Effects Of Atonement In The Kite Runner

Baba is a giving man; he will try to help friends and poor beggars. Baba’s guilt comes from the fact that he cannot show the same affection to Hassan that he shows Amir. He cannot be a father to Hassan because of the affair he had with Sanubar, she is a Hazara making Hassan a Hazara. If others knew of Baba’s affair then it would ruin his reputation. As said in Rahim Khan’s letter to Amir: “But your father was a man torn between two halves, Amir jan: you and Hassan. He loved you both, but he could not love Hassan the way he longed to, openly, and as a father” (Housseini 301). The inevitable fact that Baba

“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.

Guilt is established through the relationship of Baba and Ali by showing the betrayal of a close friend. One way to reveal the guilt in Baba and Ali’s relationship is through the power that guilt has to make one feel the need to redeem oneself. This is shown through Baba after betraying Ali. Early in the novel, Amir iss describing how good of a person Baba is and includes building an orphanage in Kabul (13). This selfless action is one of the ways Baba tries to redeem himself from his sins he commits in the past and covers up his guilt. Another way to reveal the guilt in Baba and Ali’s relationship is through the symbolism of Baba getting a plastic surgeon to fix Hassan’s cleft lip for his birthday (45). The importance of the plastic surgery is shown through Baba’s effort to fix the flaws in his and Ali’s relationship that he has created when he has an affair with Sanaubar. This birthday gift given by Baba symbolizes the effort to repair a broken bond and is directly toward the result of the betrayal and sin Baba committed: Hassan. The final way to reveal the guilt in Baba and Ali’s relationship is through the ability guilt

“There is a way to be good again,” is a quote from Rahim Khan that comes up repeatedly throughout The Kite Runner. This story revolves around Amir, the protagonist, who tries to seek forgiveness and redemption after living twenty six years with unatoned sins. When Amir was twelve, he witnessed his loyal servant and friend, Hassan, get raped in an alley. Amir was too coward to intervene and stand up for his dear friend. Later, Amir betrayed Hassan by framing him and forced him to leave their house. These events shaped the rest of the novel as Amir tried to be good again by returning back to Afghanistan and saving Hassan’s son, Sohrab from danger. One of the major

Khaled emphasizes Baba’s sacrifices to show how they lead Baba to his atonement. First, Rahim Khan attests to Baba’s character and actions in his letter, saying: “He was a good man […] everything he did […] it was all his way of redeeming himself” (Hosseini 302). This reveals that Baba finds peace with his regrets and made up tor them by creating the orphanage and committing other kind deeds (302). Baba protecting the Afghani woman trom a violent rapist on the way to Peshawar also demonstrated Baba’s atonement. Baba protects the woman because he had already committed the worst sin in his own mind- theft of the truth trom Amir and Hassan; he had to continue redeeming himself by sacrificing his safety (115-16). Last, Baba helped so many people that not even was the parking lot tull at his funeral; people were parking blocks away. The mourners taking their time to commemorate Baba illustrate that Baba has truly made up tor his lies by giving all he can to the people around him (173). Baba’s actions are just one way Hosseini explains how devotion to kindness is connected to atonement.

Baba’s lack of faith prevents him from finding atonement through God. Moreover, Baba is unable to find holistic atonement because he fails to admit and reconcile his sins to those who are affected by them. Although Baba preforms small deeds to redeem himself, such as providing cosmetic surgery to Hassan, he fails acknowledge him as his son, which would allow Baba to achieve true atonement. Evidently, Baba’s actions illustrate he only sought personal redemption. For instance, in an effort to ease his guilt, Baba constructed an orphanage in Kabul. While this initially depicted Baba as selfless, it is later discovered this act of charity is preformed predominantly to alleviate his guilt. Rahim Khan later tells Amir, “ I think everything he did, feeding the poor, building the orphanage, giving money to friends in need, it was all his way of redeeming himself” (Hosseini 302). Although, as Rahim Khan also says, “real good was born from your father’s guilt” (Hosseini 302), Baba never achieved holistic atonement because he failed to make peace with Ali, Hassan and Amir. Opposed to amending his sins to the people directly affected by it, Baba preforms charitable deeds to his community to make himself feel better about his iniquities.

Amir and Hassan’s relationship throughout the book, The Kite Runner, is based off of love, betrayal, and forgiveness.

Forgiveness is essential to daily life. An important person does the unthinkable, and finally that person earns forgiveness. It is important to forgive oneself, so one can forgive others, too. In The Kite Runner, novelist Khaled Hosseini tells about the past of the Afghan refugee, Amir, and about the importance of forgiveness regarding to what happens in Afghanistan a long time before Amir arrives in America. Amir grows up in Kabul with his prosperous father, Baba, who has two servants, Ali, and his son, Hassan. Amir and Hassan are best friends until Hassan is raped, and Amir doesn’t help him. Amir can’t get over his guilt, so he takes it out on Hassan and treats him very badly. Thus, Hassan and Ali leave

How, after years of guilt, self-disgust, and deception, is it possible for one person to become good again? Entrapped in a cage of cowardice for so long, can they ever develop and grow as a normal human being? Amir, the anti-hero in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, seeks to answer these questions in his own search for atonement through various existential events in his life.

We were made full of sin and that is how it will be until the day we die. We need to take a look at how to atone for these irreversible actions. In the Kite Runner Amir not only changes his personality throughout the book but he changes his view on friendships and relationships as well. Hassan’s death is a life changing event for Amir because it turns out to be the route he takes to Atone for his sins. Atonement means reparations for wronging or injuring someone.

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is an award-winning novel and considered one of today’s most popular, contemporary classics. The story is one of familiar themes such as loyalty, forgiveness, betrayal, love, and redemption. It follows the tale of Amir and how he must atone for his sins and find a way to “be good again” (Hosseini 2). The quintessential message of this book relies on the idea of second chances. Themes of redemption, betrayal, loyalty, and forgiveness are not only shown without doubt through this book, but are also common among many literary works and religions. Hosseini is successful in showing the significance of these themes throughout the novel.

It is often said that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. What this quote means is that people who are seen as good are often made good by past mistakes, and those who are seen as bad have a chance to absolve themselves and become good in the future. The best word to describe this scenario is redemption. Redemption can be defined as the action of rescuing or being rescued from sin, mistake or evil. A human’s life is plagued with mistakes, but it is how one learns from and fixes those mistakes that ultimately defines their character.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini tells the coming of age story of the main character Amir. Throughout the novel, many themes are apparent as Amir gets older and deals with the events of his past. One of the main themes is regardless of any action there is always a way to redeem yourself. There are many examples of this theme in The Kite Runner, like when Rahim Khan tells Amir that he can redeem himself, another would be when Assef beats up/hurts Amir but he feels healed, finally were Amir is flying a kite with Sohrab and he smiles. The theme of redemption is present throughout the events of the novel.

They are friends when they are children but when Hassan’s in a dangerous situation, Amir doesn’t help him out. Instead of helping Hassan, he decides to run away to protect himself. Although Amir is victimized by both internal and external forces, it is mainly his own cowardice, jealousy, and shame which causes his relationship with Hassan to deteriorate and lead to their break up. At first, he is jealous with Hassan because he thinks Baba loves Hassan more than him. “I wished I too had a scar that would beget Baba’s sympathy. It wasn’t fair.” (Hosseini 50) In this quote, Amir is jealous with Hassan because now, Hassan looks like Baba. He has the same scar. It will make Baba love him more. Besides that, in the family, Hassan is the servant and he gets a lot of love from Baba while Amir needs to work hard but he still doesn’t get the love from Baba he wants. This makes him think that Hassan is a stealer who stole Baba’s love. When Amir wants to make Hassan become a thief, Baba suprises Amir, “Except Baba stunned me by saying, ‘I forgive you’” (Hosseini 112) Baba is a strict person. He doesn’t want anyone to do something bad;

In ‘The Kite Runner’, the ultimate redemption is perceived to be payment. In Hosseini’s point of view, paying for one’s sins is the only way to atone them to find inner peace and self satisfaction. Towards the end of the novel, the reader sees Amir in Afghanistan once again, seeking redemption for his past sins by saving Sohrab (Hassan’s son) from the terrible fate of the children of war-torn Afghanistan. There, Amir encounters Assef, and it is as if history repeats itself. For the first time, however, Amir decides to finally face the evils of his past and fights for the child of the man who had stood up for him so many times in the past. After a near fight to the death, Amir says ‘My body was broken- just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later- but I felt healed. Healed at last.’ Through these lines, the protagonist finds that instead of running away from his past of un-atoned sins, it was accepting them and paying for them that grants him redemption, and he is able to let go of the guilt he has been harboring for the past twenty-six years.