The Past In The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner is the first novel of Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It tells the story of Amir, a boy from Kabul, Afghanistan, whose closest friend is Hassan, a young Hazara servant. Novel turns around these two characters and Baba, Amir’s father, by telling their tragic stories, guilt and redemption that are woven throughout the novel. Even in the difficult moments, characters build up to their guilt and later on to their redemption. Their sins and faults alter the lives of innocent people. First, Amir and Baba fail to take action on the path to justice for Ali and Hassan. Moreover, Amir and Baba continue to build up their guilt due to their decisions and actions. Although Amir builds up more guilt than Baba throughout the novel, he eventually succeeds in the road to redemption unlike his father. After all, Amir and Baba have many chances to fix their atonements but Baba chooses not to and Amir does. Baba uses his wealth to cover up his sins but never atone himself while Amir decides to stand up and save Sohrab and finally finds peace. Amir and Baba’s reaction to sins essentially indicate their peace of mind and how they react to guilt and injustice.

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.

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.

As a boy Amir fails to stand for himself, as an adult he can only atone himself by proving he has the courage to stand up for what is right. When Amir decides to fight Assef who was a part of Taliban to save his nephew, Sohrab ,is the time when he achieved atonement because he feels that finally he was punished for never stepping in and trying to protect Hassan because of his cowardice. “What was so funny that for the first time since in winter of 1975 I felt peace. I laughed because I saw in some hidden, nook in a corner of my mind, I ‘d even been looking forward to this... But I did now know my body was broken badly, I wouldn’t find out until later- but I felt healed at last, I laughed.” (Hosseni Khaled

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.

“True redemption is when guilt leads to good,” Rahim Khan asserts. Khaled Hosseini compels the readers to think in the novel, The Kite Runner, by analyzing Amir’s quests. Additionally, readers must understand Amir’s journey to maturity throughout The Kite Runner, as a Bildungsroman novel. Amir’s journey to redemption ultimately accentuates his quest for adulthood.

Not only did Amir risk his life by going back to Kabul, but he also saved Sohrab from Taliban officials and brought him back to Pakistan. After Amir went back to Kabul, he found out that Sohrab was being held at one Taliban official’s house. When he went there to get Sohrab, he found out that the Taliban official was Assef; the guy who raped Hassan. Assef agreed to let Sohrab go in exchange for a fight with Amir. While Amir gets beaten, he thinks about the day when he asked Hassan to punish him by throwing pomegranate at him. But Hassan did not and Amir felt like he wasn’t punished. After Assef beat him up, he felt that he was redeemed because he needed to be punished for his sins. On page 289, Amir narrates his fight with Assef, “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. – My body was broken – just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later – but I felt healed. Healed at last.” Amir felt that he was healed because he finally was punished physically for what he did to Hassan. He was physically damaged but at the end he was able to recover and take Sohrab back to Pakistan.

Healed at last. I laughed.” After fighting his first but final battle, to win Sohrab from the evil Assef, Amir instantly feels well again. Hassan’s whole life consisted of being there for Amir, playing with Amir, serving Amir, and at-last Amir has done something for Haasan. Amir is aware that he did terrible things to Hassan in the past and has lived his entire life feeling culpable.

Past events deeply affect the main character, Amir, in many ways throughout the novel, The Kite Runner. An event that impacted Amir personally for the rest of his life took place twenty six years before the year the novel is staged in. Amir recalls this event throughout the story many times which, as a result, leads him on a journey for redemption to overcome guilt. The biggest event that causes Amir to go on this quest for redemption is the rape of his best friend and step brother, Hassan.

The consequences of the past are inescapable and the choices a person makes can influence the rest of his life. There is no way to change the past, so once important choices are made it is impossible to reverse time and change those decisions. Khaled Hosseini explores this idea of having to live with past decisions in his compelling novel The Kite Runner. To enforce the message of how inescapable the past truly is, the main character of Hosseini’s book, Amir, betrays his closest friend and struggles to cope with the haunting consequences of this betrayal. Through Amir’s complex character development and The Kite Runner’s distinctive plot structure, those who read the novel gain a deeper understanding of Amir’s decisions as a result of his past mistakes via Hosseini’s use of foreshadowing and flashbacks. By creating a unique relationship between the past and present in the novel, Hosseini urges readers to ponder the consequences of mistakes and reflect on their own past.

Joseph Martinez Ms. Noh A.P. Lit Period 5 9-14-14 The Power of the Past One of the truest statements to this day is that the past affects the future, whether it is good or bad. In the fictional novel Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the main character, Amir, faces numerous ground-shaking tribulations that change is life as he enters adult hood, and ultimately further the theme of the novel. As the reader nears the end of the novel, it is found that the ‘truest statement’ is nearly protruding out of the pages showing that Amir’s actions in the past did ultimately have an effect on his future. To make this clear, the author induces emotions into Amir such as guilt due to self blame and his lack of courage and his jealousy in the relationships of others.

In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini tells a notable coming-of-age story portraying the actions and thoughts of Amir, a penitent adult living in the United States and his reminiscence of his affluent childhood in the unstable political environment of Afghanistan. Throughout the novel Khaled Hosseini uses character description to display his thoughts on sin and redemption.

In the novel Kite Runner the past plays a major role throughout the story, the main character Amir’s actions that were made during his childhood would follow him throughout the rest of his life. No matter how hard he tried to escape the events of his unfortunate past, he was plagued with unending guilt and regret. The story truly begins when a childhood friend calls asking Amir to return to the war-torn nation of his childhood, offering an opportunity to make up for his past and to “be good again.” This truly show that even if someone moves thousands of miles away, the past will continue to exemplify its persistence and catch up, no matter how long it takes.

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is a remarkable coming-of-age novel describing and revealing the thoughts and actions of Amir, a compunctious adult in the United States and his memories of his affluent childhood in the unstable political environment of Afghanistan. The novel showcases the simplistic yet powerful ability of guilt to influence decisions and cause conflict which arises between Amir’s childhood friend and half-brother, Hassan; Amir’s father, Baba; and importantly, himself. Difference in class The quest to become “good again” causes a reflection in Amir to atone for his sins and transform into the person of which he chooses to be.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, a story of a boy as he unravels his journey throughout his life. The novel consists of multiple themes such as love, friendship, betrayal, guilt, , secrets, loyalty, and redemption. As the main character, Amir recalls his past events, all of these themes start to unravel specific events that occurred in his life. “There is a way to be good again” (Hosseini 2) is where the novel unfolds the deep dark life of Amir’s regret and guilt, Baba’s secret, and Hassan’s devotion. The book is a true masterpiece which keeps the readers glued to the story as it unfolds. One of the reasons, the story attracts many readers is due to The United States recent conflict with Afghanistan. However, the story has a personal