Redemption: The Kite Runner

“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime...” (Hosseini 6) In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir witnesses the rape of hassan by three other children and then did not tell anyone about it because he was too afraid. Not only will this event leave a scar on Amir’s heart and soul but will be a weight on his shoulders for the rest of his life. As he transitions from childhood to adulthood, Amir will learn to eventually let go of his guilt and the sense of betrayal he feels inside him. When forced into challenging situations maturity influenced Amir to let go of his past and forgive. Even people who consider themselves to be weak can redeem themselves when challenging opportunities arise. His attempt to deal with his guilt by avoiding it does nothing toward redeeming himself, and thus his guilt endures which is why he cringes every time Hassan’s name is mentioned. The development of Amir to become good again in the transition from adolescence to adulthood accounts for the forgiveness and redemption by making right his past wrongs against Hassan by saving Hassan’s son Sohrab, indicating that even people who are weak can change their foolish ways.

Amir initially, demonstrates his betrayal to Hassan and forces himself to believe that the reason he ran away was due to him being a coward. “I ran because I was a coward and thats what I made myself believe” (Hosseini 77). Amir also betrayed Hassan because he new that he

would not be able to help Hassan. The fear of not being able to help Hassan proves that Amir was not courageous enough to endure in this process. A sense of betrayal continued to build up in Amir’s heart and mind. The one person who had...

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...hrab. Amir needed to repay Hassan, even though he knew that he could never emulate the loyalty and trust Hassan gave him. Finally able to forgive himself, Amir had found what he had been searching for his entire life. He finds redemption. It is evident that Amir would have done anything for Hassan if he were still alive. “because when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time” (Hosseini 371) similarly to the effect that after a child makes a mistake forgiveness turns into redemption. It is innate for humans to make a mistake but the transition from childhood to adulthood is how we can learn to resolve the mistakes made. Although Amir shows acts of cowardice and disloyalty in his childhood, it is his ability to learn forgiveness and his motivation to save Sohrab at the end of the text, proving that Amir does become a man who obtains purpose and redemption.