Redemption In The Dew Breaker

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a tale of the witchcraft trials in Salem, the theme of forgiveness was a reoccurring subject throughout the characters’ moral hardships. Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor, and God are all the subjects of giving or receiving forgiveness. Miller portrays this theme by having all the characters be affected by the sins of themselves and others. In the Bible, the Greek word translated “forgiveness” literally means “to let go,” according to JW.org. Throughout the play, each character was uniquely affected by how they chose to forgive others.

Mahatma Gandhi once stated, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” Jeannette Walls is a best selling author known best for her personal memoir “The Glass Castle” where she describes her unconventional childhood, negligent upbringing, and her struggle to defy all forces and break the cycle of deprivation. Their alcoholic father, Rex and their narcotic mother, Rose Mary raised Jeannette and her three siblings with no steady income and lived in a state of absolute instability. Despite his many flaws, Jeannette managed to keep faith in her father when everyone else had abandoned hope. After many broken promises, drunken riots, and complete desertion Jeannette’s confidence in her father vanished and she moved on

As the trial of witchcraft occurs, the town consulted with three judges and the one who was the most concern for his reputation was judge Danforth. He references many sentencings arrangements which he is biased toward in order to save his credibility from being destroyed. His extensive pride in his judgment and discernment is what makes him a corrupt judge to save his own reputation. Therefore, to preserve his reputation as a judge, he believes that “Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now. While I speak God’s law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering” (119). He perceives his image very valuable to himself as he disallows Parris’ concerns to disrupt his belief in the genuineness of the decisions. Furthermore, a more symbolic sense is that Danforth represents his reputation as he affirms John Proctor that when “We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment" ( 81)

There comes a time when everyone must face their own battles and guilt to find peace and tranquility. Many redeem themselves by erasing their cause of guilt while others may bury their burden and secrets. Many people pile up their guilt until they free themselves from this impurity. Redemption is a way of rescuing oneself from sin, evil and impurity. In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, Amir’s development through the stages in his life conveys the theme of fulfillment and redemption of his past sins. Amir seeks redemption from his past, Hassan, by rescuing the future, Sohrab, and by fighting the present, Assef.

Life is full of regrets. Any person will tell you that sometime or another they had some sort of regret in their life. The magnitude of these regrets varies in each and every person. In the novel, The Kite Runner, the protagonist, Amir, betrays his true best friend by not standing up for him in his friend’s time of need. Amir’s lack of courage left a massive hole of guilt and sorrow. From this, Amir spends many years of his life avoiding the truth of him being a coward. However, he finds inspiration to finally muster courage within himself and earn his redemption. Amir sacrifices many things on his journey towards redemption. He sacrifices his best friend, dear father, and bravery just to cling on to the miniscule

Richard von Weizsaecker once said, “Seeking to forget makes exile all the longer; the secret of redemption lies in remembrance”. Weizsaecker’s statement elucidates that sin is inevitable and the concealment of sin elongates remorse. Redemption lies in how one determines their actions towards their transgression. Literature has made redemption a topic of study. Khaled Hosseini is no exception and deliberates redemption and the hardships and sacrifice that are affiliated with it. This is present throughout Khaled Hosseini’s fictional novel, The Kite Runner, which portrays the constant seeking of salvation, whether salvation of oneself or of broken relationships through the characters Amir and Baba. In Hosseini’s, The Kite Runner, the author

The development of characters and theme Redemption is the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment or clearing a debt. Redemption was a major theme in the novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Redemption was a main theme in the book; this theme is exemplified by Amir, Baba, and Soraya and who they turn out to be by the end of the novel. The development of Baba’s character was greatly affected by his own redemption, which helps develop the theme in the novel.

In The Kite Runner, Amir was on a quest for redemption. Throughout his entire childhood, he struggled to redeem himself to Baba for “killing” his mother while giving birth. Baba was always disappointed by Amir because he was nothing like him. After Hassan got raped by Assef, which Amir witnessed but never did anything to help him, Amir spent every second of his life trying to redeem himself to Baba, and Hassan. Amir goes back to Afghanistan in an attempt to save and adopt Hassan’s son, Sohrab, after something terrible happens to Hassan.

At some point in a every person’s life personal battles dealing with the guilt of a committed sin or discretion will be faced, some larger or smaller than others. Though, through the process of redemption people can find a peaceful state of mind helping to make up for that cause of guilt in the first place. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, the quest to seek redemption from major guilt in the past is very evident for one of the books main characters, Amir. Amir has been living in guilt and throughout his whole life has been continually seeking redemption of his childhood when he betrayed his best friend, Hassan. One day, many years late he has the chance to go to Afghanistan to seek back that redemption and find peace for his life.

The well-known rapper, Ice T. once said, “Redemption just means you just make a change in your life and you try to do right, versus what you were doing, which was wrong.” In his book, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini writes a story about a friendship between two Afghan boys, Amir and Hassan, and how an act of disloyalty affected their lives. Amir struggles with the disappointment of his father, Baba. When the opportunity arrived for him to make Baba proud, it came with a price. When Hassan was being raped, Amir just stood and watched, unable to do something. His lack of bravery cost him their relationship, and he carries the guilt with him to adulthood. Through his book, The Kite Runner, Hosseini shows how remorse can lead redemption.

“There is a way to be good again” (2) is not only a relapsed statement in Khaled Hosseini’s first novel, The Kite Runner, but also a reoccurring theme in his second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns. Through the comparison of his two novels, the characters ultimately struggle to find their personal road to redemption. The protagonist of The Kite Runner, Amir returns to Afghanistan to redeem himself of a memory that has been haunting him for the past twenty-six years by saving his half-nephew, Sohrab. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam's endeavors to be redeemed are achieved through self-sacrifice - and having a reason to die for. Throughout the course of each of the characters’ lives, their ultimate goal is deliverance

The possibility of redemption is a whirlwind of murky debates between one's own moral standing with themselves and society in addition to their allowance to be forgiven by others for a lapse in their own judgment or actions. If one seeks redemption, they must never push what they did out of their mind and try to hide it. Namely, a former president of Germany who resided in office from 1984 to 1994, Richard von Weizsaecker is cited with saying, “seeking to forget makes exile all the longer; the secret of redemption lies in remembrance”. His philosophy coincides with an overall theme of redemption; such that if a person truly seeks redemption, they will embrace their transgressions and use them as energy to continue toward their end-goal. He

Redemption in the eyes of society is another important theme in The Kite Runner. Baba has a great amount of guilt over his adultery, because he had slept with his best friend’s wife. From his adultery his second son, Hassan is born but because of the pressures of the caste system (Baba is of a higher caste, Hassan and his father were of a lower caste), Baba never discloses that Hassan is his son. Instead, his guilt drives him to execute many charitable acts for his community. While speaking to Amir about Baba, Baba’s old friend Rahim Khan says, “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.”5 As well, Amir himself engages in many charitable acts

While it can be argued that there is no real divide between good and evil in the novels, as supported by critic Barbara Bleiman “If one applies criteria from the modern English of American novel to him, the character of Assef meets all the criteria of a typical antagonist ”. It is clear that Assef’s personality is sociopathic due to his actions in Chapter 7 and Hassan’s rape. As Amir highlights he is not only a bully but finds pleasure in the suffering of others, he allows Hassan to keep the kite to “remind you of what I am about to do” before he sexually abuses him as a result of Hassan’s unrelenting devotion to Amir in the kite race. It is significant that this occurs in the early part of the novel as it sets up the key theme of redemption

Unrighteous- Many people believe that God will only punish or cause something bad to happen to people who have been unrighteous. Although god does cause some bad things to happen to those who are unfaithful to him and don’t actively follow him that is not the only reason for bad things to happen. Being unrighteous doesn’t get you anywhere and can actually cause more harm than good. Many people believe that there is no harm in believing in god. This principle was portrayed and mathematically figured in pascal’s wager. Where numerical values were placed on the value people put on happiness and joy. After a configuration there is always a sense that believing in God leads to a more fulfilled life. However, believing in God isn’t all that is takes. Many people who do believe in God are still unrighteous as they actively and sometimes knowingly act out against god. As portrayed in this chapter of the novel, God doesn’t only cause bad things to happen to people who are unrighteous but also causes heartbreak to happen to his loyal followers. This is done not out of hate but as a way to test your relationship with Him and how you will react to the situation.