The Past In The Kite Runner

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

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

In many works of literature the author manipulates a character’s relationship with the past to contribute to the work as a whole. Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, executes this through his main protagonist, Amir. Majority of the novel dwells on Amir struggling with inner demons that haunt him because of things that took place when he was a child, for instance Hassan’s rape by Assef. Rahim Khan cleverly uses his mysterious knowledge of Amir’s past to string together the plot. By using Amir’s guilt of the past Rahim Khan is able to get Amir to return to a war torn Afghanistan to be cleansed of his past transgressions.

An important theme that relates to the physical journey in The Kite Runner is the past. The influence of the past affects Amir in his life as we see from the very first sentence of the book until the end. “I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of the 1975… That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years,” (Hosseini 1). Throughout the book, Amir’s past haunts him in every action he takes and the journey for his redemption. To Amir, the past defines who he currently is. All of his feelings of guilt stimulate him to make up for his mistakes. For example, he feels responsible for the events leading up to Hassan’s murder by the Taliban because he pushed Hassan and Ali out of Baba’s house. So, years later when he goes back to visit Rahim Khan, Amir is told to make amends by finding his nephew, Sohrab. The past is mentioned in many parts of the book in his quest, Amir faces many obstacles from his past.

Amir has shown to Baba that he is not a reflection of him, which makes Baba believe that it is not necessary to develop a connection with his son. This makes Amir feel guilty of himself which leads him to pursue a series of events where he attempts to win Baba’s love, even if those decisions put Hassan’s life in danger. After winning Baba’s affection and creating a stronger bond with his father in America, Amir still feels guilty for betraying his best friend in the winter of 1975. Amir’s guilt is not tearing his life apart as much as it did when he lived in Kabul, but it still affects him negatively. He is willing to do anything to let go of his guilt, even if it means putting his life at risk. After finding out Hassan is dead and he is Amir’s half-brother, Amir heads back to his childhood home during a time when the country is run by a terrorist organization, so he can rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab, and finally be able to find peace in his life. Everyone makes mistakes in their life and even if those mistakes might have destroyed another person’s life, there is always a way to earn redemption and that is by letting the guilt that one carries lead to something

We can clearly see the transformation of Amir as he moves through his journey. In the beginning, he desperately tries to push his regret into the farthest reaches of his mind. This regret is his passiveness when he watched his best friend and half-brother Hassan sacrifice

While living in Afghanistan, Amir witnesses the raping of his loyal friend and servant, Hassan. Instead of stepping up and stopping the horrific event from happening, "[Amir] bit on [his] fist. Shut [his] eyes" (73). Amir harbored the pain of witnessing his best friend suffering and believed that if he told anyone what had happened that he would be a disgrace to his father. Throughout the rest of his life, Amir believed that every bad situation was God punishing him for not standing up for Hassan. Because Amir was not able to forgive himself, he was unable to move on with his life and be at peace. He believed he was not good enough for anyone's forgiveness. After about twenty-five years, Amir saw his chance at redemption--his chance for forgiveness. He learned of Hassan's death, and that his only son, Sohrab was in an orphanage. Knowing the conditions of Afghanistan, Amir went to save Sonrab and bring him back to America for a better life. Upon returning to America, Amir had admitted his horrific event to Soraya and gained her

Throughout the novel, the protagonist and narrator Amir receives many acts of loyalty from his brother and friend Hassan; these acts start off simple and almost meaningless to Amir, but as times get harder, Hassan’s loyalty proves strong. Hassan was very loyal and humble to those close to him and showed his devotion when he listened to everything Amir had to say and did whatever he wanted when he asked. Amir was reminding himself of the past and constantly bring him memories of Hassan and felt guilt at every moment. Amir reminded himself of the days in Afghanistan when Ali scolded Hassan for the things he had asked him to do, “But he never told on me. Never told that the mirror, like shooting walnuts at the neighbor’s dog, was my idea” (4). These actions were created by Hassan’s surroundings as he grew up, he was taught to be a Hazara servant, but once that friendship sparked between the two boys, Hassan didn’t want to lose that, Amir was his only friend. These small acts of loyalty sparked and grew more important to Amir. A major turning point in the novel was during the kite tournament, but upon finishing the race, Hassan tells Amir, “For you a thousand times over!” (67). This statement is a constant reminder throughout the novel that Hassan will forever be with him and that he will constantly put himself in danger for him and the people he loves. The proof of his loyalty increased that very same day when Hassan found the kite in an alley, but being cornered and harassed by Assef and his friends, he chose to stay and run that kite for Amir instead of handing it over. “‘Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly. This is his

Constantly people are trying to run from their past because the think that forgetting it will make it go away. But in reality that can not actually happen because everything will find a way to turn back up again, whether it is a small reminder or a big one. In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the main character Amir, his father Baba, and wife Soraya all deal with the consequences of their pasts. Amir remains haunted with the things he did and did not do as a kid and struggles with the resurfacing of its consequences, while Baba remains constantly reminded of his guilty past and how he handled it, and Soraya has to battle the way her past defines her as a person in society.

As he leaps after the kite, he yells, “For you a thousand times over!” over his shoulder (Hosseini 67). While chasing down the kite, Hassan runs into Assef. Assef demands the kite as payment for previous embarrassments, but after Hassan refuses, Assef decides he will take something even more precious from him. At this point, Amir comes looking for his best friend and his trophy. He witnesses Hassan getting raped and quietly slinks away, not brave enough to protect his protector. Worse, Amir never acknowledges the incident, wounding Hassan deeper than any physical abuse. Ashamed of himself and his cowardice, Amir decides that the best way to be rid of his guilt is to make Hassan leave. He plants money and his watch under Hassan’s mattress with the hope that Baba will throw the thief out. Baba forgives Hassan, but Hassan and his father decide to leave anyway.

This is just the beginnings of his guilt. We leave Amirs childhood memories and return to the summer of 2001, where Amir and Baba, Amir's father, have moved to America (191). Amir

For instance, by using the relationship between the past and present to influence Amir’s character development, Hosseini demonstrates how despite one’s best efforts, there is no way to escape the memories of the past. Memories follow individuals wherever they go and can torment individuals for the rest of their lives. Hosseini reveals how Amir’s past decisions shape his character development and his decision­making as the story progresses. When Amir was young, he was

Though Hassan was his best friend, Amir feelt that Hassan, a Hazara servant, was beneath him. He passively attacked Hassan by mocking and taunting him. Amir never learned how to affirm himself against anyone because Hassan always defended him. All of these factors lead to Amir not being able to stand up for Hassan when he needed him most.

As Amir waited on Sohrab’s response to his question which was if Sohrab would acompany Amir to America his mind drifted back to a winter day from long ago. This flashback I believe pla an important role in understanding the character of Hassan. Amirs mind flashed back to the image of Hassan and him sitting on the snow beneath a leafless sour cherry tree. That day was where Amir playes a cruel joke on hassan by asking him if he would chew dirt to prove his loyalty to him and Amir said “If you asked, I would,” but also in responce, Hassan asked Amir if he would ever ask such a thing which Amir responded he would not. But as Amir say “ That’s the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.” In this flashback

Amir stumbles upon an alley. In the alley, he sees the Hassan trap by three boys named Assef, Kamal, and Wali. All they asked of Hassan is to give up the blue kite. However, Hassan’s loyalty and friendship toward Amir prevented Hassan to give up the kite. As the tension built, Assef lets Hassan have the kite, but in-return he does unthinkable. Assef rapes Hassan as Amir watched unnoticeably from the alley (Hosseini 62-66). This was Amir’s chance to prove his true friendship by stepping in to save Hassan. Instead, Amir ran “because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he could 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” (Hosseini 68). According to Amir, “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (Hosseini 68). “He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (Hosseini 68).