When forgotten, forgiveness serves as an underlying obstacle waiting to be overcome. In The Kite Runner; the author Khaled Hosseini retells the story of a young Pashtun boy born in Kabul, Afghanistan living alongside his father ‘Baba’. Whilst covering the journey of his life, the young boy and his childhood friend- the servant’s son- face many instances where forgiveness results in salvation of relationships. Three occurrences where forgiveness is wholeheartedly completed are; first Hassan forgiving Amir for his past wrongdoings, Hassan later forgiving his mother for abandoning him, and finally Amir forgiving himself for all of the dilemmas he had caused. The first major occurrence of forgiveness in this story was of Hassan forgiving …show more content…
Following his wrongdoings with Hassan, there was noticeable conflict as Amir was punishing himself with his guilt and unable to come to terms with his actions. Therefore, he solely believed that he had to redeem himself in order to be relieved of the burden of remorse, which is a central factor on why he chose to visit Rahim Khan after he famously said “There is a way to be good again.” (2). After fighting off Assef and retrieving Sohrab from the Taliban in Afghanistan, he felt at peace because he had been waiting to get his ‘payback’ and face the consequences for mishandling the situation with Hassan. Following the fight, he was brought to a hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, this is where he read Rahim Khan’s letter which uncovers the fact that he had known about Hassan’s rape. This letter is where Rahim Khan explains that Amir was young and did not fully understand the situation; he also compared him to his father when comparing how the both of them suffered due to their shared guilt concerning Hassan. Lastly, a quote he added on the topic of redemption was: "And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good" (316), which lead to Amir beginning to feel redeemed. Amir fully forgave himself in the last scene of the book of flying a kite with Sohrab, as he felt most redeemed at that moment. At the end, his self-forgiveness leads the beginning of his life as a newly content
Despite living majority of his life with the guilt of not helping Hassan, Amir’s nemesis is yet to come. Destiny plays a huge game with Amir and reveals to him that Hassan is his illegitimate brother during his visit with Rahim Khan. Reacting with various emotions, Amir first decides to head back about to America, but in the end makes the first brave decision in his life by going back to Kabul “…to atone not just for [his] sins, but…Baba’s too” (198). Amir tries to compensate for his sin by rescuing Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from the brutality occurring in Kabul. Amir puts his entire life in jeopardy by facing the oppression in Kabul so he could make a genuine effort in eliminating his sins. In an ideal world, when one truly makes an effort to redeem themselves for their wrongdoings, they are usually gifted with forgiveness. However, in reality, Amir’s heroic act of saving Sohrab, did not free him of sorrow because he still has to live with his nemesis for the rest of his life. By taking Sohrab to America with him, Amir constantly is reminded of his hamartia by envisioning Hassan through Sohrab. This shows how the guilt from a cowardly act leads one into a lifelong feeling of
For someone who is very compassionate and always looking to help those less fortunate, Chris is, ironically, unable to forgive his parents’ mistakes. Krakauer reflects on Chris’s inability to forgive his father. “The boy could not pardon the mistakes his father had made as a young man…” (Krakauer 123). Forgiveness is important in Chris’ story because the resentment he has for his parents expands to other aspects of his life, and he begins to isolate himself. His isolation continues through college and ultimately leads...
Amir’s redemption is a large part of the novel and is carried out almost entirely until the end of the story. He travels to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from the orphanage he was placed in after the death of his parents. He promises to find him a safe home with someone but after time passes he feels like this is not enough. He then speaks to his wife and decides to take Sohrab back to the United States with him and take care of his as if he was one of his own. Earlier in the novel when Baba is speaking Amir over hears his conversation as he is referring to him stating, “A boy who won 't stand up for himself becomes a man who can 't stand up to anything” (Hosseini, 22). Thus meaning that if he is able to stand up for himself as a young boy, when he is grown he will not be able to stand up for anything that is in his future. This is true throughout the story until he stands up for himself and Sorhab when he is arguing with his life long bully, Assef. Amir lacked the courage to defend himself in the novel until he finally took charge and went against
Amir begins to feel redemption when he goes to Pakistan and Rahim Khan has letters from Hassan to Amir. In the letters, Hassan begins talking about his wife and
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.
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.
It is difficult to face anything in the world when you cannot even face your own reality. In his book The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses kites to bring out the major themes of the novel in order to create a truly captivating story of a young boy’s quest to redeem his past mistakes. Amir is the narrator and protagonist of the story and throughout the entire novel, he faces enormous guilt following the horrible incident that happened to his closest friend, Hassan. This incident grows on Amir and fuels his quest for redemption, struggling to do whatever it takes to make up for his mistakes. In Hosseini’s novel, kites highlight aspects of Afghanistan’s ethnic caste system and emphasizes the story’s major themes of guilt, redemption and freedom.
One can argue that Amir needs his experience returning to Kabul to rescue Sohrab as a way to engrain appreciation to his lifestyle in America. This return is the only way for Amir to be cleansed of his sins, as stated in The Kite Runner, “‘Come. There is a way to be good again,’ Rahim Khan had said on the phone just before hanging up. Said it in passing, almost as an afterthought” (Hosseini 192). After weeks of secrecy, a brutal fight, and battles with the immigration office, Amir is able to return to America with a bright perspective of his new home albeit broken, beat, and scarred, and a new adopted child, Sohrab. The developed Amir is brought out with his interaction with General Taheri. In the novel, Amir shows his new found ability to stand up for himself with the quote, “‘And one more thing, General Sahib,’ I said. ‘You will never again refer to him as a ‘Hazara boy’ in my presence. He has a name and it’s Sohrab’” (361). Amir has now with him 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
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).
Redemption occurs over many years of struggling and determination. It takes an entire year for Sohrab to speak to anyone once he moves to America with Amir. Soraya and Amir both try relentlessly to get him to open up to them but minimal progress is made. They try to give Sohrab the best life he can possibly have. Amir finally succeeds when they fly a kite together. A little smile appears on Sohrab’s face and Amir exclaims, “’For you, a thousand times over’” (Hosseini 371). This quote shows how much the small gesture means to Amir. He understands now the loyalty Hassan felt towards him because that is the same way he feels towards Sohrab. In that moment, he finally feels like he has redeemed himself. In his article, The Servant, Edward Hower explains that “[I]n the end, we're won over by Amir's compassion and his determination to atone for his youthful cowardice" (2). The development of Amir shows how he becomes someone who can make up for all the wrong he has done in the past. Sohrab brings out the compassion and determination that Amir was missing. Afghanistan misses that one piece of itself that will allow it to contain the same qualities as Amir finds with
The book’s opening chapter focuses on Amir's conversation with Rahim and Amir’s "way to be good again” (Hosseini 1). The reason Amir flies all the way to Pakistan leaving behind his wife and life in America is Rahim Khan. Amir desires to make up for what he did to Hassan, so he answers Rahim's quest to “be good again” (Hosseini 1). This meeting allows Rahim to tell Amir what he must do to make up for his past. Rahim tells him he must put his own life in danger to save Hassan’s son, Sohrab. At first, Amir wants to refuse Rahim Khan’s wish, thinking of his life back home. He also thinks about how Hassan’s life may have been different if Hassan had the same opportunities he had. Then he realizes, “ But how can I pack up and go home when my actions may have cost Hassan a chance at those very same things?” (Hosseini 226). Rahim Khan warns Amir that it cannot be anyone else; Amir must make up for his own sins. Although he knows it's dangerous, Amir agrees to get Hassan’s son for Rahim as his dying wish. Amir believes that saving Sohrab is “A way to end the cycle” (Hosseini 227). Amir’s commitment in the face of danger proves his determination to be better and finally atone for his sins. Amir realizes his mistake and knows he can't change what he’d done. Eventually, with Rahim's help, he begins to see saving Sohrab as a “way to be
As he grows into a man and pushes his regrets to the side - though not ever completely out of his mind - he learns to live through and accept the pain he caused both himself and his best friend, Hassan. Towards the end of the novel, Amir goes to great lengths to earn the redemption he feels he needs in order to finally be at peace. The Kite Runner asks the audience what it truly means to be a good person - do we need to be born with goodness in our hearts, do we live the way that is comfortable and right according to ourselves, or do we have to constantly fail and prove that we are good?
“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” (Hosseini). In The Kite Runner, Hosseini shares Amir’s journey to atonement. As Amir states, he was unable to bury his past, similar to his father, Baba, who spent the majority of his life haunted by his sins. While both father and son are consumed by guilt, the way in which they atone for their iniquities is dissimilar. While Baba attempts to live his life according to the Afghan saying, “ Life goes on, unmindful of beginning, end...crisis or catharsis, moving forward like a slow, dusty caravan of kochis [nomads]” (Hosseini 356), Amir strays from this traditional perspective. Baba chose to continue his life unmindful of his past, while Amir, eventually decides to confront his. Although both Baba and Amir have acted immorally, the choices they make find redemption affect the success of their individual attempts. In the novel, Amir’s quest for atonement is more effective than Baba’s because he acts virtuously, while his father, acts selfishly. Ultimately, Amir is the more successful of the two because, in opposition to Baba, he seeks holistic atonement and is willing to make sacrifices to achieve redemption.
After some misgivings, Amir agrees to rescue Hassan's son, Sohrab, from an orphanage in Kabul. Amir even squares off against a Talib official who is actually Assef. In order to save Sohrab, Amir has to fight Assef, but Amir get beaten up badly by Assef. Amir can be seen as good because of what he done, he risked his life and almost got killed by Assef, but Sohrab saved Amir by shooting him in the eye with a slingshot. Even though Amir didn’t do anything good in his childhood and most of his adulthood too. He could have only saved Sohrab out of guilt and maybe some good intentions of actually being thought of as a good person for once, “Sometimes, I think everything he did, feeding the poor on the streets, building the orphanage, giving money to friends in need, it was all his way of redeeming himself. And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good.” (302). Amir is trying to redeem himself after all these years of being a coward and it pays off in the long
A large part of the novel deals with Amir trying to redeem himself. First with his Baba by trying to win the kite fighting tournament because Amir feels as though his father blames him for his mothers death. The the larger act of redemption occurs when trying to rid himself of the guilt of letting Hassan be rape...