Joshua Glunt Nelson Kite Runner Essay 18 April 2018 Persistence of the Past “So we beat on boats against the current borne back ceaselessly into the past”- F. Scott Fitzgerald. In the novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini; two characters constantly live their lives looking back to the past, hindering them in their lives in the present. Amir is overcome with guilt because of past actions, making him unable to live in the present. Sohrab, on the other hand, is affected by the past so much it cripples him. Amir and Sohrab display the theme of the constant persistence of the past; as each character finds their identity in the past. Amir’s guilt over past actions causes him to be unable to put the past behind him, which is the reason …show more content…
Amir displays his past identity when he says “That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now I realize I’ve been peeking into that dessert alley for the last twenty-six years” (Hosseini 1). The phrase “the past claws its way out” shows how despite any effort from Amir to conceal his past, the past always comes back to him. Even 26 years after the incident with Assef and Hassan, the event still haunts him and remains a part of Amir’s life. Amir struggles to find a new identity, one without guilt for past actions. Amir describes his guilt when he says “I watched Hassan get raped,’ I said to no one. Baba stirred in his sleep. Kaka Homayoun grunted. A part of me was hoping someone would would wake up and hear, so I wouldn’t have to live with this lie anymore. But no one woke up and in the silence that followed, I understood the nature of my new curse: I was going to get away with it” (86). Amir comes to the realization that his guilt will be with him forever. Amir describes it as a “curse”, which can be interpreted as an identity; an identity …show more content…
The reason for Sohrab’s traumatization is explained when it says “Sohrab danced in a circle, eyes closed, danced until the music stopped. The bells jingled one final time when he stomped his foot with the song’s final note” (280). Sohrab was bought by the Taliban and made a sex slave. Sohrab will always remember those moments and it certainly affects him throughout the rest of the novel. The effects of his “enslavement” is shown when Amir says to Sohrab “You’re not dirty, and you’re not full of sin.’ I touched his arm again and he drew away” (320). Sohrab described himself as “dirty” and “full of sin” which shows that he believes that he is to blame for what the Taliban did to him, however that is certainly not the case. Sohrab is also psychologically damaged and will now have trust issues for the foreseeable future. Sohrab is also severally affected by the loss of his parents when he says “Please promise you won’t! Oh, God, Amir agha! Please promise you won’t!” (342). Sohrab is afraid of being abandoned again, which is another example of the past affecting Sohrab’s life. Over and over again, Sohrab pleads with Amir to “promise” that he will not leave him and send him to an orphanage; Sohrab’s need for assurance shows that he has been lied to before either by the Taliban or his parents. Sohrab’s recovery from his tragic past is displayed when it
Redemption: The novel begins with an adult Amir looking back on the events of his childhood. He is trying desperately to ignore his unatoned sins, but realizes that “it’s wrong what they say about the past.about how you can bury it”. Because the past claws its way out”(Hosseini 1).
Betrayal, redemption, and forgiveness are all major themes in The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini. The novel also focuses around the theme of a broken relationship between father and son as well as facing difficult situations from ones past. Amir and Hassan are best friends with two completely different personalities. Each character in the novel faces their own hardships and eventually learns to overcome those difficulties. Beginning with betrayal then the characters have to make their way to gaining redemption and forgiveness from others, as well as their self, is carried on throughout the novel. It is a continuous story of the relationships between Amir and his father Baba and facing their challenges from the past every day of their present.
Actions made in a moment of pain, anger or simple immaturity can take anyone to make mistakes that can change their lives completely. Everyone has something in the past that is shameful, embarrassing and regrettable that is kept present daily. Whether this event happened during childhood, adolescence or early adulthood, this event could haunt and have shaped that person’s life into what he or she is today. In a similar way, in the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is shaped by a tragic and eventful past that has shaped Amir’s, Baba’s, and Hassan’s life. The four literary elements that will be used in this essay that Hosseini strategically uses in this book are: irony, simile, Metaphor, and personification.
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 watches Hassan get raped which leads him trying to find some sort of way to get rid of his guilt. All of this is caused by him knowing what he did was wrong. It shows Amir admits his guilt after it happens and he tries to relieve himself of it: “In his arm I forgot what I'd done. And that was good.” It shows him trying to get relief through hassan hurting him with a pomegranate. It shows Hassan knows this when he says “Are you satisfied? Do you feel better?” Amir keeps looking for ways throughout the entire book to relieve his guilt.
Sohrab is a Hazara who endured many painful experiences throughout his life, regarding his position in society and family events. Sohrab has been raped and tortured throughout his life with the witnessing the death of his parents and living in an orphanage for the duration of his life. He still lives through every day of the pain and suffering he endures, “I want my old life back”(373). Sohrab displays courage because he still lives his life without the guidance and love from his parents. It has been seen though Amir that Sohrab and attained some of Hassan's traits, such as his eyes, personality and the way he carries himself. Sohrab shows Hassan's traits in him when he stands up to Assef, who is now the leader of the Taliban, “No more, Agha please” (304). Sohrab has the courage to stand up to Assef and save Amir who is a stranger at the time. He has been following the same values Hassan has always had which is to be kind, thoughtful and to always follow what’s right. Even though Sohrab has changed as a person through all the events he has been through, he has shown he never lost the ability to care or the ability to stand up for values that go against teaching. Sohrab established he was courageous in the novel, but one way he is brave is for going to America to live with Amir and Soraya. This is an example of true bravery for showing he is strong enough to start a new life in a
Amir shows proves his redemption in the most human way he could. He took responsibility for his actions, went through the worst to fix his actions, and took the consequences for his actions, which may in the end was rewarding. Amir is admired by the reader, because not everyone can do what he did. He certainly proved he had good in him the entire time and was just caught up with moment. Amir achieved redemption and was rewarded with an undeniable bond with his
“The guilty one is not the one who commits the sin, but the one who causes the darkness.” – Victor Hugo. In The Kite Runner, the theme of guilt and redemption is shown through the character development of the protagonist Amir. Hosseini used Amir’s guilt of his past to grow the impression that with regret lies a hope for redemption. Amir is a man who is haunted by the demons of his past.
Amir now has the 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 Kabul. Amir is able to purge his sin of silence and lying by using his newfound life to forget all that has occurred in Kabul. This new land of opportunity also brings Baba and Amir closer, for they need to look out for each other as a way to be successful and survive in the land of the free.
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
Context: In the first chapter of The Kite Runner, Amir the protagonist recalls a memory/event that change his life forever and is part of with him today. This memory/event haunts Amir for a while.
In the beginning of the novel Amir tells the reader, ¨But there was something fascinating-albeit in a sick way- about teasing Hassan (Hosseini 54).¨ This quote shows the thoughts of a purely evil and insane human being. These thoughts represent the thoughts of childhood bully or a serial killer. This quote should not be taken lightly. The enjoyment of one interrogating another from a young age is proven to positively correlate to the amount felony crimes one commits later in life. This shows the just a ¨scared little kid¨ excuse does not work here. This quote hints that when Amir is fleeing from the rape, he honestly does not care what happens to him. In fact he states, ¨I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me.¨ Amir was not afraid of the traumatic event that was happening, but what happened to him. In contrast, by the end of the story the reader is drawn to believe Amir's actions were justifiable due to his age. In fact in Rahim Khan´s letter he says, ¨Do not forget that you were a boy when it happened. A troubled little boy.¨ The author most likely includes this statement justify Amir´s suffering, while also conveying that Amir has changed. The words ¨were troubled little boy¨ assert that Amir´s actions were wrong but justifiable due to his age and changing persona. The ¨troubled little boy¨ is now in the past and Amir is starting to look like a morally good character. As conveyed in the letter, Amir's journey to adopt Hassan´s son is redeeming the guilt of his troubled childhood and bestowing him the status of being a good character. Due to Amir´s contradicting personas in early childhood and adulthood, Amir represents a morally ambiguous character as he cannot be distinguished as ¨morally good¨ or ¨purely evil. This ambiguity gives the reader a more likable character in which they can relate to. This helps the reader get a better understanding of the story due to their
And why not? After all I had killed his beloved wife, his beautiful princess, hadn’t I? The least I could have done was to have had the decency to have turned out more like him. But I hadn’t turned out like him. Not at all.” In this part of the novel, Amir blames himself for his mother’s death and feels guilt for it. Amir also believes this is another reason why he needs to redeem himself to be the perfect son for his father. He believes Baba blames him for it and always thinks about it and how it may have affected his distant
Amir then decides to forget about his sin because he thinks nothing can be done now that it is already committed. A while later, Amir and Baba moved to America because of the ongoing war in Afghanistan. . He tries to start a new life over there, “For me, America was a place to bury my memories.” (129).
There are many conflicts with Amir such as, him craving his father's attention and his father's approval, the problems he faced with Hassan such as, letting him take the blame