The Struggle for Redemption in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner

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In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, Amir constantly struggles for years with a personal memory of his past until he ultimately confronts his guilt and achieves redemption. The event of Hassan being raped lingers in Amir’s mind and the guilt of not standing up for what was right continues to haunt him. Baba said “a boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything” (21). Amir only wanted Baba’s affection and in order to get it he sacrificed Hassan, not realizing that Baba only wanted his son to stand up for himself. Hassan’s sacrifice was further proof of how Amir is a coward. Amir knew this too when he said “I could step into the alley, standup for Hassan- the way he’d stood up for me all those times past- and accept whatever would happen to me” (77). Amir’s betrayal characterized him as a coward. After the incident,Amir never told anyone what happened. Amir’s way of coping with the guilt was to push Hassan out of his life which eventually breaks the strong bond between him and Hassan. He took advantage of his new life in America by trying to forget...

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