Kite Runner Themes

Amir's forgiveness of himself is the most important one in the book and drives him to go back to Afghanistan.

Eventually, Amir received a call from his old mentor, who told him to come back to Afghanistan because "there is a way to be good again." What Amir learned while he visited his mentor would lead him to what he considered redemption. Hassan had been killed, which Amir partially considered his fault, but Hassan's son, Sohrab, was still alive. With the idea of giving him to a good placement organization, Amir set out to save Sohrab. Amir found Sohrab in the possession of a Taliban member, the same man who had raped Hassan when they were children. In order to save Sohrab, Amir had to fight the man, and he was injured very badly in doing so. Despite his injuries, he felt better about himself. He felt free, at peace. He finally had the courage to tell his wife about what he had done, and that took a weight off of his shoulders, as well. Even though Hassan had forgiven him long ago, Amir refused anything less than Hassan's fate.

One of Amir's prime qualities of his personality is being able to redeem himself. Throughout the story, Amir makes horrible decisions like running away as Hassan is raped, and strives for the affection of his father through jealousy. Although he makes a lot of mistakes, Amir proves that he can be a sharpened person towards the end of the story when he tries to adopt Sohrab, Hassan’s son. Amir and Sohrab eventually go to America, and when Amir and Sohrab talked, Amir told him, “I won’t ever get tired of you, Sohrab...Not ever. That’s a promise. You’re my nephew, remember (Hosseini 324)?” Amir greatly redeems himself by taking care of Sohrab

After some thought, Amir knows that he must go and find Hassan’s son, his nephew to redeem himself for the things he did to Hassan. Amir thinks to himself, “there is a way to be good again, he’d said. A way to end the cycle. With a little boy. An orphan. Hassan’s son. Somewhere in Kabul” (227). After feeling this sense of redemption, Amir does everything he can to bring Sohrab back to America with him, to help him start a new and better life.

While Amir defeats his final obstacle to win Baba’s approval, he reciprocally falls down and fails to show courage in Hassan’s rape. Amir assumes that Hassan “was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” as he watches Assef sodomize Hassan, and he “actually aspired to cowardice” (77). The atonement of Amir’s sins to Baba sparks the commencement of Amir’s betrayal to Hassan. Furthermore, Amir runs away and hides from his sins in Amerca knowing that he cannot gain the courage to redeem himself and completely fulfill his quest to adulthood. Nonetheless, Rahim Khan provides Amir an opportunity to accomplish his redemption. After decades of hiding, Rahim Khan calls Amir to tell him to “come” back to Kabul since “there is a way to be good again” (192). Amir must successfully accomplish his final obligation to complete his quest to maturity. In addition, Amir must stop hiding like a boy and begin to stand up like a man. As Amir returns to Kabul to save Sohrab, and ultimately redeem himself, he must fight Assef one last time, which results in Amir’s “body being broken – just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later – but I felt healed. Healed at last” (289). Amir now receives his deserved punishment and, most importantly, he learns to stand up and finally matures into a man. Although Amir completes his quest to adulthood, readers must realize that Amir must ultimately grant Sohrab a

He has traveled to Afghanistan to save his nephew he never knew. At this point Amir knows the dangers he faces in the war riddled country but he must seek a way to forgive himself for what he did to Hassan. In his quest to make things right again, Amir confronts Assef, ““WHAT’S SO FUNNY?" Assef bellowed. Another rib snapped, this time left lower. 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 hidden nook in a corner of my mind, I’d even been looking forward to this.” (Pg. 289) This is a large turning point in the novel. Amir can finally feel like he is doing right by everyone and gaining redemption for his

The novelist Khaled Hosseini uses many stylistic devices such as foreshadowing, fragmented narrative and interior monologue to highlight the theme of atonement. In The Kite Runner, the novelist Khaled Hosseini implores that one can only atone their sins once they have admitted to their guilt and chose to seek redemption. In chapter 12 the theme of guilt reappears as Soraya, Amir’s wife, admits her past of running away to Virginia with another Afghan man. Even though Amir is stung by the thought of Soraya losing her virginity to another man, Amir still “envies her” because he is a coward and cannot pluck up the courage to confess his sins. However, it is only till chapter 24 where he reveals his past to Soraya. Amir finally admits his guilt and is on the path of redemption. He knows he must take on a

That is a vicious cycle within this book. For most of the book Amir deals with his problems simply by brushing them under the rug. By doing that he then creates a deeper hole than what he is already in. That is why Hassan’s name is such a sensitive subject. “I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba.” ( Housini 77) For example when his name is spoken Amir gets a funny feeling and instantly feels down. “I flinched, like I’d been slapped… Then I understood: This was Hassan’s final sacrifice for me… And that led to another understanding: Hassan knew. He knew I’d seen everything in that alley, that I’d stood there and done nothing. He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time.” (Housini 105) When he finds out that Baba betrayed Ali he then realises that everything that he thought he knew was all a lie. “Huddled together in the dining room and waiting for the sun to rise, none of us had any notion that a way of life had ended.” (Housini 36) That then made him feel betrayed by Baba. Baba has been dead for a while now. There isn't much that Amir can do about that situation. Betrayal and punishment aren’t enough for him to feel redeemed. When he takes Sorab to the united states he then feels a sense of redemption

Just like his father, Sohrab is “great with a sling shot.’ He hits Assef in the eye with his slingshot, and he and Amir escape. The novel’s falling action is Amir’s efforts to bring Sohrab to the U.S. which he eventually was successful in doing. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I liked the author’s style and diction, both made the novel a fun and enjoyable read even though there were many dark parts to the novel. At times I found some of the terminology difficult, however I appreciated the setting as it allowed me to learn about Afghanistan. I loved many of the quotes, particularly the one that stood out was, “It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime.” This quote is so true and is the entire basis of this story, if Hassan’s actions had been different “on that frigid overcast day in 1975,”his entire life would have been different. I am thrilled that Amir was able to find peace and redemption as this shows strength of Amir’s character. I felt that Amir deserved his final redemption, however I wish that both him and Hassan would have known from early on that they were

When Amir is confronted by Assef, who has possession of Hassan’s son, he challenges him to a fight. When Assef brutally abuses him, “[Amir] for the first time since the winter of 1975 felt at peace” (Hosseini 303). This portrays a pivotal moment in Amir’s life as it proves that Amir is willing to sacrifice his life for Sohrab just as Hassan sacrificed his life for him. Also, the guilt that has haunted him since his childhood is finally lifted, and his mind is at peace. On top of that, Amir has redeemed himself as he has compensated for the pain he caused Hassan. On his arrival back to America, General Sahib asks Amir, why he has brought this Hazara boy back with him. Amir responds by telling him “that he should never again refer to him as a Hazara in [his] presence” (Hosseini 380). This displays that Amir is once again redeeming himself to Hassan by finally standing up for Sohrab. For Amir, he believes that he is proving his loyalty and faithfulness to Hassan. Furthermore, this displays that Amir is once again redeeming himself to Hassan by finally standing up for

Amir watches his best friend Hassan get assaulted by Assef and some of his friends in an alley on the way home from the kite tournament. However, Amir does not go and defend Hassan and struggles to forgive himself. Fast forward in the story Amir has been living in America for some time and decides to go back to Kabul to save Hassan’s son Sohrab who he had never met. “From the past that had come calling. And from this one last chance at redemption” (Hosseini 231). In other words, Amir is saying that if he doesn’t do this there is nothing he can do to redeem himself for what he did in the past. This will lead to how Amir will be willing to do anything to save Sohrab even if it means risking his life and leaving his family behind.

When Amir and his wife, Soraya, can’t seem to have a child, Amir believes that it is because of his wrongdoings in the past. Right up until Amir is in his 30’s does he confront his mistakes. It takes a call from Rahim Khan to persuade him that there is ‘a way to be good again’ (Pg. 2). Amir knows that he needs to make up to Hassan for the wrong that he did all those years ago, and so by confronting his mistake and trying to redeem himself by rescuing Sohrab, Hassan’s son. Amir’s confrontation with Assef when he is getting back Sohrab made him feel like he was confronting his mistakes and gaining redemption ‘For the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace… In some nook in a corner of my mind, I’d even been looking forward to this.’ (Pg. 265). This is the punishment and redemption that he has been waiting all these years for, because Hassan wouldn’t punish him all those years ago when they were under the pomegranate tree.

We see Amir have a difficult time trying to defeat Assef for Sohrab’s freedom. When he said “‘That’s my business,’ I said. I didn’t know what had emboldened me to be so curt, maybe the fact that I thought I was going to die anyway” (Hosseini 285). This illustrates that he is has enough courage to confront Assef, knowing that what might happen next might lead him to his death. This is not the first time Amir encounters Assef threatening him, he knows he would potentially get hurt.

Amir did nothing but run. He thinks to himself “I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would 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.”

And if he knew, then what would I see if I did look in his eyes?”(Hosseini, p. 77-78) This scene replays throughout Amir’s life, resulting in him feeling deep regret for not doing something and standing up for Hassan. This ties into the theme by the way Amir was reminded of a horrible memory, a memory of being a coward and doing the wrong