In Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, the theme, “true redemption is when guilt leads to good” (302) had a major affect on Amir. Feeling endless guilt is tiring; it clings to a person and drags him or her down constantly. Amir felt endless remorse for the way he treated Hassan and tried to find redemption his whole life, but did not succeed until he went back to Kabul to find Sohrab. Throughout the story, Hosseini uses Amir to develop the theme through three different stages, including, cowardice, personality change, and redemption. Acting like a coward during his childhood led Amir to feel guilty, which is why he searched for redemption the rest of his life. Amir felt most guilty after he watched Assef rape Hassan, and it mentally tore …show more content…
In the beginning, Amir acted very immature when he wanted Hassan to hit him with the pomegranates. “Hit me back!...Get up! Hit me!” (92). Amir did not do it for fun or to harass Hassan. He hoped Hassan would retaliate back so Amir could feel justice for the way he treated Hassan. “Maybe then things could return to how they used to be between us” (92). Instead of Hassan throwing a pomegranate at Amir, he smashed it against his head. He tried to hurt Hassan so Hassan would retaliate and hurt him back. However, Hassan did not give into Amir’s childish actions or give him the satisfaction he wanted. Towards the end, though, Amir’s personality changed drastically. He not only grew into the person Baba wanted him to be, but also the man he wanted to be. Amir finally felt good about himself and had the courage to stand up for himself and other people. When Amir said “for you, a thousand times over” (371), he ran down a kite for Sohrab. Amir sacrificed his life for Sohrab, just as Hassan made many sacrifices for Amir. Rahim Khan says, “Come. There is a way to be good again” (192), and it fits the theme well by showing Amir is trying to fix his mistakes and, essentially, find
Throughout The Kite Runner this theme is shown many times without this aspect and understanding of this part of the book it would be incomprehensible. Amir eventually learns how to cope with his own guilt and his
The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, shows how lying and deceit is a counterproductive route when trying to live with a dreadful past, exhibited through the actions of Amir. Amir’s decision to withhold the truth and blatantly lie in several situations due to jealousy and his desire for Baba to be proud of him amounts to further pain and misery for himself and those he deceives. Because of Amir’s deceit towards Baba and Hassan, his guilt from his past manifests itself into deeply-rooted torment, not allowing him to live his life in peace. The guilt from Amir’s past is only alleviated when he redeems his sins by taking in Sohrab, contributing to the theme that the only way “to be good again” is through redemption, not shunning the past.
Going through all these different motifs, it taught Amir many different lessons, good and bad. But in the end, Amir finally is able to let go of his guilt and make his awful choice to not help Hassan in his time of need, have somewhat of a better outcome. In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini’s repeated the use of rape, sickness, and sacrifice to represent many different things throughout the novel.
Amir's actions showed how much of a coward he was. Amir suffered his whole life living with the guilt of knowing that Hassan was raped, much like Baba lived his whole life in guilt knowing that he stole the truth from Ali by committing adultery. Baba ran from the truth, and so did Amir to protect the family name, even if that meant betraying the people closest to him. Baba was a man more worried about his image than anything, and that is what he taught his son as well. Slowly that is all Amir knew how to do: protect his family and himself, leading him into a life of guilt, and running from people when situations were challenging, instead of making the admirable decision and help a
“There is a Way to be Good Again”: Past Actions and Redemption in Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. In The Kite Runner, Amir, Baba and Sanaubar’s past actions all negatively affect those that are close to them, yet it is not their past that defines them, rather it is how they decide to amend their wrongdoings that reflects more on their character. After Hassan’s rape, Amir spends the rest of his life trying to redeem himself for the betrayal of his loyal friend and does so after saving Hassan’s son Sohrab.
Some people believe they can escape their past, but if one does not atone for their sins, the guilt will engulf them and stay with them forever. In The Kite Runner, Amir, the main protagonist, tries to forget about his past and move on. Hassan, his best friend and Amir’s foil, is loyal and brave while Amir is weak and a coward. Amir’s father, Baba, is also an honorable man, however, who keeps the secret about Hassan being his son to everyone, including him. Amir betrays Hassan because he believes Hassan is a sacrifice he has to make to win his father’s affection.
Guilt is a strong emotion that affects many people around the world. It can either lead people into a deep and dark abyss that can slowly deteriorate people or it can inspire them to achieve redemption. Guilt and redemption are two interrelated subjects that can show the development of the character throughout a novel. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, are two literary works that convey the connections between guilt and redemption and show the development of the character by using theme and symbolism that are present in the novels.
Amir was most affected by guilt and redemption, he felt guilty for majority of his life. The guilt changed Amir 's personality from a happy and energetic little boy to a sad and lonely one. The guilt made Amir lose his greatest friend and basically ruined his life because the thought was always in his mind. Amir 's personality changed mainly in Chapter 11 when Baba and Amir moved to California (Chapter 11). The personality change stemmed from the new environment as well as Amir 's maturing as an adult. The guilt and redemption taught many life lessons to Amir. The most important life lessons that Amir learned were about loyalty and second chances. Throughout the novel you see the use of loyalty to the most extremist levels especially when dealing with Hassan and Amir 's friendship. Hassan was loyal to Amir even to his dying day no matter what the circumstances. Amir also learned that there is always a second chance regardless to whatever transpires. The novel shows how second chances are important from Baba fathering Hassan to Amir going to save Sohrab from the Taliban , giving him a second chance at a childhood and a normal life. The use of these life lessons in the book motivate the characters but it allows for their personality and conscious to be
Guilt can either paralyze or catalyze a person, depending on their character and sense of identity. Throughout Hossenini’s The Kite Runner, Amir’s continual search for redemption shapes his identity both as a child and as an adult. During his childhood, Amir longs to redeem himself in the eyes of his father and searches for love and acceptance. During his adolescence, Amir desires redemption for betraying Hassan, but does not know how to rid himself of his guilt and cowardice. Lastly, during his adulthood, Amir’s internal struggle with guilt casts a shadow on the success of his life in America and ultimately causes him to return to Afghanistan in order to redeem his past.
Guilt is the emotion that a person feels when they are responsible for an action that has violated some set of standards. Khaled Hosseini conveys this through his novel, The Kite Runner, by following a young Afghan boy and the events that surround him with the build up of guilt that continue to follow him as he ages.The consequence of guilt is that it stays with the person for the rest of their life, but one way of getting rid of its weight is to use the past to make the future better by acting upon it in the present. As seen in both Baba's and Amir's actions throughout the novel, guilt can propel actions in order to ease the burden the person had experienced.
Throughout the beginning of “The kite Runner” and towards the midway there is a reoccurring theme of redemption. The main character Amir, during the middle of the novel struggles with the guilt of breaking the best friendship he had ever had with the only person who had always been there for him. The horrible memory he had created as a young boy still haunt him throughout his adulthood in the United States. The theme of redemption is most prominent when his friend, Rahim Khan calls Amir telling him, “there is a way to be good again.” (Chapter 14). This is the initiating incident driving Amir back to Afghanistan to finds Hassan’s son and the introduction to one of the main themes of redemption. Amir finally gaining the courage to do the right thing by saving Hassan’s son at the cost, he
...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.
To begin, the first instance of redemption is found and portrayed through irony. As Amir's mother died giving birth to him, he has always felt guilty. Leading up to the annual kite-fighting tournament, Amir feels as if winning will redeem her death, and solidify his relationship with Baba. When he comes upon Hassan who is cornered by Assef, Amir feels as if his rape might be justified: “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay to win Baba. Or was it a fair price?” (Hosseini, 82) If Amir gains the kite, he wins Baba's heart. Ironically, the sacrifice of Hassan is the catalyst to Amir's need for redemption. Instead of redeemi...
In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, there are several major themes. One of the themes that stands out the most is redemption. This theme is shown through the thoughts and actions from the protagonist of the novel, Amir. He is seeking redemption for betraying his childhood best friend and half-brother Hassan. Due to Amir’s cowardice during Hassan’s rape, he feels guilty for committing the vilest sin in Afghan culture. “I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan – the way he 'd stood up for me all those times in the past – and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran. I ran because I was a coward” (Hosseini 77). Deep down, Amir feels as if he should have done something, and because of his nagging guilt he is not able to lead a peaceful life. He
Over the course of the novel, Baba implies that he is not proud of Amir and the only reason he knows Amir is his son, is because he witnessed Amir 's birth. He states to Rahim Khan that he thinks Amir needs to stand up for himself more often. Countless times during the novel, Amir feels like he has to fight for his affection, that he has to earn Baba’s love. In order to prove himself worthy of affection and to redeem himself for not being a son Baba could be proud of, Amir yearns to win the kite runner competition. He reminisces on a memory, when all “I saw was the blue kite. All I smelled was victory. Salvation. Redemption” (65). In the aftermath of Hassan’s rape, Amir got rid of Hassan so he would not have to face the cause of his guilt on a daily basis. Amir buries the secret of the rape deep within him, where he hopes that it will not come back to haunt him, which is not the case. “We had both sinned and betrayed. But Baba had found a way to create good out of his remorse. What had I done, other than take my guilt out on the very same people I had betrayed, and then try to forget it all? What had I done, other than become an insomniac? What had I ever done to right things?” (303). As mentioned earlier, Amir is not one who stands up for himself. In order for Amir to redeem himself for betraying Hassan, and not standing up for him earlier,