The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini,is a novel about one man’s journey to redemption. The novel reveals that even though one may suffer from perceivably inescapable guilt, you can right your wrongs and escape the guilt that has a grip on your life. Along with this, the novel also illustrates the value of sacrifice and honor that greatly impacts its characters. The main character, Amir, faces many hardships throughout his life, one of the most impactful hardships he has faced is the guilt that he holds from his childhood. Amir’s journey to redemption and escape from the guilt begins when he receives a call from his childhood mentor, Rahim Khan, informing him that “There is a way to be good again” (Hosseini 2). The receiving of the phone call …show more content…
begins Amir’s journey and also brings back the memories of his childhood friend Hassan. Throughout Amir and Hassan’s childhood, they experienced many hardships together.
One of the many hardships include confrontations from their childhood bully, Assef. Assef would insult the boys calling them “kunis” and “fags” and threaten to harm them during their encounters. Hassan saved the day every time, often threatening Assef with his slingshot whilst Amir did nothing to help. Though Hassan was brave, he couldn’t save himself from Assef Panter 2 sexually assaulting him in an alleyway. Amir witnessed the act and did nothing to stop it, resulting in unbearable guilt. Amir’s cowardly and careless childhood resulted in a guilty adulthood which is the main motivation behind him going back to his birthplace as an adult in attempt to make things right. Though Amir made many mistakes throughout his childhood, such as not standing up for Hassan and blaming him for his wrongs, he learns that through a series of good deeds, he may be able to redeem himself for all of the wrong he committed throughout his life. The series of good deeds that Amir is taking on is rescuing Hassan’s son from the terrorists in Afghanistan. Amir hesitantly accepts the mission and completes it after many trials such as getting beat by childhood bully, Assef, being shot at, and facing adversity from his family in America. Though it was tough to complete, Amir finally feels relief as guilt takes its grip off of his
life. The novel’s theme of self-redemption rings loud and clear throughout the whole novel. We learn that even though we may have made mistakes in the past, we are able to overcome them and make things right with not only others, but also with ourselves. “There is a way to be good again”.
Amir is, to be put bluntly, a coward. He is led by his unstable emotions towards what he thinks will plug his emotional holes and steps over his friends and family in the process. When he sought after Baba’s invisible love, Amir allowed Hassan to be raped in an alleyway just so that the blue kite, his trophy that would win his father’s heart, could be left untouched. In the end, he felt empty and unfulfilled with the weight of his conscience on his shoulders comparable to Atlas’ burden. Unable to get over his fruitless betrayal, he lashes out and throws pomegranates at Hassan before stuffing money and a watch under his loyal friend’s pathetic excuse for a bed, framing Hassan for theft and directly causing the departure of both servants from his household. Even after moving to America, finding a loving wife, and creating a career for himself in writing, he still feels hollow when thinking of his childhood in Afghanistan. Many years later, he is alerted of Hassan’s death and sets out on a frenzied chase to find his friend’s orphaned son. He feels that he can somehow ease his regrets from all of those years ago if he takes in Hassan’s son, Sohrab. He finds Sohrab as a child sex slave for Assef, who coincidentally was the one to rape Hassan all of those years ago. After nearly dying in his attempt to take back Sohrab, he learns that he can take the damaged child back to the states with him. Sadly, Hassan’s son is so
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).
... 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.
Despite living majority of his life with the guilt of not helping Hassan, Amir’s nemesis is yet to come. Destiny plays a huge game with Amir and reveals to him that Hassan is his illegitimate brother during his visit with Rahim Khan. Reacting with various emotions, Amir first decides to head back about to America, but in the end makes the first brave decision in his life by going back to Kabul “…to atone not just for [his] sins, but…Baba’s too” (198). Amir tries to compensate for his sin by rescuing Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from the brutality occurring in Kabul. Amir puts his entire life in jeopardy by facing the oppression in Kabul so he could make a genuine effort in eliminating his sins. In an ideal world, when one truly makes an effort to redeem themselves for their wrongdoings, they are usually gifted with forgiveness. However, in reality, Amir’s heroic act of saving Sohrab, did not free him of sorrow because he still has to live with his nemesis for the rest of his life. By taking Sohrab to America with him, Amir constantly is reminded of his hamartia by envisioning Hassan through Sohrab. This shows how the guilt from a cowardly act leads one into a lifelong feeling of
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
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.”
“For you, a thousand times over.” In The Kite Runner by Kahled Hosseini, there is a recurring theme of redemption that is portrayed by various literary devices. Kahled excellently juxtaposes devices such as irony, symbolism, and foreshadowing to show redemption within his first novel.
Amir also committed a sin that affected him negatively throughout his life. This sin occurred when Hassan, Amir’s best friend during his childhood, was getting raped by Assef. This situation occurred when the children were chasing kites. Hassan got the kite first, but Assef insisted that he wanted the kite. Assef also had a racial and religious prejudice against Hassan.
Amir’s redemption is a large part of the novel and is carried out almost entirely until the end of the story. He travels to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from the orphanage he was placed in after the death of his parents. He promises to find him a safe home with someone but after time passes he feels like this is not enough. He then speaks to his wife and decides to take Sohrab back to the United States with him and take care of his as if he was one of his own. Earlier in the novel when Baba is speaking Amir over hears his conversation as he is referring to him stating, “A boy who won 't stand up for himself becomes a man who can 't stand up to anything” (Hosseini, 22). Thus meaning that if he is able to stand up for himself as a young boy, when he is grown he will not be able to stand up for anything that is in his future. This is true throughout the story until he stands up for himself and Sorhab when he is arguing with his life long bully, Assef. Amir lacked the courage to defend himself in the novel until he finally took charge and went against
There were ultimately two options: step up to the bullies and rescue Hassan, or run away. Even after hearing Assef say how Amir would never do the same for him, about how he would never stand up for him, he still chose to run away and pretend like he did not just witness what had happened. There is also a scene where Amir is feeling guilty and both the boys are around a pomegranate tree. Amir just starts pelting Hassan with pomegranates and threatens to throw him back. He exclaims, “You’re a coward,” (.).
Hassan’s purity in their childhood pushed Amir to lean away from his struggle of what he was, and take initiative for what was right, even if he refused at first. Amir knew he couldn’t let Hassan down a second time in spite of fear. Once Sohrab was rescued, he tied the knot in Amir’s character development and battle with his self- acceptance. Amir was put once again on the spot with his actions on how to deal with Sohrab. He eventually takes action and adopts Sohrab, going through all the risks and struggles. While having terrible influences like the demeaning ideology of Afghan society, Amir overcame his main internal struggle with influences like Sohrab and Hassan, and without the balance of influences, Amir would not have evolved as he
He was told by Rahim Khan, an old, dying friend, that he could redeem himself and begin to heal by rescuing Sohrab from an orphanage. After rescuing Sohrab, Amir receives a letter from Rahim Khan that states, "A man who has no conscience, no goodness, does not suffer. I hope your suffering comes to an end in Afghanistan" (Hosseini 301). Rahim Khan understands that Amir's internal plight could start to resolve itself if he makes a sacrifice in Hassan's honor. Traveling to find the child is a dangerous journey, but Amir could seek solace in the fact that he is saving Hassan's child from suffering more tragedies. In addition, once he rescues Sohrab, Amir believes that the best option for him is to return with him to America. When Amir tells his wife about his journey, Soraya agrees that she wants Sohrab to live with them by telling her husband, "'Amir, he's your qaom, your family, so he's my qaom too'" (Hosseini 326). To the couple, Sohrab is the closest thing they will ever have to a child of their own because Soraya cannot have children. To them, this is their opportunity fulfill the desire to have a family and is also Amir's chance to make up for what he did to
He has had to live with the regret that he caused by deserting Hassan left to be raped by Assef. Ever since the day he abandoned Hassan in the alley, Amir allowed the guilt from that tragic event to eat him up. Amir then fled to the US to escape the grief that was back in Afghanistan. Next, Amir put himself at risk to save Hassan’s only son from the dangers of Kabul. Lastly, Amir was to forgive his own self. Amir recognized the problem through guilt; avoided repeating the offense by fleeing; did what needed to be done by saving Sorhab; and asked forgiveness from God by accepting
In his youth, Amir stands by as Hassan is raped by a common enemy, and drives Hassan out of his home from guilt. He has no backbone, waiting for others to take on his troubles. He covers his eyes during confrontations and runs from challenges, becoming the man Baba feared he would: one who could not stand up to anything. However, Amir’s path turns upwards along the circle when he hears a promise of redemption: “Come. There is a way to be good again” (192). Travelling through Afghanistan under Taliban rule, Amir searches for Sohrab. He takes on the role of guardian with Sohrab, accepting religion as he “bow[s] to the west,” adopting beliefs different from his father’s and choosing to stand with something larger than himself. (345). The final remnant of Amir’s childhood cowardice disappears as he replicates his own early memories of kite running with Sohrab. Just as Hassan ran the blue kite for Amir, Amir “ran with the wind blowing in my face, and a smile as wide as the Valley of Panjsher on my lips,” as he runs a kite for Sohrab
One day Amir and Hassan are out playing when they are approached by three older boys, Assef, Wali and Kamal. Assef threatens to beat up Amir for hanging out with a Hazaran boy, but Hassan hits Assef with the help of a slingshot and the two younger boys get away. However later, during a kite-fighting Amir wins and Hassan runs for the losing kite, he is raped by Assef with the help of Wali and Kamal. Amir sees this happen but does not stop it nor confront Assef. After this event happens things are not the same between the two friends. Ali, and Hassan are asked to leave, after Amir frames Hassan for stealing.