Betrayal In The Kite Runner

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The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini, has important themes of redemption, guilt, and betrayal. The plot of the story revolves around Amir’s betrayal of his best friend Hassan. Amir is plagued of guilt because of his actions, and does not seem to know how to resolve the situation until his friend Rahim Khan gives him a way. Amir strives to redeem himself in Baba’s eyes by proving he has the courage to stand up for what is right. Throughout the novel, many characters are haunted by their past memories. Amir is constantly troubled with his memory of his best friend Hassan’s rape. Rape occurs several times throughout the novel and is present as the ultimate act of violence. The main betrayal is when Amir watches as Hassan is raped and does …show more content…

Throughout Amir’s childhood, he tried to redeem himself to his father for his mother’s death during his birth. After Hassan is raped, he spends his whole life trying to redeem himself for his betrayal of his faithful friend. In chapter 7 Amir says, “I caught a glimpse of his face and saw the resignation in it. It was a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb.” (76) This quote shows the foreshadowing of a sacrifice that was going to be made. The lamb was the sacrifice for Abraham. Both Hassan and Sohrab are innocents who are sacrificed by being raped, but these sacrifices have very different meanings. Amir sacrifices Hassan for the blue kite. But in Sohrab’s circumstance, Amir is the one who discontinues his sexual abuse. The sacrifice is portrayed as the misuse of the innocents. Amir is still haunted by his wrongdoings, even after he has settled down in America and has started a new life as a writer. One day his friend Rahim Khan calls him on the phone explaining a way he can redeem himself back in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan he learns that Hassan his brother. He also finds out that Hassan and his wife were shot, leaving his son Sohrab in an orphanage. Amir decides a way to redeem himself is to take Sohrab from the orphanage. Amir’s redemption is tested when he is forced to fight Assef to save Sohrab. The author uses the quote “what I saw was Hassan with his slingshot pointed at Assaef’s face” to show how Hassan was there in the moment to help him survive (286). It is ironic that the person who haunts his dreams, is the person he must get by to save his nephew. He is beaten by Assef but stands his ground as he has been destined for this abuse. For the first time, Amir has sacrificed himself for Hassan. Amir later realizes that to completely redeem himself he must adopt Sohrab. By accepting this fact, Amir displays the ultimate courage and redeems

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