of our childhood. If you do you will find an old faithful friend waiting for you.” (Hosseini 218) After all the times Amir treated
According to dictionary.com betrayal means "an act of deliberate disloyalty,”. Betrayal is something that is very prevalent throughout the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini which is a story about the betrayal that a young boy named Amir does to his friend Hassan. Amir shows that he is a betrayer to Hassan when he belittles, plots, refuses to acknowledge their friendship, and walks away from Hassan. With each betrayal listed they progressively get worse and worse as Amir continues to show how little he really cares for Hassan.
Guilt. A cancerous thing, spreading through your body, manipulating your thoughts, working as a deterrent for any type of long term vivacity. As seen in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner one of the main themes is seeking redemption. We see that in order to seek redemption and earn it, you must have the self-motivation deeper than other people pushing you.
Infancy is the rudimentary status of human beings, which the ways for the rest of one’s life is determined. Unforgettable events may generate certain emotions in childhood. Thus, it modifies the nature of that person as an adult. Setting in the 1970s in California, the historical and fictional novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, illustrates the main character through his determinations to lengthy life conflicts. The novel outlines Amir’s assorted feelings of love and jealousy towards his best friend, Hassan. Despite their distinctive economic and social classes, they grow up in the same household facing strenuous hardships, resentments, and guilt together. However, the two boys reach a decisive point when the neighborhood bullies Hassan severely. As Amir sees his best friend getting a torture, he tries to provide an assistance. Unfortunately, he gets afraid and watches and does nothing. Amir's guilty, caused by the fear of avoiding his friend’s struggle, eventually leads him to betray his friend. Through the use of irony, foreshadowing, and metaphor, Amir’s childhood experiences harass him into his adulthood.
Guilt is a strong emotion that affects many people around the world. It can either lead people into a deep and dark abyss that can slowly deteriorate people or it can inspire them to achieve redemption. Guilt and redemption are two interrelated subjects that can show the development of the character throughout a novel. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, are two literary works that convey the connections between guilt and redemption and show the development of the character by using theme and symbolism that are present in the novels.
Throughout the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the theme which is shown through the film is “loyalty is one of the only things that can hold bonds between family and friends”. In the beginning of the novel Amir describes Hassan’s loyalty by saying, “Hassan never wanted to, but if I asked, he wouldn’t deny me. Hassan never denied me anything” (4) This quote shows how Amir would make Hassan do things against his will, but because Hassan was so loyal to Amir, he would do the things Amir asked him to do. The theme is shown through this quote because this occurs at the very beginning of the story and Hassan is putting Amir’s needs before his own, this will reflect throughout the
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.