Redemption In Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner

He starts hating Hassan because of the guilt. In the novel Amir mentioned, “Every time Hassan was around, I was getting a headache” (Hosseini 93). It was a torture for Amir to see Hassan because he would remember what he did and feel bad about it because he knows that what he did was wrong and shouldn’t have sold his friend for a kite tournament to grab his father’s attention. Amir’s success as a loving and caring person is mostly influenced by Rahim Khan, he gives Amir the love that his father never gave him, he also encourage his creativity side, writing novels and short stories, Rahim Khan was always there for Amir when his own father wasn’t “Amir Jan, I enjoyed you story very much. Mashallah, God has granted you a special talent. It is now your duty to hone that talent, because a person who wastes his God-given talents is a donkey. You have written your story with sound grammar and interesting style. But the most impressive thing about your story is that it has irony. You may not even know what that means…My door is and always will be open to you, Amir Jan. I shall hear any story you have to tell. Bravo. Your friend, Rahim” That’s the main reason why Amir is willing to do anything to prove to his father that he his responsible and courageous and not like his father used to say. Ever since Amir has lived with Hassan he has always been jealous of him in every way because Amir’s father always said that Hassan was an ideal kid.

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

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

“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.

Once back in Kabul, Amir takes steps he would never have imagined, which truly define his character. On his venture back to Afghanistan he learns the truth about Hassan’s connection with Baba. After hearing this Amir feels robbed of the truth and is angry at how his own father could hold this back from him. Despite his feelings, Amir realizes he must not only pay for his betrayal of Hassan but for Baba’s betrayal of Ali too. Amir knows he must face his fears and he understands this when he reveals, “I remembered Baba saying that my problem was that someone had always done my fighting for me" (Hosseini 239). Following this he undertakes a personal mission to find Sohrab and finds the courage to stand up to the Taliban, nearly dying in the process. During his quest Amir comes face to face with the disturbing Assef and fights him for Sorab, the ultimate sacrifice for his dead half-brother. While he is beaten he begins to laugh, which angers Assef even more. Amir explains that, “What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace" (Hosseini 303). After successfully bringing Sohrab back to California, Amir defends his Hazara nephew when General Taheri insults him. Over the dinner

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.

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.

At first, Amir does not seek to earn redemption. We know that he is ashamed at what he has done but he prefers to hide his guilt rather than confess and redeem himself right away. After the incident, Amir attempted to avoid Hassan at all costs. Even when Hassan approached him to see if he wanted to go for a walk, like they used to do frequently, Amir refused to go with him and told him to go away (88). He knew that he didn't deserve his friends unwavering love and loyalty.

As one ages, the importance of forgiveness and redemption of past actions becomes stronger. This is effectively shown in Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, through the use of symbols, Khaled Hosseini shows the importance of redemption and how it affects the main character, Amir, in his quest for making up for the terrible actions that occurred in his childhood. Amir grows up in Afghanistan near war times, causing Amir’s ideals and morals to be challenged. The first symbol is shown through Hassan’s harelip and slingshot. Hassan is portrayed as an intelligent, humble, optimistic character who is born with a harelip making him look like he is always smiling.

One of the most primary ways to achieve redemption is through the means of acceptance. At the same time, a majority of people who are not ready to accept their mistakes will either end up making another mistake or live their entire life in guilt. This situation can be observed in Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner” when Amir attempts to achieve redemption by accusing Hassan for theft. Before Amir could accept his mistake, he attempts to redeem himself by intentionally tempting Hassan to fight back and speak up. However, this attempt backfires on Amir when Hassan and Ali decide to leave Baba’s house after accepting and apologizing for Hassan’s mistake. Therefore, acceptance plays a key role in redemption. Meanwhile, there are multiple variations of

Amir had good intentions coming back to Afghanistan, to get his nephew so that an American couple can adopt him. Amir went to Afghanistan, back to Kabul to find the orphanage that had Sohrab. When he got to the orphanage he learned that the director had sold Sohrab to a Taliban so he can use the money to feed the other kids. Amir tracked down the Taliban that Sohrab was sold to, so he could buy him off of the Taliban. When Amir got there he found out that the Taliban was Assef. After Amir and Sohrab had left Assef, Amir was badly injured so he had to stay in a hospital, when he was in the hospital Amir found out that the American couple that wanted to adopt Sohrab never existed. Amir tried to make things right by asking Sohrab if he wanted to come live with him in American. Amir asked Sohrab in the hospital, “Would you like to come live in America with me and my wife?”(320). Amir tried to do the right thing, but up until that point he didn't even think of what was going to happen to his nephew. It should have been his intent from the get go to take Sohrab back with him, since he is his only living family left. It should not have taken saying that there was no couple wanting him to make Amir ask him. Amir had made a promise with Sohrab that he would never go back to an orphanage, that Sohrab was going to go back with Amir. Amir went to the American embassy in Islamabad to try to adopt Sohrab, Amir was pushed away to a immigration lawyer. The best option for the adoption was to send Sohrab to another orphanage, Sohrab begged Amir not to take him to another orphanage. AMir went to the bathroom to tell Sohrab that he didn't have to go to another orphanage, “ I pushed open the door. Stepped into the bathroom. Suddenly I was on my knees, screaming. Screaming through my clenched teeth. Screaming until I thought my throat would rip and my chest would explode. Later, they said I was screaming when the ambulance

William Shakespeare once said: “Though those that are betrayed / Do feel the treason sharply, yet the traitor / Stands in worse case of woe.”(Cymbeline 3.4.87) Depending on who causes the betrayal, either a friend or family, consequences are prominent from either side. Just in the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, individuals who betray a long term friendship for their own good undergo major internal guilt where moral emotions represent a key element of humanization as a whole. Secondly, those who betray their family, not only feel the internal guilt which results in a major character development. In the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, some individuals struggle with their redemption and wrongdoings. Hosseini portrays the theme of redemption throughout

“I lifted Hassan’s mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it… Then I knocked on Baba’s door and told him what I hoped would be the last in a long line of shameful lies.”(Hosseini,104)- The guilt building up in Amir is causing so much tension between him and Hassan that he just wants Hassan to leave. However it won’t be easy because his father will not fire his “family”. Theft is the only sin Baba cannot tolerate and Amir knows this.

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

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.