Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The kite runner themes essay
The kite runner themes essay
As english literature the kite runner themes
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The kite runner essay In the novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini there are several themes that are present throughout. The themes in the novel help to show the progression of the characters. Insecurity and guilt play a major role in the life of Amir. It is evident in this story that insecurities lead people to do things they do not want to do and brings about guilt, which leads to Amir’s primary insecurity was never being able to please his father. Amir tried just about anything to make Baba happy. Amir would go to soccer games, attempt to play sports, even though he did not like it just so that his father would be happy with him and love him. He also ran and battled with kites which Baba was an old time champion at. Amir …show more content…
After cutting the last blue kite, he looks at Hassan and he runs right after that kite. Amir went looking for Hassan and his prized kite. Amir saw that “Hassan was standing at the blind end of the alley in a defiant stance: fists curled, legs slightly apart. Behind him, sitting on piles of scrap and rubble, was the blue kite. [His] key to Baba’s heart.” After everything Hassan does for Amir, he can’t do one thing to help him even if that meant getting hurt. Amir is witnessing a horrible tragedy, right in front of his eyes, but only focuses on the “key to Baba’s heart.” These insecurities about never being good enough for his father lead him to ignore a horrible experience, just to get a kite, which in the long run only reminds him of the shame and guilt he feels for letting his insecurities get in the way of the right The guilt of watching the rape and not protecting Hassan is consuming Amir to the point that more insecurities come about. He lies to Baba and tells him that Hassan has stolen from his birthday gifts. Hassan always protects Amir so even though he did not steal the watch he …show more content…
Amir couldn't stand the guilt he had so he blamed untrue events on Hassan but it backfired and now more than ever he couldn't feel Baba's love. Even when his best friend was going to leave and he was probably not going to see him for a long time, all Amir could think about was himself. The only thing on his mind was that "[he] would have to explain and [he] would be revealed for what [he] really was." He was a liar and a thief according to Baba because lying is a form of theft. He was displaying his insecurities here and felt guilty about Once he was no longer insecure, Amir was able to forgive himself. Rahim Khan helped him and told him that he had to forgive himself to move on and forget about all the insecurities and guilt he had. Amir had realized that "Rahim Khan had summoned [him] to atone not just for [his] sins but for Baba's too" because of how similar they are. He let go of his insecurities and it took him years to finally forgive himself but when he did so he was free from all of his guilt. The cycle of insecurities and guilt had come to an end when he learned that he only had to please himself and Amir went through a cycle of guilt and insecurities until he finally atoned. Once he let his
Amir watches Hassan get raped which leads him trying to find some sort of way to get rid of his guilt. All of this is caused by him knowing what he did was wrong. It shows Amir admits his guilt after it happens and he tries to relieve himself of it: “In his arm I forgot what I'd done. And that was good.” It shows him trying to get relief through hassan hurting him with a pomegranate. It shows Hassan knows this when he says “Are you satisfied? Do you feel better?” Amir keeps looking for ways throughout the entire book to relieve his guilt.
Notwithstanding the difficult and exhausting, characters in The Kite Runner try to prove that redemption is feasible. Amir, a young, cowardly Pashtun boy brought up in riches and luxuries, Baba, a father that works hard to prove his worth, and Sanubar, a mother and wife who abandoned her family in search of a more gratifying life each have their own stories filled with heart wrenching and unanticipated circumstances that lead to the questions, why did they choose to search for redemption? And have they ever attained it? Baba chased after redemption, but failed because he could not own up to his actions. When his decisions of the past were unheard of to all ears, besides his own, Baba was known as a noble and dependable man.
His mistakes disgust us, especially after Hassan has been by his side the entire book. As the reader gets deeper into the book, they start to develop feelings of anger but sometimes sympathy, towards Amir. By the end, we are not as angry as Amir, the reader to begin with. Amir has grown into a better person and has tried to fix his past mistakes.
Baba ran from the truth, and so did Amir to protect the family name, even if that meant betraying the people closest to him. Baba was a man more worried about his image than anything, and that is what he taught his son as well. Slowly that is all Amir knew how to do: protect his family and himself, leading him into a life of guilt, and running from people when situations were challenging, instead of making the admirable decision and helping a friend. He shows his unconditional love when he suddenly packs up and leaves all he has ever known, “‘[Ali and Hassan] can’t live [there] anymore.life here is impossible for [them] now”’
On the other hand, Baba betrays Ali and Hassan through his adultery and tries to redeem himself through his strong principles and acts of charity. Finally, Sanaubar ultimately hurts Hassan, as she abandons him at birth, but returns years later to redeem herself. On the other hand, the same concept of redemption applies to Baba, as like father, like son, they both betray “the people who would have given their lives for [them]” (Hosseini, 238). He dishonours Ali in “the worst way an Afghan man can be dishonoured”(Hosseini, 238), by sleeping with his wife.
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.
Baba is displayed as an immoral man while at home because he is not loving to his son and he cheated with his friends’ wife and had a child. Even some of Baba’s good qualities such as his care for Hassan and Ali, his father, seem to have a selfish motive behind them because he wants to keep his son close to him. While Baba is never the fatherly figure in the first part of the book, once they leave their home, Baba seems to care a lot more about Amir. This may happen because he does not always have Hassan around to remind him of the terrible mistakes that he made in the past. However, even when Hassan is leaving, Baba still cares about him. Even though Hassan may be a symbol of past mistakes, he is still Baba’s son in the end and family always has a strong bond. Therefore, Baba’s character shows his moral side because instead of hating his illegitimate son, he cares for him as much as he can given the cultural standards of the two opposing religions. By healing his cleft lip and remembering Hassan’s birthday every year, Baba is able to show his caring side that is seldom seen with his relationship with
Amir is clearly an emotionally unstable person, but his resentment towards Hassan is increased because of his own haunting guilt.
His life in America seems perfect on the outside, however, his life and relationships with others are always affected by guilty feelings he has. The specific memory of leaving Hassan in the alley to get raped begins haunting his mind not only once he moves to America, but also shortly after it happens:
At the beginning he did not posses any heroic qualities, but by taking and accepting the first step of the passage he was able to rediscover his true potential. I believe that Amir came looking to redeem his past mistakes belated, however, he found an alternative way to put himself to peace with his past. I learned that we should stand up for who we are and what we believe to be true. It also learned that the past is unforgettable and immutable. It made me realize that we are all capable of becoming our own hero’s, by simply accepting the call to action and transforming ourselves to return as the best version of who we are. While giving us the chance to explore the
Amir hopes that if he wins the tournament, Baba will show affection towards him and be proud that he is Baba’s son. Despite Amir winning the tournament, Baba’s affection towards Amir did not last long as Amir says later on: “we actually deceived ourselves into thinking that a toy made of tissue paper, glue, and bamboo could somehow close the chasm between us.” (Hosseini 87) Baba and Amir’s relationship is like the tissue paper made from the kites. Babas affection towards Amir will soon tear apart and they will have to go through difficult times to truly connect. Therefore, for Amir to be accepted by baba he needs to have the courage to stand up for himself and face his
middle of paper ... ... Readers realize Baba was not the honorable man he was initially depicted as; instead, he was a man who lacked the courage to atone for his sins. Ultimately, through his actions to save Sohrab, Amir became the man his father had always wanted him to be. Although Baba never lived up to the persona he created for himself, Amir did, and that is why his attempts to achieve atonement were more successful than his father ’s.
Due to Amir’s cowardice during Hassan’s rape, he feels guilty for committing the vilest sin in Afghan culture. “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.
For fear of losing the reputation he has worked hard to build up, Baba withholds his own sin. He has to learn how to parent on his own without any guidance, so he raises Amir to be the man he wishes he had been, discussing topics like sin, so Amir does not grow to be a sinner as well. Consequently, Amir lives his childhood in fear and fails to understand why Baba acts standoffish towards him. Because Baba is the type of person who despises wrong doings, he busies himself with tasks, so he does not have to face his sin. Spending time with Amir would only remind Baba of the sin he committed after his wife’s death, so he distances himself. The decision Amir makes in the alley is a result of him trying to gain a sliver of pride from his father. Since his entire childhood consists of multiple failures in Baba’s eyes, he decides to set aside any morality concerning Hassan and take a chance at proving himself to his father. At first, remaining silent wins Baba’s affection. “A smile played on my father’s lips. He opened his arms. I put the kite down. . . buried my face in the warmth of his chest and . . . I forgot what I’d done. And that was good” (79). Baba’s parenting style lacks the comfort that a mother typically provides, so Amir cherishes the moment of affection. Unfortunately, Baba’s approval lasts temporarily because a true act of courage was not performed. Had Amir stood up for Hassan, Baba would have praised him more, for they are
The themes of the loss of innocence and redemption is used throughout the novel The Kite Runner to make a point that one can lose innocence but never redeem it. Once innocence is lost it takes a part of oneself that can never be brought back from oblivion. One can try an entire life to redeem oneself but the part that is loss is permanently gone although the ache of it can be dampened with the passing of time and acts of attempted redemption. Khaled Hosseini uses characters, situations, and many different archetypes to make this point.