Theme Of Redemption In The Kite Runner

In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, “True redemption is when guilt leads to good” (302) is the theme of the novel. Feeling endless guilt is tiring; it hangs on a person’s shoulders and drags him or her down everywhere. Amir felt constant guilt his whole life from the way he treated Hassan and after he overheard Baba talking to Rahim Khan about how he never stands up for himself. Amir tried to find redemption his entire life, but did not succeed until he went back to Kabul to find Sohrab. Amir cowardice caused him to live a guilty life, but in the end it led to true redemption.
Amir’s cowardice led to guilt, which is why he searched for redemption the rest of his life. “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything” (22). Baba states one of Amir’s major flaws, his cowardice, and Baba shows how much he values standing up for what is right. Baba is reluctant to praise Amir

Once Assef handed Sohrab over to Amir, Assef told Amir they had some unfinished business to settle, so they fought. After the fight, Amir felt relieved he finally received the punishment he deserved. “Another rib snapped... and for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace” (289). Amir should have been beat up a long time ago from the pomegranate incident and the rape scene. The physical pain allowed him to feel mentally healed, which is why during Assef’s beating, he laughed. “I hadn’t been happy and I hadn’t felt better, not at all. But I did now. My body was broken—just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later—but I felt healed. Healed at last” (289). Twenty-six years later Amir finally received what he had wanted his whole life. After Assef delivered the brutal beating to Amir, Amir felt justice for what he had done to Hassan. Amir thinks he should have accepted the beating from Assef years ago when he had the choice to save