Forgiveness In 'The Kite Runner'

While Amir is lying in the dark, with nothing but his own thoughts, he feels that his guilt is taking over his life. He realizes that he is going to get away with his betrayal and yet he feels terrible. He decides that the only way he is going to live with his remorse is to ignore Hassan, blot him out, so he does not have to think about his sin. Amir’s guilt is so great that he cannot bear to have Hassan under the same roof, so he commits another sin. He lies to his father and accuses Hassan of stealing. “…I took a couple of the envelopes of cash from the pile of gifts and my watch, and tiptoed out…I lifted Hassan’s mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it…I knocked on Baba’s door and told what I hoped would be the last in a long

From the start of the novel, Hassan was made out to be the near perfect person who was “...incapable of hurting anyone” (10, Hosseini). Hassan’s only fault being his Hazara lineage. This mixed with the attention he got from Baba made Amir jealous for the same sort of affection from his father. This brotherly rivalry could be compared to Cain and Abel for in the same way that Cain killed Abel - Amir watched as Hassan’s captors took

Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, Amir was the son of a wealthy social worker. He was brought up with the son of his servant, and perhaps his only best friend, Hassan. Amir had a rocky relation with his father. At times, it seemed as his father loved him but those moments didn’t lasted forever. He thinks Baba (his father) wishes Amir were more like him, and that Baba holds him responsible for killing his mother, who died during his birth. Despite being best friends, Amir thinks that Hassan is beneath him because he belonged to an inferior cast. He used to mock him jokingly or tried to outsmart him. In all fairness, it was Amir’s cowardly nature that

Amir was completely plagued by guilt throughout the entire novel. He could not seem to escape the shame he felt for all of the mistakes he made. The guilt ultimately controlled his life; therefore, Amir was not able to fully enjoy every experience he had. All he could think about was how his past actions affected his life. The guilt Amir felt was a central theme within The Kite Runner, and Amir spent his whole life trying to lessen the guilt he felt for all of his mistakes.

Hassan is considerably Amir’s sidekick, but he is also Amir and Baba’s servant. Amir is completely discourteous towards Hassan, and Amir is notorious to take advantage of him throughout the novel. Subsequently, following Hassan’s death, Amir discovers himself and Hassan are brothers, but as for Hassan it is too late. Regardless Hassan seeming benevolent, the story is completely being told

How does Hassan’s birth resemble Amir’s? Amir’s mother died in childbirth, Hassan’s mother ran away a week after, both grew up without the love of a mother. Because of this both fed from the same nurse, which according to Ali created “a brotherhood between people...a kinship that not even time could break (pg 10.)

Furthermore, Amir forgives Baba for not telling him that Amir and Hassan are half-brothers. Hassan gets treated very well by Baba, considering he is a server at Baba’s house. Hassan gets great birthday presents, and he is always welcome to father-son activities with Amir and Baba. Sometimes Amir is jealous and doesn’t understand why Hassan gets treated the same as himself. Amir wants to be treated better, because he is Baba’s son, and Hassan is Baba’s servant. What Amir doesn’t know is that Hassan is his half-brother. Years later, Rahim Kahn tells him this when Amir visits him in Pakistan. Amir learns that a long time ago, Baba had an affair with a Hazara woman, which was socially unacceptable. Out of this affair, a child was born: Hassan. Hassan is not Ali’s son; Hassan is Baba’s son. Baba never tells Amir, and this makes Amir very angry and disappointed. For Amir, his father is a hero and not a liar. However, when Rahim Kahn explains Baba’s situation and why he acted this way, Amir starts to

Amir is intrigued by this chance of redemption and when he is informed about Sohrab he recognizes it as a chance for atonement. He goes through great pains and makes personal sacrifices to save Sohrab, such as risking his life. When he finally gets beat up by Assef, “[he] started laughing.” At this point, he feels relieved and has a catharsis where he finally feels punished for his past sins. Until he continues to make sacrifices for Sohrab, dedicating his a lot of his time for him.

While Amir is seeking for redemption, he has been gradually becoming a hero. Initially, during the first half of the novel, there are countless displays of Hassan’s loyalty toward Amir. Standing up for him with their encounter with Assef, not wanting to hurt him, and taking the blame for actions Amir had committed. “‘Did you steal that money? Did you steal Amir’s watch, Hassan?’ Hassan’s reply was a single word, delivered in a thin, raspy voice: ‘Yes.’” (105) Hassan had captured my liking through these selfless acts toward Amir.

In the novel, The Kite Runner, Hassan’s father, Ali, said that there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break. Hassan and Amir had fed from the same breast, and their bond and friendship could not be broken. Amir and Hassan’s relationship is difficult to explain. They both love eachother like brothers, and always enjoy being in each other's company, but they show it in different ways.

From reading chapters one to four, one of the main aspects of Amir and Hassan’s relationship is the sense of control Amir has over Hassan. It becomes apparent that Amir is the one with the most authority in their friendship when he ‘talked’ Hassan into firing walnuts at the neighbour’s one-eyed German shepherd, ‘Hassan never wanted to, but if I asked, really asked, he wouldn’t deny me’. This highlights the way Hassan looks up to Amir and obeys him due to their religious, cultural and social differences, ‘I was a Sunni and he was a Shi’a’. Nevertheless, Amir does express his sensitive side towards Hassan and feels protective over him, especially when he can see he’s upset, ‘I reached across my seat, slung my

“The relationship between Amir and Hassan. It’s so different from any relationship I’ve experienced. Amir and Hassan are as closeas a servant and master can be, yet Amir acts like Hassan, a Hazara, is beneath him. Amir never learns to assert himself against anyone else because Hassan always defends him. I think these factors play into his childhood cowardice of sacrificing Hassan. Hassan however remains loyal, forgiving, and good natured,” replied Jack. “So what do you think of their friendship?”

Amir and Hassan have many differences in character. They are close friends, but they are many differences. As Amir and Hassan grow up, they develop many different characteristic traits. Amir is a bookworm, a coward, and envious of anyone with a connection with Baba while Hassan is an athletic, brave, and humble.

Throughout the entirety of Amir’s childhood, he longingly craves a thing that he seemingly can never have- his father’s affection. This desire for love leads Amir to go to great lengths in order to please Baba and prove that he is worthy enough. However, another obstruction stands in Amir’s way, and that would be his brother Hassan. From the beginning of the novel to the betrayal of Hassan, Amir gradually becomes jealous of Hassan, so jealous that he wishes he had a harelip like Hassan to get Baba’s affection. Amir says “Hassan ha[s]n’t done anything to earn Baba’s affections; he just [has] that stupid harelip.”(46) This developing jealousy towards Hassan builds because Amir wishes that his father would give him the attention Hassan receives. Baba unknowingly pits Amir against Hassan, and Amir wants to succeed.

Amir and Hassan have different thoughts about loyalty or saving one another which affects their relationship.When Hassan and Amir were participating in the local kite tournament, Hassan was retrieving the kite he when ran into Assef. Assef started to rape Hassan, Amir could have stopped Assef from hurting Hassan by “[stepping] into that alley [and] standing up for Hassan” (77) but “in the end, [Amir ran]”(77).This shows Amir is not willing to stick up for Hassan even though he is in extreme danger even though Hassan has helped him before. This also shows how Amir mainly cares about himself and if Hassan or someone he loves were to be in danger he would have a hard time helping them and later affecting their relationship. When Amir and Hassan go up a hill by their house they were met by Assef and his two friends who wanted to hurt them.When Amir was about to get beaten up Assef, Hassan immediately stands up to save Amir by “pointing a slingshot directly at Assef’s face”(42) while saying to Assef, “ leave us alone agha”(42) which caused Assef to leave. This shows how Hassan stands up for Amir even though it might cause Hassan to be hurt. This also demonstrates how Hassan is more brave than Amir or more giving than Amir as he