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. The themes that are similar in both of the novels are that guilt is detrimental to oneself and that redemption is key to happiness. These points are especially …show more content…
However, Dimmesdale is negatively affected by not facing any consequences. Dimmesdale becomes incredibly diseased and is not in a correct state of mind as he was “suffering under [a] bodily disease”(Hawthorne 66) and “looked now more careworn and emaciated” (Hawthorne 103) than ever before. These descriptions prove that Dimmesdale’s health is deteriorating at a very fast rate and that he is a very depressed man at this point because of all the guilt piling up inside of him. In addition to his disease, Dimmesdale is adversely affected by the punishments that he puts on himself. He begins to flog himself and deprive himself of sleep and food as a way to get rid of his guilt. He even draws a red mark on his chest as a way to punish himself. This red mark proves to be an important symbol in the novel as it symbolizes Dimmesdale’s own way of revealing his sin to the outside world and the extent of how far one person would go to get rid of sin and guilt. However, none of his techniques prove to get rid of the guilt and sin in his soul. Because of his emaciated stage and the guilt in his soul, Dimmesdale finally …show more content…
Amir also committed a sin that affected him negatively throughout his life. This sin occurred when Hassan, Amir’s best friend during his childhood, was getting raped by Assef. This situation occurred when the children were chasing kites. Hassan got the kite first, but Assef insisted that he wanted the kite. Assef also had a racial and religious prejudice against Hassan. Because Hassan did not give the kite, Assef decides to rape Hassan as a “punishment”. Instead of helping his friend out, Amir just walked away from the scene and let Hassan get violated in one of the most vulgar ways. After this incident, Hassan quietly walked back home and gave Amir the kite for which he was confronted by Assef for. The kite in this situation proves to be an important symbol. Whereas earlier in the novel the kite represented happiness and fun to Amir, in this situation it represented sin and guilt to Amir. The only reason that Hassan got raped was that he was trying to get a kite for Amir. Now the kite acts a reminder to Hassan of his wrong-doing and it will now begin to haunt him for a long time. Although when in America, Amir does not get reminded about Hassan, deep inside he still feels guilty. Amir immediately begins to feel the most guilt when he goes to Iran when Rahim Khan, Amir’s childhood friend, asks him to come. He feels that Rahim Khan has reminded him of his “past of unatoned sins”(Hosseini 2).
Novel The Kite Runner Essay 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 of the protagonist of the novel, Amir. He is seeking redemption for betraying his childhood best friend and half-brother Hassan.
Redemption is a rather broad statement, despite how a dictionary may define it, because it always depends on the situation at hand. When the word “redeem” or “redemption” is heard, people often think of renewal, or refreshing. With a well-rounded analysis, it is see often that redemption can be a horrid punishment, a soul-cleansing reward, or sometimes not even needed in the first place, all depending on who seeks it and what for.
Guilt is a result of sin, and sin is a result of misaction. In the novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the protagonist, Amir, goes on a journey to redeem himself for his sins. When Amir was 12, he witnessed his best friend, Hassan, get raped in an alley. Instead of standing up for his friend, Amir ran away in selfishness and cowardice. The guilt of his choice plagues Amir for the rest of his life, until one day, he gets a call from an old uncle, who tells him that “there is a way to be good again.” (2) The Kite Runner follows Amir on his odyssey to redeem himself for his hurtful actions. Through this journey, Khaled Hosseini delivers the message that sins and guilt can always be atoned for.
“For you, a thousand times over.” In The Kite Runner by Kahled Hosseini, there is a recurring theme of redemption that is portrayed by various literary devices. Kahled excellently juxtaposes devices such as irony, symbolism, and foreshadowing to show redemption within his first novel.
The basic ideas of the two novels are also similar. They have to do with rebellion against the so-called perfect new world and the sanctuary
Past experiences can affect all of us. Some more than others, but the ones that haunt us are the ones that we all have in common. After something tragic happens or something you feel you could have helped in but failed, you feel guilt. A prime example of guilt after events is in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini because the actions that Amir does afterwards that are influenced by his guilt.. It all starts with Amir not standing up for Hassan when Hassan gets bullied, then he walks away instead of backing up Hassan when he is attacked in an alley, those two events build up a lot of guilt inside him to the point where he decides to frame Hassan for stealing his watch just to get rid of Hassan. Although Amir feels regret for doing such a thing,
In Amir’s early childhood, kites represented happiness. Flying kites was his favorite pastime, as it was the only way that he connected fully with Baba, who was once a champion kite fighter. However, the kite takes on a different significance when Amir doesn’t stop Hassan's abusers from raping him in order to prevent the kite from being stolen. The kite serves as a symbol of Amir’s guilt throughout the novel. Hechose his fragile relationship with his father over the well-being of his best friend and half-brother: “Baba and I lived in the same ...
The kite is a piece of allegory throughout the book. It symbolizes the way for Amir to be good enough for his father and reminder of his happiness. After Hassan was raped the meaning of kite changed reminding Amir that he betrayed Hassan. At the end of the book Amir is flying a kite with Sorab symbolizing his hope that he has redeemed himself.
In order to completely redeem himself, Amir has to tell the truth and apologize directly to Hassan. However, now that Hassan has passed, Amir doesn’t have a chance to do that. Amir saves Sohrab's life by rescuing the boy from Assef, but that is what he does for Sohrab, not Hassan. His half-brother had still been assaulted by Assef, shot and is now dead. That truth is unchangeable, so Amir will never be able to completely atone for his past sins. Despite the fact that he can never completely erase the sins in his childhood, he is changing as a person and is becoming stronger. When fighting Assef, he narrates, “... What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace. I laughed because I saw that, in some hidden nook in a corner of my mind, I’d even been looking forward to this…” (Hosseini 289). Although he hasn’t fully redeemed himself, he’s at least facing his past, trying his best to fix as much as he could what he did wrong. He even says that he was looking forward to that, knowing that by tolerating the pain, he’s one step closer to paying off his crimes. At the end of the book, Amir again, after 26 years, flies a kite, this time with Hassan's son, Sohrab. The kite is the symbol of his past sins. Amir, who can never close the door on his past of guilt and mistakes, rather reestablishes his memory of
Guilt is the emotion someone experiences after they have done something they believe is morally wrong. People feel guilt when they do something wrong and despite knowing better cause someone else harm, or disappoint someone. People deal with guilt in various ways, but do not necessarily admit what they have done, so they try to overcompensate and do good later on to make up for their mistakes from the past. In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini a young boy named Amir, is haunted by the sins of his past and follows his struggle with the resulting guilt. Guilt causes people to make irrational decisions because it impairs judgment and consumes a person’s life.
Redemption is gaining honor and self-forgiveness through a selfless act that reflects off of one’s regretful actions of their past. In the novel, The Kite Runner, Amir is the main character who goes through many life struggles and mistakes, then finds himself on a road to redemption. Amir and Hassan were best friends throughout their childhood and Hassan was the honorable, trusting best friend, the one to always take a stand for what he believed was right. Amir’s lack of courage caused him to stay silent in the worst of times, letting Hassan get tortured for the things he did not deserve. The themes of sacrifice, honor and redemption are carried out in many ways throughout this novel being shown through the actions of Hassan, Baba, and Amir.
Author: Khaled Hosseini published The Kite Runner in 2003. By 2005 it became the number one New York Times Bestseller. Although this book was his first novel, people still couldn’t get enough of his story about the troubled friendship between two boys. Sylvester Stallone, an American actor, once said, “Most action is based on redemption and revenge, and that's a formula. Moby Dick was formula. It is how you get to the conclusion that makes it interesting”. From time to time mistakes are made every day, and however the story ends will describe your mistakes. In The Kite Runner, the kite is the most important symbol that represents Amir’s past; just like a kite flying in the sky full of soars and dives, Amir's life was the same way as a kite flies.
tart fresh by redeeming their sins. It gives birth to new emotions, experiences, thoughts, and creates n“Atonement of sins create new relationships“
The most evident motifs in both novels are madness, nonacceptance and the concept of betrayal. that
During The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini reinforces the theme of the loss of innocence and redemption. Many characters lose innocence or are the cause of another character losing theirs. Amir both loses his innocence and that of others. His innocence is stolen by his father. In the novel Amir overhears Baba saying, “‘If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son’” (Hosseini 24-25). This affects Amir for his entire life as he tries to compete with Hassan for his father's attention. He does not realize that in doing so, this crumbles his world as he knows it. It makes Amir resentful, calloused, and even cruel, all of which are characteristics of someone who has lost their innocence. In turn, Amir’s loss of innocence causes other to lose their innocence because of his lack of courage and disregard for others feelings.