“There is a way to be good again” (2). This thought repeats through Amir's mind over and over throughout Khaled Hosseini's novel, The Kite Runner. This is the story of a boy who struggles to find redemption. The author illustrates the story of Amir and how it is not possible to make wrongs completely right again because it is too late to change the past. In this novel, Hosseini shows that redemption is obtainable. Hosseini shows that guilt is the primary motivation for someone who seeks redemption. In this novel, redemption is not when things are justified, but when the wrong has been done and cannot change to be right. As defined in a letter to Amir by an old family friend, Rahim Khan, redemption is when the guilt from something wrong leads to something good (302). Because of events that Amir is faced with, Hosseini illustrates a story where a big part of guilt plays in the desire for redemption. Guilt is a strong incentive in a quest for redemption. Rahim Khan says to Amir “there is a way to be good again” in the beginning of the novel, insinuating that there was hope and that there was a way for Amir to have peace with himself. This phrase was something that continuously repeated in Amir’s mind throughout the novel which was a reminder that there was a way to be rid of the guilt; a way to be good again. Amir begins his story by saying “I became what I am today at the age of 12” (1). It is noticed that he says “what I am today” rather than “who” and finishes the chapter leaving the reader with a slightly bitter feeling that the narrator has a dark past that he can not forget. He gives the idea that he is not happy with who he has become, and it was his wrongdoing that made it that way it was. Amir basis his guilt through his mem... ... middle of paper ... ...his needs and his lack of standing up for himself. Another character who was searching for redemption in this novel was Amir's wife Soraya. Before they got married, she confesses to him about the time she ran away with someone as a teenager and clears up her past which had also haunted her (164). Even after she confessed to Amir, people still talked down about her because of her past (178). Amir, like Baba, Rahim Khan and Soraya, sinned by what he had done wrong, or rather what he didn’t do right. This caused guilt that he attempted to hide, but the memories and the past continued to haunt him, nag at him, and remind him of the person who had loved him so much. This guilt of betrayal weighs on Amir throughout the story, and pushes him to seek out redemption. He longs to “be good again” and get rid of the guilt that he has carried since he was just twelve years old.
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?
The Kite Runner is a book about a young boy, Amir, who faces many struggles as he grows up in Kabul and later moves to America to flee from the Taliban. His best friend and brother , Hassan, was a big part of his life, but also a big part of guilt he held onto for many years. The book describes Amir’s attempt to make up for the past and resolve his sins so he can clear his conscious. Amir is worthy of forgiveness because although he was selfish, he was very brave and faced his past.
Later on, Amir comments, “Listening to them, I realized how much of who I was, what I was, had been defined by Baba and the marks he had left on people’s lives. Now he was gone. Baba couldn’t show me the way anymore; I’d have to find it on my own” (Hosseini ___ ). This excerpt illustrates the turning point of the story of Amir’s redemption. The word “I” is extensively used in this specific quote showing that he begins to ruminate on how he should be changing himself for himself rather than himself for others. Another notable aspect of this quote is that Amir realizes that he is on his own now. This proves that he is now prepared to figure things out on his own which almost propels him past the conventional stage towards post-conventional. Further on in the book, Amir converses with Rahim Khan and states, “”You know,” Rahim Khan said, “one time, when you weren’t around, your father and I were talking…I remember he said to me, ‘a boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.’ I wonder, is that what you’ve become”” (Hosseini ___ ). This extremely important quote shows that if Amir is unable to worry about himself as a child, he will be unable to help people out for nothing in return in the future. If Amir is a boy who can focus on redeeming his own actions in a post-conventional way, he will turn out this way in the future or
...by Amir in his childhood not only gravely colors his relationship with Hassan, whose innocence he failed to protect from evil and overbearing Assef, but this guilt continues to stay with Hassan as he moves to America and starts a new life. 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.
Amir learns of many things going on in another world that will hopefully help with his guilt once and for all. In Rahim Khan's call he says “there is a way to make things good again,” this may be the most powerful quote in the book as it shows both the reader and Amir that there is a solution to his guilt. Amir eventually finds out from Rahim that Ali was sterile: “she left him childless after three years and married a man in Khost. She bore him three daughters”. Amir puts the dots together and is outraged, but not only that it adds a major connection to the theme of guilt. Baba carried around the guilt of having sex with the wife of what he viewed as his brother, it shows a deeper theme that it's a generational thing starting with Baba betraying Ali and Amir betraying Hassan. Amir shows him coming to see Rahim as: “a way to end the cycle”. Amir recognizes this as his only way to relieve himself of his guilt and also Babas.
We all are heroes of our own story, and it is a quality seen in many movies and books. The hero's journey is about progress and passage. This journey involves a separation from the unknown, known world, and a series of phases the hero must go through . Each stage of the journey must be passed successfully if the person is to become a hero. In “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, the main character Amir faces a series of trials and goes through obstacles where the concept of his childhood dies. Amir's mother passes away during his birth, and his left with the suspicion that his father blames him for her death. Amir longes for his father's attention and approval, but does not receive any affection as a son. He grows up with his Hazara best friend, Hassan. In Afghanistan culture, Hazaras are considered lower class and inferiors in society. Amir describes his friendship with Hassan saying, “then he would remind us that there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break." (20). Amir first refuses the call of action due to being afraid of the adventure ahead of him. Call to action is the very first step of the hero's journey, where the hero is disrupted and the
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.
Redemption is gaining honor and self-forgiveness through a selfless act that reflects off of one’s regretful actions of their past. In the novel, The Kite Runner, Amir is the main character who goes through many life struggles and mistakes, then finds himself on a road to redemption. Amir and Hassan were best friends throughout their childhood and Hassan was the honorable, trusting best friend, the one to always take a stand for what he believed was right. Amir’s lack of courage caused him to stay silent in the worst of times, letting Hassan get tortured for the things he did not deserve. The themes of sacrifice, honor and redemption are carried out in many ways throughout this novel being shown through the actions of Hassan, Baba, and Amir.
(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 sin 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.
Over the course of the novel, Baba implies that he is not proud of Amir and the only reason he knows Amir is his son, is because he witnessed Amir 's birth. He states to Rahim Khan that he thinks Amir needs to stand up for himself more often. Countless times during the novel, Amir feels like he has to fight for his affection, that he has to earn Baba’s love. In order to prove himself worthy of affection and to redeem himself for not being a son Baba could be proud of, Amir yearns to win the kite runner competition. He reminisces on a memory, when all “I saw was the blue kite. All I smelled was victory. Salvation. Redemption” (65). In the aftermath of Hassan’s rape, Amir got rid of Hassan so he would not have to face the cause of his guilt on a daily basis. Amir buries the secret of the rape deep within him, where he hopes that it will not come back to haunt him, which is not the case. “We had both sinned and betrayed. But Baba had found a way to create good out of his remorse. What had I done, other than take my guilt out on the very same people I had betrayed, and then try to forget it all? What had I done, other than become an insomniac? What had I ever done to right things?” (303). As mentioned earlier, Amir is not one who stands up for himself. In order for Amir to redeem himself for betraying Hassan, and not standing up for him earlier,
“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.
...mption comes up over and over. This holds true for Soraya, who needs Amir to forgive her before she can marry him and Rahim Khan, who needs Amir to forgive him for keeping Baba's secret before he dies. "I know that in the end, God will forgive. He will forgive your father, me, and you too ... Forgive your father if you can. Forgive me if you wish. But most important, forgive yourself." Amir is not able to forgive himself until the very end of the novel, and then sees and feels his redemption.
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
A large part of the novel deals with Amir trying to redeem himself. First with his Baba by trying to win the kite fighting tournament because Amir feels as though his father blames him for his mothers death. The the larger act of redemption occurs when trying to rid himself of the guilt of letting Hassan be rape...