Amir spends most of his adult life trying to forget about his cowardice during Hassan’s rape, yet he is awarded with a physical reminder of Hassan. After recuperating from Assef’s attack he endures to rescue Sohrab, Amir has a scar that resembles the one Hassan had during childhood. This is both ironic and symbolic. His new scar makes him like Hassan, similar to how his rescue of Sohrab (bravery) made him like Hassan. Amir rescued Sohrab from the same perpetrator, Assef, that Hassan did for him. The event is further ironic because both Sohrab and Hassan use a slingshot to save Amir. The slingshot represents two generations and symbolizes standing up for what is morally right. Amir’s scar can be viewed as a --- of courage and dignity. He is
The Kite Runner is a rite of passage novel, yet shares similar characteristics to a bildungsroman. The novel illustrates Amir’s journey from a childhood error that haunts him until he is mature--- enough to attempt for redemption.
“For you a thousand times over!” (67) is explicitly related to the theme of absolution. Hassan first utters this after the legendary kite flying competition. He offers to run Amir’s last kite, a favor that isolates and makes him susceptible to an attack from Assef. The Hitler enthusiast sodomizes Hassan while Amir covertly watches, --- to do anything. Later--- in the novel, Amir tries to redeem himself with Sohrab, who is the prime symbol of redemption that will clear up Amir’s debt. The kite flying competition at the end of the novel is a deliberate echo of the past. Amir and Hassan’s roles are now switched; Amir is Sohrab’s kite runner. To show repentance, Amir tells Sohrab the same-----. This reinstated phrase conveys that the love Amir has for Sohrab parallels Hassan’s devotion to Amir. Amir recognizes that Hassan’s one desire would be that his son is cared for. By rescuing Sohrab from Afghanistan and adopting him, Amir has proven his loyalty and
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
Amir goes through many events that take place in the book that change him, and the way he is perceived within the book. Amir is a young boy, who is tortured by his father’s scrutinizing character. Amir is also jealous of Hassan, because of the fact that his father likes Hassan instead of Amir. Amir fights for his father’s approval, interest, and love. This is when Amir changes for the good as he deals with the guilt of the rape of Hassan. Amir witnessed Hassan getting raped, but decides to nothing in order to win over his father’s interest. The guilt that Amir builds up is carries from his premature times as a child to his mature times. From Afghanistan to
Amir’s development from being “a boy who won’t stand up for himself,” to a man that stands up for the morally responsible thing to do (22, Hosseini). When Amir was a child, he tried to escape from his sins in the past by hiding them with lies. However, this only made it worse for Amir, causing him to be an insomniac for much of his life and putting himself through constant torment. Only when Amir became a man, like Baba wanted him to be, was Amir able to face the truth of what he done and put himself on the path of redemption. Even when Amir was suffering a violent beating from Assef, Amir was able to laugh because he knew he was doing what he should have for Hassan years ago. Amir’s development from a child, who lies in order to cower from their own mistakes, into a man, someone who is not only able to admit his sins, but atone for them, is essential to communicating the theme of redemption being the only way to settle with your
Flying kites was a source of Amir 's happiness as a child as well as a way to attain his father’s approval. In Kabul, Afghanistan, a kite flying tournament was held annually. Young boys laced their string with glass and attempted to cut the strings of other kite flyers. That last on standing was deemed the champion and the idol of all the younger children. Before Amir competed in his kite tournament, Baba said, “I think maybe you 'll win the tournament this year. What do you think?” (Hosseini, 50) Amir took this opportunity and told himself that, “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 his son was worthy. Then maybe my life as a ghost in this house would finally be over.” (Hosseini, 50) Amir wanted the approval and affection of his father badly enough that he was willing to allow Hassan to get raped in order to attain it. After this kits became the symbol of Amir 's betrayal to Hassan. The kite ultimately becomes the way that Amir connects with Sohrab, mirroring how Amir connected with Baba when he was a
When Amir and Hassan were young, there was another boy their age, Assef, who was always looking for a time to get them alone and beat them. One day Assef and the other two boys of his posse found Amir and Hassan alone in an alley. They were about to beat them when suddenly “Hassan held the sling shot pointed directly at Assef’s face” (Hosseini 42). Hassan showed his bravery and courage when he stood up to Assef, and what Amir did not know at the time was that he, too would have a chance to save his best friend. Later on in the novel, Hassan was running the last kite of the tournament that Amir had cut down because he knew that it was Amir’s only way to please Baba, his father. On his way back to Amir with the kite, Assef and two other boys cornered Hassan in an alley. What Hassan did not know was that Amir was watching the boys do very disturbing things to him and did nothing about it. Many times Hassan is compared to a sheep or a lamb, which is a symbol of sacrifice in many different religions. Amir described it as “the look of the lamb” (Hosseini 76) when he saw Hassan’s face while getting raped. This symbolization represents Hassan’s willingness to give up his purity and self-worth for his best friend, who at the time would not have done the same. It also displays Amir’s extreme lack of
...he last words of the novel, suggesting that Amir has finally atoned for his sins and found his redemption. He is no longer running away from his past, but rather running towards the future and his new life with Sohrab. He will be as loyal to Sohrab as Hassan was to him.
There are many parallels between the first half of Amir’s life and the second half. Specifically, Hassan runs the blue kite for Amir during their adolescence and later Amir runs the kite for Sohrab. Moreover,
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 loyal servant, he runs like “a coward.” 77.
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.
In Amir’s early childhood, kites represented happiness. Flying kites was his favorite pastime, as it was the only way that he connected fully with Baba, who was once a champion kite fighter. However, the kite takes on a different significance when Amir doesn’t stop Hassan's abusers from raping him in order to prevent the kite from being stolen. The kite serves as a symbol of Amir’s guilt throughout the novel. Hechose his fragile relationship with his father over the well-being of his best friend and half-brother: “Baba and I lived in the same ...
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
... Recovering from this rescue, Amir learns that an orphanage Rahim spoke of does not exist. This leaves him with the issue of what to do with this child. Amir ponders to himself, “I wondered what I'd do with the little wounded boy on the bed, though a part of me already knew” (Hosseini, 328). Related to redemption, this quote foreshadows that Amir will adopt and take Sohrab home. For what is he to do but save his brother's son? To redeem himself of a betrayal long ago Amir knows he has to take in and take care of Sohrab. Thus, foreshadowing is a principal device in evoking the theme of redemption.
Amir’s development through the novel comes with the symbols of the scar from a cleft lip and the kites. The scar on Hassan’s face serves as a point of jealousy for Amir when it came to his relationship with his father. Amir’s father had tried to care for Hassan without alerting people to Hassan’s illegitimacy and Ali’s infertility, but in doing so had alienated Amir, Baba’s known son. Hassan’s scar serves as symbol of redemption, as Amir receives his own scar from defending Sohrab and finally standing up for himself. Amir’s scar represents the end of the climax because Amir was finally able to atone for his sin. Another major symbol in the book are the kites. The kite fighting, running, and kites in general are symbols for Hassan and
In the book Amir can be seen as a troubled young boy who is struggling with a tremendous amount of guilty. It is easy to blame Amir’s actions on his guilty and his father’s lack of love for him. The movie does not allow this. The movie characterizes Amir as a young boy who is to blind by his owns needs to be a decent and noble friend. The movie does not do a good job of showing that Amir felt horribly guilty about what he did to Hassan. It portrays Amir as uncaring and selfish. The movie also changes the depiction of Amir as an adult. While the book shows Amir as a man who has not yet learned to stand for what is right until he comes face to face with his past all over again, the movie jumps the gun and shows the change earlier with the change of a scene. The scene that is changed is when Amir and Farid visit the orphanage where Sohrab is supposed to be. In the scene Amir is the one to try and kill the orphanage owner instead of Farid which takes away from Amir’s cowardice persona that is portrayed in the book. The movie makes Amir seem stronger before his time while the book keeps up his weakling persona until he is faced with a situation he cannot help but stand up to. Similarly the characterization of Hassan is just as lacking as Amir’s in the movie. In the book, Hassan is shown as being selfless beyond a doubt and loyal to a fault.
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...