When Amir picks up the phone in June 2001, he does not expect to hear Rahim Khan utter these words to him -- "There's a way to be good again" (Hosseini 1). From these cryptic words, he understands from the call that it "wasn't just Rahim Khan on the line[, but] [i]t was [his] past of unatoned sins" (Hosseini 1). These sins that Amir refers to are the actions he selfishly made when he was a young boy living in Afghanistan. In order to earn his father's love, he allowed his friend Hassan to be beaten and raped, then framed for theft; Hassan for the subsequent years has been haunted by the actions he chose. Seeing it as "one last chance of redemption" (Hosseini 231), Amir departs to meet Rahim Khan in Pakistan to here what he has to say. Beginning with his reunion with an old friend in Peshawar, the protagonist of The Kite Runner has set off on a quest, with a goal to relieve his guilt and earn his redemption. Overall, the second half of The Kite Runner includes all the components that the quest must consist of according to Thomas C. Foster in How to Read Literature Like a Professor: "(a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, and (e) a real reason to go there" (Foster 3). First, there is the quester, and the quester in this case is Amir. The one who gives the place to go and the stated reason to go there is Rahim Khan, who as his dying wish requests one thing: "I want you to go to Kabul. I want you to bring Sohrab
When Khaled Hosseini wrote The Kite Runner, he made several important choices involving narration. He chose to write the story in first person from a limited point of view. This is a very fitting decision because, writing in the first person adds a sense of intimacy that is crucial to this story; writing from a limited perspective allows the reader to make their own conclusions about what the characters are thinking. The way Hosseini writes The Kite Runner makes it very intimate, and feels like a person telling their life story. If The Kite Runner had been written in third person, or omnisciently, the story would not have impacted readers as much, and would have been too cold and impersonal to create emotional connections with the reader.
The Kite Runner is the first novel of Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It tells the story of Amir, a boy from Kabul, Afghanistan, whose closest friend is Hassan, a young Hazara servant. Novel turns around these two characters and Baba, Amir’s father, by telling their tragic stories, guilt and redemption that are woven throughout the novel. Even in the difficult moments, characters build up to their guilt and later on to their redemption. Their sins and faults alter the lives of innocent people. First, Amir and Baba fail to take action on the path to justice for Ali and Hassan. Moreover, Amir and Baba continue to build up their guilt due to their decisions and actions. Although Amir builds up more guilt than Baba throughout the novel, he eventually succeeds in the road to redemption unlike his father. After all, Amir and Baba have many chances to fix their atonements but Baba chooses not to and Amir does. Baba uses his wealth to cover up his sins but never atone himself while Amir decides to stand up and save Sohrab and finally finds peace. Amir and Baba’s reaction to sins essentially indicate their peace of mind and how they react to guilt and injustice.
An important theme that relates to the physical journey in The Kite Runner is the past. The influence of the past affects Amir in his life as we see from the very first sentence of the book until the end. “I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of the 1975… That was a long time ago, but 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. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years,” (Hosseini 1). Throughout the book, Amir’s past haunts him in every action he takes and the journey for his redemption. To Amir, the past defines who he currently is. All of his feelings of guilt stimulate him to make up for his mistakes. For example, he feels responsible for the events leading up to Hassan’s murder by the Taliban because he pushed Hassan and Ali out of Baba’s house. So, years later when he goes back to visit Rahim Khan, Amir is told to make amends by finding his nephew, Sohrab. The past is mentioned in many parts of the book in his quest, Amir faces many obstacles from his past.
Redemption can come in many different forms for different people. In The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, a story of an Afghani man’s lifetime and all of the troubles that he has experienced is told. Amir’s childhood takes place in Kabul, Afghanistan alongside Hassan, his Hazara servant and half-brother. The two grow up as best friends until one day when Amir does nothing to help Hassan out of a life changing incident with the town bully. Their friendship is severely affected for the rest of their lives until Amir meets Sohrab, Hassan’s son. After finding out Hassan has passed away, Amir is sent off to retrieve Sohrab and bring him to a better place than the Taliban-ruled Kabul. The connection between the two new acquaintances is like a new beginning for many aspects in Amir’s life. Sohrab and Amir’s relationship acts as a way for Amir to rid himself of guilt from his childhood and provide his wife with a child, supporting the theme of redemption in The Kite Runner.
Thesis: Betrayal leads to feeling of guilt which forces the person in search of redemption either directly or through indirect actions and gestures.
Throughout the story The Kite Runner an important central theme displayed by the other is the idea that it is important to be able to confront your past mistakes or else those mistakes will torture you for the rest of your life. Many of the main characters came face to face with this idea and each of them dealt with their mistakes in different ways. Despite this, it was made clear that the characters that were able to deal with their problems ended up much better off mentally than those of them that were unable to. Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, teachers the reader that confronting past mistakes is better than running from them through Amir’s feelings following his betrayal of Hassan, how Soraya felt after telling Amir about her past, and Amir’s reaction to finding out Baba was Hassan’s father.
The Kite Runner, a novel written by Khaled Hosseini, focuses on Amir’s journey in life, both physically and emotionally. During Amir’s childhood Afghanistan became very unsafe. He and his father, Baba, fled from the city of Kabul to Pakistan and then made their way to America in hope of a better life for Amir. "For me, America was a place to bury my memories. For Baba, it was a place to mourn his." The need for Amir to "become good again" is embedded in the idea of a physical for redemption of his dignity.
Social conditions are what shape a country. Over the years, people, not only in Afghanistan, but around the world create norms that define people’s roles in life, their future, and how they should be treated based on their gender and beliefs. Khaled Hosseini’s first novel, The Kite Runner, comments on the social conditions of Afghanistan through telling a story about the lives of two Muslim boys; a privileged Sunni Pashtun, Amir, and his long-time friend and servant, Hassan, a loyal but disadvantaged Shia Hazara. Hosseini expresses Amir’s uncertain feelings toward Hassan which form the decisions he makes throughout the book. These choices result in Amir destroying his relationship with Hassan. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini is a commentary on the social conditions in Afghanistan as shown through the roles of women and men in society and the ideals of Afghan culture. Unfortunately, these problems are still active in most of Afghanistan.
In his first historical fiction novel, Khaled Hosseini tells the story of a young boy growing up in Afghanistan. The Kite Runner is the story of Amir, the young boy, and the path his life takes because of the decisions he makes when he is a young child. Forgiveness is woven throughout the book as it takes Amir to places he might not have gone if he hadn’t been able to forgive.
The desire to feel loved and wanted by your parents can drive a person to go to extreme limits to get that love. One boy that goes to these extreme limits is Amir. All Amir wants is to have a good, strong relationship with his father. He feels the death of his mother was his fault, and he needed to make it up to his father. In doing so, Amir let’s horrible things happen to his friend Hassan. Many many years later, after fleeing to America, Amir returns to Afghanistan in search of redemption of his actions all those years ago. The theme of The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini is redemption. Through Amir’s life, that’s what he’s been doing to himself, trying to redeem himself from his acts that have brought pain
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, a story of a boy as he unravels his journey throughout his life. The novel consists of multiple themes such as love, friendship, betrayal, guilt, , secrets, loyalty, and redemption. As the main character, Amir recalls his past events, all of these themes start to unravel specific events that occurred in his life. “There is a way to be good again” (Hosseini 2) is where the novel unfolds the deep dark life of Amir’s regret and guilt, Baba’s secret, and Hassan’s devotion. The book is a true masterpiece which keeps the readers glued to the story as it unfolds. One of the reasons, the story attracts many readers is due to The United States recent conflict with Afghanistan. However, the story has a personal
One major theme that is evident in The Kite Runner is that scars are reminders of life’s pain and regret, and, though you can ease the regret and the scars will fade, neither will completely go away. We all have regrets and always will, but though it will be a long hard process we can lessen them through redemption. The majority of The Kite Runner is about the narrator and protagonist, Amir. Almost all of the characters in The Kite Runner have scars, whether they are physical or emotional. Baba has scars all down his back from fighting a bear, but he also has emotional scars from not being able to admit that Hassan was also his son. Hassan is born with a cleft lip, but for his birthday Baba pays for it to be fixed, which left a small scar above his mouth. Hassan also has emotional scars from being raped. The reader is probably shown the emotional scars of Amir the most. Amir has emotional scars because he feels that he killed his mother, and also because his father emotionally neglects him. In the end of the novel, Amir receives many physical scars from getting beaten up by Assef, when rescuing Sohrab. Though scars will never go away and are a reminder of the past, not all scars are bad.
On a day to day basis, an individual is faced with an obstacle they must overcome, ultimately defining their morals and values. In the literature perspective, the novel The Kite Runner delivers multiple thematic ideas that portray the struggles of characters in their ordinary lives. Khaled Hosseini, author and physician, released his debut novel The Kite Runner in the year of 2003. This novel is written in the first person narration of Amir, a Pashtun boy that lives with his father whom he addresses as “Baba” in a large estate in Kabul, Afghanistan. Hassan and his father, Ali, are servants that works for Amir’s father
In the book, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a heartbreaking story between a rich Pashtun boy named Amir and his Hazara servant boy named Hassan. The book took place in a time where Afghanistan was in the process of being destroyed. Amir was twelve years old when he witnessed his best friend getting raped by his childhood bully, Assef, and did nothing to rescue Hassan. That event had caused Amir to kept that guilt to himself for years without telling anyone. When the war was reaching to his town, Amir and his father flew away to America hoping to escape. Twenty years later, Amir got a call from Afghanistan and was told “There is a way to be good again”. With that given chance to seek for redemption, Amir flew back to Afghanistan to achieve it.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini portrays and depicts the relationship between two Afghan boys, Amir and Hassan, as well as their childhood. Amir and Hassan's relationship stems from both their father's former friendship and social hierarchy. Though Amir has never fulfilled a positive relationship with his father Baba, Amir finds happiness in writing stories and reading them to illustrate Hassan. In chapter 4, Amir and Hassan make their way to a nearby hill, where they reside under a pomegranate tree and read Amir's story. This pomegranate tree represents Amir and Hassan's relationship, and its eventual demise later in the book.