Kite Runner Guilt

Throughout life, one experiences times of turmoil that can occasionally cause them to make an error in judgement. When journeying through life, mistakes are bound to be made, however, the amount of guilt that derives from them can be unexpected. This immense feeling of guilt can cause one to act indecently, in search of redeeming themselves. The Kite Runner is an infamous novel, written by Khaled Hosseini that depicts love, deception and pain. The novel describes the adventure of a boy who has entered manhood with a dark secret that he is trying desperately to hide. Throughout this book, the theme of the search for redemption is present, is persistent. This is demonstrated though the lives of Amir, Baba, and Hassan. The theme of this book is

Despite his efforts, Amir’s past fails to escape him, no matter how hard he tries. Many times during life, one will react negatively to a situation and later feel the need to seek amends for their misbehaviour. Amir, the main character in the novel, constantly struggles to make amends for his past sins. Throughout his life, Amir felt like an unworthy burden to his wealthy father, Baba. During the course of the book, he tries to redeem himself by being a person he thinks Baba would approve of. He states “I was going to win, and I was going to run that last kite. Then I’d bring it home and show it to Baba. Show him once and for all that his son was worthy.” (Hosseini, 60). Amir knew that the only common interest

The second incident Amir feels he needs to redeem himself because of is the rape incident. In his younger years, he had observed a brutal crime, and forever regretted the way he dealt with it. Amir had witnessed his best friend and servant, Hassan, get raped by the neighbourhood bully. While running after a kite for Amir, a favour that portrays how devoted he was to Amir, Hassan was cornered in an alley and cruelly raped. Meanwhile, Amir observed the incident from afar, and afterwards, refused to disclose the information to anyone. Proceeding this event, Amir was filled with guilt and remorse, and when his life’s achievements became draped with misery, he became fixated on redeeming himself. After witnessing Hassan getting raped, Amir ceased to communicate with Hassan and tried to abolish their friendship. He believed that if Hassan was out of sight, he would also be out of Amir’s mind. However, when Amir’s life became consumed with the need for redemption, he turned to other means of regaining his esteem. First, soon after the rape incident,