Betrayal And Redemption In The Kite Runner

Amir's entire life had been haunted by what he saw happen to Hassan. Although he was a child at the time, he couldn't accept his shortcoming during a time of need. He was jealous of his father for being able to stand up for himself and others and Hassan's undying loyalty to him. He developed a pattern of behavior - of covering up his mistakes and hiding his past – that he could not rid himself of until he suffered like Hassan did. He made it up to Hassan by saving his son, and he made it up to himself by suffering the way he

This one decision left a stain on Amir for the next thirty years. A quote on pg. 88 states “I wish someone would wake me up, so I wouldn’t have to live with this lie anymore” This quote explains how guilty Amir felt after seeing Hassan get raped as he desperately sought for anyone to find out but didn’t chose to tell anyone the actual truth. Another example from the text is when Amir tries throwing pomegranates at Hassan, as an attempt to get Hassan to fight back and punish Amir for choosing to leave Hassan. However, Hassan refused to throw any pomegranates at Amir, but instead smashed one into his face. A quote on pg.94 states “I wanted Hassan to fight me back for the way I failed him” This quote indicates that Amir wanted Hassan to fight him back, so he could have the “punishment [he] craved” (93) This demonstrates that Amir wanted to feel the act of being punished for his wrongdoing, similar to how Hassan was brutally raped due to Amir’s apparent mistake. Amir’s guilt forces him to travel across two countries to seek redemption for the mistake he made. 15 years later, Amir’s guilt led him to make the hefty decision of returning to Afghanistan “to be good again” (189) by rescuing Hassan’s orphaned son, Sohrab, from the terrible conditions he was left to face in Kabul. Amir sees this as an opportunity to redeem and free himself from

“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.

Redemption is what the whole novel revolves around. Redemption occurs when Amir feels at peace when Assef tries to kill him. `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 hook in the corner of my mind, I had been looking forward to this. (303) The quotation portrays Amir`s sorrow towards all the things he did to Hassan. He believes being killed would repay himself. For all the wrong he did to him, all throughout the novel, Amir was dishonest, and disloyal to Hassan. Amir always took Hassan for granted, and believed that he was his directly leftovers, that he could throw around and demand anything from him. Furthermore, this is also adds to Hassan standing up for Amir, by psychically fighting

In the Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini wrote that “true redemption is […] when guilt leads to good” (Hosseini 302). this connection between suffering and redemption develops throughout the whole story. Hosseini hints that sacrifice leads to redemption in the book the Kite Runner through the actions of Baba, Sanaubar’s return, and Amir’s journey to atone for his sins.

The Kite Runner is a powerful book contrasting selfishness and selflessness. The book follows the life of Amir, a character who experiences guilt and tragedy throughout his life. While growing up in Kabul, Amir witnesses the imperfect and prejudice society in his country. Within an imperfect society, there are many who are self-invested, and among those, there are those who are selfless. Characters Amir and Hassan possess selfish and selfless traits. The traits that these characters possess are influenced by fear, victimization, and loyalty, ultimately leading them to inaction and action.

Cowardice-Actions “In the end, I ran.”- Hosseini 77 “someone had always done my fighting”- Hosseini 227 Amir’s fear bested him at a time when he needed courage the most, but he took the cowardly approach. Amir ran and did not even run to go get help, instead he ran out of fear and selfishness.

Hosseini shows that it is Amirs immense guilt that drives him to want to make things right and to earn redemption. We learn the basis Amir's guilt through his memories. It is caused by a lack of response at a time when his loyal servant and close friend Hassan is in trouble. Amir makes a conscious decision to hide in the distance and just watch, not because he was afraid. He sacrifices Hassan in order to earn his fathers attention and affection. This decision results in Hassan suffering though a traumatic experience and is the root of Amir's lasting regret.

This view is carried out with the supportive character, Hassan, who plays a significant role in the novel by representing a Christ figure who is forever forgiving of Amir. Hassan is the, “harelipped kite runner” whose only friend is Amir (Hosseini 2). Hassan demonstrates the themes of second chances and forgiveness through his actions of kindness. For example, when Assef and his gang come to torment Amir, Hassan comes to the rescue with his slingshot. Although Amir never considers him to be his friend, Hassan proves to be a flawless servant to his half-brother, even after Amir betrays him. Throughout the story, Amir remembers Hassan by his kind-hearted phrase, “For you, a thousand times over,” which evidences how magnanimous and

Amir had great influences on him as a child; Baba was a brave person, generous to everyone, and should’ve influenced Amir to be the same. On the contrary, Amir was selfish and chose not to stand up for his friend, even when the situation desperately needs it. This is not because of how he grew up, of his environment. Amir’s genetics made him to be fearful and mean, as shown throughout the book. “I knew I was being cruel, like when I’d taunt him if he didn’t know some big word. But there was something fascinating - albeit in a sick way - about teasing Hassan.” (Hosseini 54). Even though Amir had great influences growing up, Hassan took the brunt of his attacks and neglect. Near the beginning of the book, Hassan is raped in the alleys running a kite for Amir. Going after Hassan, Amir finds Hassan while this is going on but does not stop the rapist or stand up for his friend. Instead, Amir ran away and proceeded to abandon Hassan emotionally after the event. Baba was a brave man and would’ve stood up for Hassan, regardless of the danger to him, but Amir was not influenced nearly as much by his positive environment rather than his negative cowardice, or

Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, depicts the conflicting life of Amir, a young boy who lives in Kabul, Afghanistan. His life becomes complicated at age twelve when he witnessed his best friend and Hazara servant, Hassan, get raped and abused. Amir just idoly stood by but was he feeling helpless, or was Hassan just a servant that meant nothing to him. This is when the question of good and evil comes out. While Amir shows significantly redeemable qualities throughout the book of doing, it does not change that he was toying with the fact that he let such a vial ast be committed in the first place. Later Amir finds out that Hassan was his brother and he tries desperately to do whatever he can to do good things in Hassan's name like adopt

Hosseini conveys the turning point when Amir gets on the right path to learning and understanding the true nature of sacrifice by attempting to redeem himself. Amir plants money and his new watch that he got for his birthday under Hassan's bed to make it look like Hassan stole it. Baba brings Ali, Hassan and Amir together and Amir explains that “They’d both been crying; [He] could tell from their red, puffed-up eyes...they stood before Baba, hand in hand, and [he] wondered how and when [he’d] become capable of causing this kind of pain” (105). Hosseini uses this scene to demonstrate the true colors of Amir that he is a liar. This scene also highlights the loyalty that Hassan has towards Amir and his family and but it is not the same from Amir to Hassan. This illuminates Hassan’s loyalty most more than other scenes because as you can tell Baba and Ali were very surprised about what (they thought) Hassan had done because nothing like this has ever happened before. This explains one of the many sins that Amir has and reveals the lying and

Amir stumbles upon an alley. In the alley, he sees the Hassan trap by three boys named Assef, Kamal, and Wali. All they asked of Hassan is to give up the blue kite. However, Hassan’s loyalty and friendship toward Amir prevented Hassan to give up the kite. As the tension built, Assef lets Hassan have the kite, but in-return he does unthinkable. Assef rapes Hassan as Amir watched unnoticeably from the alley (Hosseini 62-66). This was Amir’s chance to prove his true friendship by stepping in to save Hassan. Instead, Amir ran “because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he could do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt. That’s what I told myself as I turned my back to the alley, to Hassan” (Hosseini 68). According to Amir, “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (Hosseini 68). “He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (Hosseini 68).

Betrayal is a selfish action where one puts themselves before others which can result in painful difficulties amongst individuals. Most individuals choose their actions based on the situation and what the best possible outcome is for themselves. These selfish decisions of betrayal can cause lasting negative effects, damaging relationships and trust. Throughout the book, The Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini portrays the theme of betrayal in various ways through the actions of Amir, Baba, and Assef.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a historical fiction novel set mostly in Kabul, Afghanistan and Fremont, California. The novel spans the time periods before, during, and after the reign of the Russians (1979-1989) and the Taliban’s takeover (1996) of Afghanistan. It is told through the first person perspective of Amir alongside his father, Baba, his half-brother, Hassan, and Baba’s companions Ali and Rahim Khan. Growing up, Amir and Hassan are practically inseparable, as they are always playing games, reading poetry, or simply spending time together. Hassan’s mother, Sanaubar, is never present during the children’s youthful years, but they both have Baba as a shared father figure in their lives. The themes of betrayal and redemption