Guilt In The Kite Runner

“Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.” – Voltaire. Guilt is an emotion that comes from believing that you were responsible for a particular mistake (usually the violation of some moral code) whether or not this guilt is accurate. In the novel The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the main character Amir portrays guilt as being destructive. Amir’s experience leads to him feeling guilty for the rest of his life. This guilt breaks up the relationships he once had, it also affects the people around him. In the novel The Kite Runner, Khlaed uses Amir to show how violence leads to betrayal, then guilt and at some point destroys relationships between people. This is mostly proved in the novel by the impact of violence on Amir which

Some say it’s ‘bothered conscience’, Some describe it as ‘a feeling of culpability for offences. ‘ but it is much more than that. Guilt is an underestimated aspect of human life. A person living with guilt can be elucidated like a prisoner who dreams to be a free man like Andy Dufresne in the Shawshank redemption. But on the contras Andy was not living with guilt whereas an guilty man like Amir was ; the guilt changed Amir as a boy and made him mentally caged.

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

Guilt is a confusing new emotion. They may feel guilty over things that logically should not cause guilt. They may feel guilt when this initiative does not produce desired results.

Moral ambiguity in the novel The Kite Runner is a concept Khaled Hosseini, the author, exercises plenty of times throughout the novel, but the few characters that are frequently accounted for being ambiguous are obvious, for instance, Amir and Baba. The Kite Runner is a novel written to express the lives of other people in separate countries. As life advances for the two characters, Hassan and Amir, trauma causes them to get wound up in a landslide of events leading to agitation, redemption, and Amir questioning if his entire life is a lie. In this novel ambiguity means the reader is not sure how the character is supposed to act which causes the reader to question the characters morals. Hassan, for the most part, is a static character who is neither viewed as vague, nor ambiguous in this narrative. Hassan is mainly known for his kind-hearted selflessness and always doing as Amir asks him; however, the reason behind this trait is never stated. Hassan is ambiguous, and that trait is essential for the development of the story, anything stating something different might be a misinterpretation.

The guilt that Amir feels due to his destroyed relationship with Hassan haunts him throughout his entire life. First, Hosseini uses the scene of Hassan’s rape as a haunting source of

Guilt is the most powerful theme in The Kite Runner. Not only does guilt push the plotline and the characters relationships forward, it also brings Amir and Baba redemption from their pasts of sin and betrayal. Firstly, guilt advances the plot line drastically at numerous points in the novel. From multiple memories in the first few chapters, Amir recalls the most influential and guilt-ridden moment in his lifetime- when he witnesses Hassan’s assault.

The author of The Kite Runner Amir, Assef, and Sohrab come together in a extreme conflict to show how Amir wants to be punished for not telling anyone about what happened to Hassan. Assef symbolizes the guilt that Amir had felt since the accident. That guilt had been eating at him and hurting his mental state, parallel to how Assef was hurting Amir physically in the confrontation. Sohrab represents the part of Hassan that had been hurt and abused by Assef raping him, and Amir not helping Hassan through such a difficult time. When Sohrab shot Assef with the sling shot it was as if Hassan was showing Amir that, despite all he had done, he forgave Amir and would still save him if he had the chance. This leads Amir to forgive himself, giving him

My artwork connects to the theme of guilt in The Kite Runner. In the artwork, the puzzle is missing a piece; this signifies how Amir is missing a part of his life because it is filled with the guilt from betraying Hassan. When talking to Soraya about secrets, “I opened my mouth and almost told her how I’d betrayed Hassan, lied, driven him out, and destroyed a 40 year old relationship between Baba and Ali” (Hosseini, 2003, p. 165). This quote shows how he still feels remorseful about how he let his guilt influence his behaviors back in Afghanistan. His actions still haunt him today and often influence his life by making his experiences difficult.

In The Kite Runner, morality is questioned constantly, and is seen throughout the story. It is what defines you as a person, and, as a friend. Morals are what people stand for, and should be followed to the point. It helps you be seen as a good person, on top of feeling good about yourself. Morals are also a huge part of society, and shape the community in many ways.

Giving moral support is encouraging and expressing approval of someone’s doings. In times of trouble, moral support can help guide someone in the right direction. Khaled Hosseini’s, The Kite Runner, displays Rahim Khan, a father figure for Amir who gives Amir his moral support throughout the novel. In contrast to Baba’s character, Rahim Khan offers Amir his support when it is needed. Rahim does more to guide Amir to become a better person than Baba ever does. Hence, Amir is most influenced by Rahim, rather than his own father.

Amir feels guilt and shame for being a coward and not doing anything to defend his friend when he needed him the most. Being around Hassan is a constant reminder of Amir’s cowardice and makes him feel ashamed of himself. Worse, after a couple of months of the rape, Amir sees a hollow-eyed Hassan around the house falls apart and betrays poor Hassan again. To remove reminders of his guilt, he hides a wad of cash and a watch under Hassan's mattress. He frames Hassan for theft which drives Hassan out of the house. Holding onto guilt is a form of self-punishment for Amir.

Discussion:     Guilt is feelings of culpability, especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy. There are negative physiological effects caused by guilt. Guilt can make someone over responsible. They will think that life has to be perfect, and will do everything to try to please everyone. It may make someone over conscientious so that they may neglect their needs to avoid

Some people know what it feels like to be betrayed, and some people know what it’s like to betray others.Betrayal comes in different forms and it’s seen in a variety of different relationships. Marriages, friendships, affiliations between different companies, parents-to-children relationships can all be affected by betrayals. But one place where betrayal is exemplified the most is in literature. In literature, betrayal represents a huge conflict in the plot, and even if it’s not the most important conflict it will still contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole; the scar's betrayal leaves behind will never fully heal unless you completely forgive and forget the incident or until you receive forgiveness and you forget as well.

Right after the Hassan’s rape, Amir cannot confront Hassan due to his inability to save him: “I didn’t speak to Hassan until the middle of the next week” (Hosseini 86). It is absolutely not Amir’s fault that Hassan was raped, however it is Amir’s fault that he is ignorant to rectify the situation by judging what is right or wrong. His sense of responsibility towards his action is where guilt comes from, and it is inevitable to remain ignorant from it. Even after years moving to America, he feels hesitant whenever people mention about Hassan. Baba mentions about Hassan that he wants to share the happiness and Amir’s growth with Hassan in the United States: “I wish Hassan had been with us today” (Hosseini 131). Amir’s reaction shows how remorseful he still is, as he claims that guilt is harming him: “A pair of steel hands closed around my windpipe at the sound of Hassan’s name”(Hosseini 134). The steel hands represent the stiffness of his guilt suffocating himself every second, and whenever people brings up topic about Hassan, his guilty conscience suffocates him. Likewise, Amir is not completely feeling free about Hassan even though he is miles away from him. Lastly, he is too late to learn from mistakes when he is told that Hassan passed away, thus he adopts Hassan’s son, Sohrab. Sohrab serves a huge role in this