In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini tells a notable coming-of-age story portraying the actions and thoughts of Amir, a penitent adult living in the United States and his reminiscence of his affluent childhood in the unstable political environment of Afghanistan. Throughout the novel Khaled Hosseini uses character description to display his thoughts on sin and redemption.
The main character described in the novel is Amir. Amir is the narrator and the protagonist in the story. Although an impressionable and intelligent son of a well-to-do businessman, he grows up with a sense of entitlement. Hassan is Amir’s half-brother, best friend, and a servant of Baba’s. Although considered an inferior in Afghan society, Hassan repeatedly proves himself to be a loyal friend to Amir. Baba is the wealthy, well- respected father of Amir and Hassan. He is willing to risk his life for what he believes in, but is ashamed of having a child with a Hazara woman, leading him to hide the fact that Hassan is his son. Ali is another modest man, who is a fatherly figure to Hassan and a servant to Baba.
The search for redemption is prevalent through the description of Amir. Early in the novel, Amir strives to redeem himself in his father’s eyes. In order to do so, Amir feels as if he must win the annual kite-tournament. The redemption Amir seeks later in the novel is from his guilt regarding Hassan. In chapter three, Baba says, “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything” (Hosseini 25). This is when Amir’s moral standard for complete redemption is set. As an adult the only way he may redeem himself is by proving he has the courage to stand up for what is right.
“I became what I am today at the age of twe...
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...d 'liberating' until you've done that, stood in a roomful of targets [the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif], let the bullets fly, free of guilt and remorse, know you are virtuous, good, and decent. Knowing you're doing God's work. It's breathtaking." He kissed the prayer beads, tilted his head. (24)
Hassan represents all that is good and kind and Assef represents all things evil. Through the character descriptions of Amir, Hassan, and Assif, Hosseini displayed his thoughts on sin and redemption. In the novel redemption is so important because sin is so enduring. Amir opens the story by telling us not about how exactly he sinned, but about sin's endurance: "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." (15) Hosseini uses structure and character description to emphasize the themes of sin and redemption.
Khaled Hosseini’s direct and indirect characterization of Amir in chapters twenty through twenty-three of The Kite Runner are used in order to advance the plot and Amir’s personality.
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
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.
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.
The novel tells the story of, Amir. Amir is portrayed as the protagonist; the novel revolves around his recollection of past events 26 years ago as a young boy in Afghanistan. Amir is adventures and brave. Hassan is Amir’s closets friend and servant to his house and is portrayed as a subservient male, often supporting and accepting blame for Amir’s actions. Assef, Wali and Kamal are the “ bad guys” within the novel; Wali and Kamal hold down Hassan and Assef rapes him purely for ethnicity differences, as Hassan is a Hazara. Afghanistan boys are supposed to be athletic and true to Islam .The leaving of Soraya Hassan mother with another man gives the notion that women lack morality leaving behind there children .The Taliban laws are followed closely within Afghanistan and women are treated without any rights, beatings, stoning and execution become the reality for women who violate the laws. Culturally Afghanistan women are portrayed to be subservient to there husband only live and breath to provide children, cook food and clean their
The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, shows how lying and deceit is a counterproductive route when trying to live with a dreadful past, exhibited through the actions of Amir. Amir’s decision to withhold the truth and blatantly lie in several situations due to jealousy and his desire for Baba to be proud of him amounts to further pain and misery for himself and those he deceives. Because of Amir’s deceit towards Baba and Hassan, his guilt from his past manifests itself into deeply-rooted torment, not allowing him to live his life in peace. The guilt from Amir’s past is only alleviated when he redeems his sins by taking in Sohrab, contributing to the theme that the only way “to be good again” is through redemption, not shunning the past.
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...
In the book, Hassan and Amir’s social statues are different. Amir is a Pashtun, which is the majority group of Kabul. Amir is well respected because of his father and he doesn’t get verbally abused due to his race. However, Hassan is a Hazara, which is the minority group in Kabul. Hazaras are looked down upon and used as servants. Hassan is verbally and physically abused due to his race. Assef is the antagonist of the book and he tortures Hassan by calling him “flat-nose” and raping him. Race is one of the main themes of separation that shows how social classes are separated due to race. Amir also looks down on Hassan for being a Hazara. In the book, Amir never shows his friendship with Hassan when in public. Hassan is ridiculed thought out the book but remains loyal and friendly to Amir.
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.
Redemption is what Amir longs for. Redemption is what Amir is granted. Amir realizing he gave everything for this one selfless act, is able to be at peace; but faith smiled on Amir and sent Sohrab to rescue him from certain demise. Struck with Sohrab slingshot, Assef had given up the fight. Amir was the victor, but there was no prize kite to be handed to him. There was the prize of forgiveness, redemption and the care for Sohrab.
“The closer one gets to realizing his Personal Legend, the more that Personal Legend becomes his true reason for being” ~ Paolo Coelho, The Alchemist (75)
The Kite Runner focuses on the relationship between two Afghan boys Amir and Hassan. Amir is a Pashtun and Sunni Muslim, while Hassan is a Hazara and a Shi’a. Despite their ethnic and religious differences, Amir and Hassan grow to be friends, although Amir is troubled by Hassan, and his relationship with his companion, one year his junior, is complex. Amir and Hassan seem to have a "best friend" type relationship. The two boys, Hassan and Amir, are main characters in the book titled, The Kite Runner. The two boys have a relationship that is significantly different compared to most. There are many different facets that distinguish the relationship the boys possess. The boys do write their names in a pomegranate tree as the "sultans of Kabul" (Kite Runner 27) but, their friendship is not strong and it is one sided. Hassan has love for Amir. He loves him like a brother. Hassan is exceedingly loyal to Amir. The relationship between the two boys is emotionally wearing and rather gloomy for the most part. The main reason for their complicated relationship is the fact that Amir is Pashtun, and Hassan is Hazara. The Afghan society places Hassan lower than Amir. Hassan is Amir's servant. The placement of Hassan in the Afghan society disenables Amir from becoming Hassan's true friend. Amir sees Hassan as lower than human. Amir ruins the chance for friendship between himself and Hassan because he is jealous of Hassan, he thinks of Hassan as a lower human, and because Amir possesses such extreme guilt for what he has done to Hassan. Amir is an unforgivable person overall.
Hassan’s morals and saintly nature bring him happiness in knowing that he does God’s will, while Amir questions God as well as Hassan’s pious personality. Hassan strives to make the moral choice every day of his life. He refuses to shoot walnuts at a one-eyed German shepherd when Amir insists that he can, subtly bringing out the instinct of integrity in Hassan. Similar to this, Hassan strives for good as he notices a plot flaw in one of Amir’s stories that involves death. Hassan’s inherent morality prompts him to suggest a non-violent option for Amir. Evidently, Hassan’...
...fecting Amir indirectly. The dream serves as a catalyst for his decisions on how to move on and redeem himself. The alteration of the scene leaves out the tragic moments of loss, which is needed to clarify death’s influence on people’s actions.
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.