Faith, for most people is considered an unbreakable bond that one can always fall back on. However, when someone experiences war in all of its ugly forms, their faith is almost always called into question. Whereas Marjane and Elie’s formerly strong beliefs are now a faint and distant hum, Amir’s faith is strong on after his rescue of Sohrab. Because of this, Amir is able to rediscover the faith that had driven him as a young child, whereas Marjane and Elie view their faith as a part of their childhood innocence. These characters’ experiences with faith show how experiences in war can heavily alter what people hold in high regard, in this case, their faith.
Faith is something that most societies around the world describe as indestructible.
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Amir differs from Elie and Marjane, after Amir rescued Sohrab, Amir has rediscovered his religion. After Amir witnessed Hassan’s rape, he began to move away from Allah, as his guilt consumed him. This continued as Afghanistan turned into a country filled with violence and war, as Amir saw his old life shredded to pieces in a matter of days. These traumatizing experiences created great inner turmoil for Amir, thus leading him away from his formerly devout religious beliefs. After going through a long time of no religion, Amir found Sohrab. Even though Amir thought he was only finding Sohrab, he was also finding his nephew, his past, and his faith. Especially after Sohrab’s failed attempt at suicide, “There is a God, there has to be, and now I will pray, I will pray that He forgive that I have neglected Him all of these years, forgive that I have betrayed, lied, and sinned with impunity only to turn to Him now in my hour of need.(346)” Amir’s relationship with religion post-traumatic experiences is very different compared to Marjane and Elie, due to the fact that in order for Amir to move on with his life, he had to find forgiveness. For Amir, he finds the forgiveness and salvation he has been trying to find for years in
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
The way our friends treat us in the face of adversity and in social situations is more revealing of a person’s character than the way they treats us when alone. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, ethnic tensions, nationality, and betrayal become the catalyst that drives and fuels Amir, Assef, and other characters to embark on their particular acts of cruelty. Serving as a way to illustrate the loss of rectitude and humanity, cruelty reveals how easily people can lose their morals in critical circumstances. Through Amir, Assef, and the Taliban’s actions, cruelty displays the truth of a person’s character, uncovering the origin of their cruelty. Amir’s cruelty spurs from his external environment and need for love from his father, choosing
In the novel “Night” by Elie Wiesel, Elie’s and his father’s connection is not a powerful one. It is more of a flexible connection. At the start, they have a feeling of range between them. Elie researches religious beliefs while his dad tends to town in Sighet. They became nearer when they were compelled to keep everything behind in Sighet. Elie and his dad are transferred to a concentration camp, where they became more reliant for one another. The relationship between Elie and his father becomes interesting, suddenly changing from the day of normalcy in Sighet to the day Elie’s father passes away in a camp far away from home. Elie’s relationship with his father becomes ironic. Elie slowly turns into a father figure, a dependent for his dad.
Amir’s core conflict in the novel is an internal conflict between himself and guilt. From the day he is born Amir is tainted with guilt, he admits to this guilt when he says “I always felt like Baba hated me a little. And why not? After all, I had killed his beloved wife, his beautiful princess, hadn’t I?” However his greater guilt comes from his two betrayals of Hassan: watching him get raped and framing him for stealing his birthday money to get him fired. For the next 25 years Amir carries with him the shame and guilt from the winter of
Although divorce has been prevalent in history from the beginnings of the Protestant church, it was a choice many are resistant in making. “Habitation” by Margaret Atwood describes a couple who most likely did not marry when the relationship was mature, rather they did it during the puppy love. Now that it is over, divorce is an option, but it is one they are not willing to take. To avoid a toxic relationship the couple starts to learn how to work together. Atwood presents a theme that “ divorce is a route some do not want to take, and one of the only other options is to work through their difficulties” by using cogent diction, imagery, and sufficient metaphors.
One can argue that Amir needs his experience returning to Kabul to rescue Sohrab as a way to engrain appreciation to his lifestyle in America. This return is the only way for Amir to be cleansed of his sins, as stated in The Kite Runner, “‘Come. There is a way to be good again,’ Rahim Khan had said on the phone just before hanging up. Said it in passing, almost as an afterthought” (Hosseini 192). After weeks of secrecy, a brutal fight, and battles with the immigration office, Amir is able to return to America with a bright perspective of his new home albeit broken, beat, and scarred, and a new adopted child, Sohrab. The developed Amir is brought out with his interaction with General Taheri. In the novel, Amir shows his new found ability to stand up for himself with the quote, “‘And one more thing, General Sahib,’ I said. ‘You will never again refer to him as a ‘Hazara boy’ in my presence. He has a name and it’s Sohrab’” (361). Amir has now with him skills needed to continue his life in America as being independent and the man of the house. The future is bright for Amir, as one can see a fortified, relieved, and joyful version of him compared to the accustomed one in
Queen Elizabeth I was dissimilar to the rulers before her during that time period in England, she was Protestant instead of a Catholic, which most of the kings and queens before her were. Her step-sister, Queen Mary, was really strict and also murdered many people, she then earned the title ‘Bloody Mary’. Elizabeth was especially young when she came to rule. Elizabeth was only seventeen years old when her sister, Queen Mary, died from cancer and she took over to be the Queen of England.
To atone for his past sins, he embarks on a journey back to Afghanistan to redeem himself to Hassan for not treating him the way he was treated. He redeems himself by saving Sohrab and giving him a safer and enjoyable life in the Untied States. Amir tyres to attain redemption to baba for being the cause of his mother’s death as he believes. Gaining his fathers love and care will make him feel redeemed from all of the resentment and lack of care that his father shows to him. He must prove to Baba that he is worthy of spending time with everyday because he feels the hatred that his father shows to him. One way how he gets redemption from his father is by winning the kite running tournament to prove to him that he is worthy of being his son. Amir’s path of redemption is not only directed to other people but personal redemption for himself. He attempts to redeem himself by building an orphanage with his wife Soraya and giving Sohrab the childhood that is safer and more suitable for a young boy to grow up in. Amir has to realize that the past doesn’t define who someone is although you can’t forget the past, the actions that they decide to do to redeem themselves from the past mistakes defines who someone is. If Amir’s mother did not die at birth would he be resented from his father greatly and have to make great
At the beginning he did not posses any heroic qualities, but by taking and accepting the first step of the passage he was able to rediscover his true potential. I believe that Amir came looking to redeem his past mistakes belated, however, he found an alternative way to put himself to peace with his past. I learned that we should stand up for who we are and what we believe to be true. It also learned that the past is unforgettable and immutable. It made me realize that we are all capable of becoming our own hero’s, by simply accepting the call to action and transforming ourselves to return as the best version of who we are. While giving us the chance to explore the
Nikhil has a roller coaster journey with women as he struggles to find one that will be with him forever. In each relationship that he has, there is a purpose for it. With Ruth, the relationship helped him put some space between him and his parents, and put him on his own path. When Maxine came into his life, he found happiness and satisfaction with being accepted into her family. This relationship was probably his best out of the three. Nikhil had a good relationship with Moushumi that resulted in a short marriage, and it brought him closer to his family and the culture that he grew up in. Nikhil grows as a person throughout the book, and each relationship plays a key part in that.
Amir wakes up after fighting Assef in the hospital thinking about Sohrab, “for some reason I can’t think of I want to thank the child” (Hosseini 293). Sohrab is the first thing Amir thinks of when he wakes up in a groggy state in hospital. Sohrab was willing to attempt to save Amir’s life, a man he barely knew, even though it meant risking his own life. In this way, he was able to not only physically save Amir but also mentally because he allows Amir to complete his mission and redeem himself. While struggling against Assef, Amir thinks, “...for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace...I hadn’t been happy and I hadn’t felt better, not at all. But I did now. My body was broken...but I felt healed. Healed at last.” (Hosseini 289). Sohrab feels guilty for what he did to Assef, although it saved himself and Amir. Amir tells him, “There are bad people in this world, some people stay bad. Sometimes you have to stand up for them. What you did to that man is what I should have done to him all those years ago. You gave him what he deserved. He deserved more” (Hosseini 319). While talking to Sohrab, Amir acknowledges that he was wrong and that he could have avoided all his guilt, if he had only stepped in against Assef. But he had not, so part of Amir making up for his sins was to stand up to Assef, and win a fight against him. However, in the end, Sohrab is the one
...rough his actions to save Sohrab, Amir became the man his father had always wanted him to be. Although Baba never lived up to the persona he created for himself, Amir did, and that is why his attempts to achieve atonement were more successful than his father’s. While Baba was unable to seek more than personal redemption, Amir found atonement with himself, Hassan, and God. Amir also found the courage his father lacked to make the necessary sacrifices to achieve redemption. Amir’s ability to transform into a strong character was a result of what he learned from his father’s strengths and weaknesses. While Baba was unable to achieve true redemption, he was a true role model that provided his son, Amir, with the necessary skills to achieve atonement for both of them.
...take maturely instead of leaving for someone else to clean up her mess. I also did not think that she should have come back into Hassan’s life after all those years; Hassan was having a family of his own and she just walks in his life asking for forgiveness and wanting to be a part of his life when she had that chance, but she made the choice to leave. The only one who redeemed himself was Amir. Amir found Hassan’s son; Sohrab and helped him get the pay back that Assef needed after what he did to Hassan that winter many years ago. All though Hassan and his wife are dead and do not get to be in their son’s life, and see what life Sohrab has at least he eventually made right instead of leaving “what if’s “and doubts of uncertainty in people’s minds. Deep down I do believe Amir wanted to do something that winter but was really just too afraid to stand up for a Hazara.
However there are some characters that become better people and change becoming a better, stronger, more loyal individual in the end. The individual that demonstrates this development within this novel is Amir himself. All of the guilt Amir holds with him as a child allow him to realize his duty to be loyal to his brother Hassan ion the end. An example of this is when Amir goes back to Kabul, Afghanistan to retrieve his nephew Sohrab. Amir says, “I remembered Wahid’s boys and… I realized something. I would not leave Afghanistan without finding Sohrab.’ tell me where he is,’ I said” (Hosseini 255). Here, Amir is at the orphanage waiting to find out where Taliban has taken his nephew. Amir remembers the three young starving sons of Wahid, a man whose home he had been in earlier, and realized that Afghanistan is not a safe place for Sohrab. Amir is finally aware of one thing, Hassan has always been there to protect Amir like a loyal friend and brother would and now Amir knows that it is his turn to return that loyalty to Hassan by protecting Hassan’s flesh and blood. A second example of Amir’s loyalty to Hassan near the ending of the book is during Amir’s confrontation with General Sahib and the dinner table after Sohrab is safe in America with him. Amir proclaims to General Sahib, “…That boy sleeping on the couch
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.