Forgiveness In The Kite Runner

It is common in life that mistakes from our past haunt us. Long after forgiveness has been given, people often grapple with the residual guilt of their own mistakes. In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, Amir struggles with the immense guilt of betraying Hassan decades after Hassan has granted him his forgiveness and only truly finds peace with his mistake after he works to redeem himself. Amir struggles with his guilt for so long because as evident in the nature of forgiveness, unless one atones for their past mistakes, forgiveness cannot be given to oneself or accepted from others. At his young age, Amir has yet to experience guilt to the degree that he does after betraying Hassan and thus he is unaware of the true nature of forgiveness. Even after Hassan forgives him and takes the blame for stealing, Amir feels he “[isn’t] worthy of this sacrifice” (105). Amir is unable to feel at peace with the situation and accept Hassan’s

In order to find his peace, Amir must redeem himself by finding Hassan's son, his nephew, Sohrab. In the eyes of Amir, Sohrab is the final living part of Hassan, and therefore the key to his internal peace and forgiveness. When Amir finally finds Sohrab he pleads with him, asking “for [his] bakhshesh, [his] forgiveness” (355). In rescuing Sohrab and asking him for forgiveness, Amir is atoning for his mistakes, his betrayal of Hassan all of those years ago. Amir is able to ask this forgiveness of Sohrab because he feels he has finally redeemed himself. Additionally, Amir’s atonement for his betrayal allows him to forgive himself and overcome his internal struggle with guilt, his “pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away” (359). By atoning for his mistakes and redeeming himself, Amir experiences forgiveness in its truest nature, gaining the ability to accept forgiveness from others and forgive himself as