Guilt In The Kite Runner

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Brooke Ketterer Mrs.Elsbree English Lit AP 27 April 2023 The Kite Runner Q3 Essay Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner features a character's guilt leading to a constant search for redemption. As Amir, the novel’s protagonist, attempts to make amends for his past injustices, he undergoes several acts requiring courage and compassion readers had yet to have seen from him in the novel. Amir is haunted by his old ways which evidently resulted in his desire to fill the guilt with something meaningful. Amir’s aspirations to make amends for his past mistake are presented through his acts of bravery, which he commits in order to assuage the overwhelming guilt he feels after he betrays his friend Hassan. To accomplish this, Hosseini writes Amir as a character who is able to discard cowardice and embrace courage in order to claim the sense of redemption he longs for, ultimately illustrating that guilt fosters motivation to become a better man and make amends for past mistakes. At first, Amir was simply thinking about his personal desires and needs. Amir looked down upon his half-brother, Hassan, yet also grew …show more content…

Amir decides to go save Sohrab who has been taken by Assef, Hassan’s attacker, in order to atone for his mistakes. Amir gets severely beaten by Assef during the altercation, yet he still managed to free Sohrab, showing how he put a loved one's welfare above his own. Because he was able to stand up to Assef for Sohrab when he was unable to do so for Hassan, Amir's ability to take care of Sohrab and get him away from Assef shows how much he has grown as a person. Amir's willingness to risk his life shows how committed he is to atone for his transgressions, finding closure, and experiencing redemption. The fact that he overcame his prior pain to make up for his errors illustrates that acts of bravery can stem from inner