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The Kite Runner: Literary Analysis of Amir
The Kite Runner: Literary Analysis of Amir
The Kite Runner: Literary Analysis of Amir
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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.” (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. At the beginning of The Kite Runner, young Amir wins a kite fighting tournament. He feels like he has finally redeemed himself for his father. However, Amir’s happy day turns dark, when an hour later, he witnesses Hassan, his best friend, raped in an alley. He had “one final opportunity to decide who [he] was going to be. (77) Instead of standing up for his friend and...
As he grows into a man and pushes his regrets to the side - though not ever completely out of his mind - he learns to live through and accept the pain he caused both himself and his best friend, Hassan. Towards the end of the novel, Amir goes to great lengths to earn the redemption he feels he needs in order to finally be at peace. The Kite Runner asks the audience what it truly means to be a good person - do we need to be born with goodness in our hearts, do we live the way that is comfortable and right according to ourselves, or do we have to constantly fail and prove that we are good?
... 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.
People need redemption from our continual sin, otherwise, we just wallow in the shallowness of that aspect of our lives. Sin stays with an individual and effects the way their lives are lived. Unless they confront their past the sin will always be present. For example, Khaled Hossei’s , The Kite Runner explains how Amir- one of the main characters in the novel redeems himself because he undergoes strong guilt from his past sins. By examining Amir’s sins in his childhood, in his teenage years and in adulthood, his attainment of atonement is revealed. Particularly Amir atones for his past sins of being an eyewitness of Hassan rape who is his most loyal and devoted servant. He is influenced by this moment because he realizes that Hassan always
Though some may rise from the shame they acquire in their lives, many become trapped in its vicious cycle. Written by Khlaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner describes the struggles of Amir, his father Baba, and his nephew Sohrab as they each fall victim to this shameful desolation. One repercussion of Baba hiding his sinful adultery from Amir is that Amir betrays Hassan for his father’s stringent approval. Sohrab’s dirty childhood also traumatizes him through his transition to America. Consequently, shame is a destructive force in The Kite Runner. Throughout the course of the novel, Baba’s shameful affair, Amir’s selfish betrayal, and Sohrab’s graphic childhood destroy their lives.
“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.
As a foreword, the story of The Kite Runner focuses on a man named Amir. In his childhood, he enjoyed a high-class life in Kabul, Afghanistan, living with his father Baba. They have two servants, Ali and his son Hassan. They are Hazaras, a lower class ethnic minority in Afghanistan. In one Winter of their childhood, Amir and Hassan participate in a kite-fighting tournament; the goal is to be the last kite flying. When a kite is cut, boys chase after it as a trophy. Amir wins the tournament, and Hassan flies to catch the losing kite. Later, following Hassan's path, Amir comes upon a neighbourhood bully named Assef about to rape Hassan who has the trophy, the blue kite. Amir does not interject, believing this will secure him the kite. Thus, Amir sets forth a chain of events he must redeem in his adulthood.
Some people believe they can escape their past, but if one does not atone for their sins, the guilt will engulf them and stay with them forever. In The Kite Runner, Amir, the main protagonist, tries to forget about his past and move on. Hassan, his best friend and Amir’s foil, is loyal and brave while Amir is weak and a coward. Amir’s father, Baba, is also an honorable man, however, keeps the secret about Hassan being his son to everyone, including him. Amir betrays Hassan because he believes Hassan is a sacrifice he has to make to win his father’s affection. Khaled Hosseini uses the character foil of Amir with Baba and Hassan to emphasize Amir’s lack of honorable qualities and how he must search for redemption to find peace with himself.
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.
When people are given a chance to redeem themselves they will try to use their best abilities to accomplish their objective. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, is a historical fiction that follows Amir from childhood to adulthood. Amir, a socially awkward kid, lives in Kabul, Afghanistan with his father, Baba, a successful businessman, with his best friend, Hassan. Baba is discouraging towards Amir for not being confident in himself, but Amir finds a passion in writing. When Amir and Hassan win a kite fighting tournament, it causes Baba to accept Amir, but ultimately Hassan leaves Baba’s household because Amir betrays Hassan by not defending him when he is raped by local bullies. Due to turmoil rising in Afghanistan, Amir and Baba travel to America, where Amir becomes a successful writer and has a wife. Then Amir receives a call that can help Amir redeem his friendship with Hassan. As the book progresses, Hosseini proves that anything can be fixed through redemption. Amir’s pursuit of writing in America demonstrates the freedom found there, exemplifying the endless freedom found in America compared to Kabul. In a quest to save Hassan’s son, Sohrab, Amir fights Assef, an adversary of Amir since childhood; as Amir is losing the brawl, he goes through a similar pain that he made Hassan go through. When settling in America, Amir and Baba’s relationship improves as compared to their poor affliction in Kabul.
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.
Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, and the novel The Secret History, by Donna Tartt, both present the progression of guilt and its formation. Guilt can be described as a bothered conscience or a feeling of culpability for offenses, often felt when responsibility is undertaken as a regretted action. There are several types of guilt, which include feelings of shame, unworthiness and embarrassment about one’s actions, as well as the guilt felt about a circumstance one is not responsible for. Hosseini and Tartt show the progression of guilt through a corrupted action, the search for approval, redemption, blaming an innocent and suffering and these different facets of guilt are explored through various literary devices. Guilt is multifaceted
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.
At the beginning of the book, Amir was characterized as a coward due to when he come across his best friend in an alley, about to get raped. His best friend Hassan initially set out to get the kite in order to help Amir get his father’s approval. But when he runs into Assef, another boy their age, Assef demands the kite be handed over or Hassan will be punished. Hassan doesn’t hand it over and as Amir stands in the alley struggling to make a decision of whether to step in or run, he thinks,“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.” Amir’s decision haunts him for a little over a quarter of a century and during that amount of time, he considers himself a coward. It results in his perpetual guilt as well, because when making that decision he also lied to himself, by saying, “I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt. That's what I told myself as I turned my
In a lifetime, most everyone will face personal battles and guilt, such guilt as not doing homework and lying to your parents. The way people rid themselves of guilt and find peace is through redemption. Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner revolves around the themes of betrayal and redemption. The main character, Amir, goes on a journey to redeem himself for something he did many years before. Amir has lived with the guilt of betraying his best friend Hassan in the winter long ago. As most people Amir has trouble living with the guilt of turning his back on a friend. Amir must put himself in harm’s way to attempt to redeem himself for his wrong doings. Amir attempts to take on his guilt and redeem himself for the many years of sin by traveling
Due to the nagging guilt he can not live a peaceful life, and feel the need to punish himself for what he did. Cowardly, Amir waited years to inform anyone of what happened to Hassan at the Kite festival. Amir already carries guilt and resentment inside him. He claims “’I [Amir] watched Hassan get raped,’ I said to 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…I understood the nature of my new curse: I was going to get away with it." (page 86) The novel starts with the incident at the kite tournament and continues with many other mistakes that he later regrets. The structure of the Kite Runner refers back to the past by changing the date constantly. Amir goes back and forth telling stories about his life and all the mistakes he made. Once he becomes an adult the responsibilities he faces become greater. Hassan’s passing