Forgiveness In Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner

In Khaled Hosseini’s the Kite Runner, Amir initially tried to hide from the responsibility of Hassan’s rape, but when he takes responsibility and finds Sohrab, he finds forgiveness within himself. When Hassan was raped during Amir’s childhood, he takes the blame on himself, but instead of seeking forgiveness from Hassan he hides from his problems. This is clearly seen when he hides the money and watch under Hassan’s pillow, and starts him on a long road of regret and guilt,which is further worsened by Hassan taking the blame for his actions. “I loved him in that moment…I wasn't worthy of this sacrifice; I was a liar, a cheat, and a thief...except that part of me was glad...that this would all be over soon” (105). When Hassan takes credit for

However he forgives himself later in the book, when he first meets Sohrab and has his confrontation with Assef. As they are fighting over Sohrab, Amir begins to laugh hysterically despite the pain of his various fractures from Assef’s brass knuckles. In this moment, he forgives himself for what he did to Hassan because he believes that this is the punishment that he deserved for standing by and being cowardly. “...for the first time, since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace...healed at last” (289). In taking the beating from Assef for Hassan’s son, he believes that he has stopped running from his fears and responsibilities and taken on the burden instead of avoiding it and letting it haunt him. By facing Assef, he accepts responsibility happened to Hassan and his family instead of running from it like he had been since the kite festival. He refuses to go back to that place of guilt and hiding from his actions. Even though Amir spends most of his adolescence and adult life guilt ridden over Hassan’s rape, he finds forgiveness in himself by going to find Sohrab and save his best friend’s