Guilt In The Kite Runner

In the 2003 novel The Kite Runner by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini, Hosseini embarks on illustrating the lasting effects of guilt and the long road to redemption Amir must tackle. The drama begins with a man named Amir reflecting on the events of his childhood. Amir was an upper-class young boy living with his father, Baba, and their two servants, a father, Ali, and his son Hassan. Both of the servants are Hazara, a marginalized group in Afghanistan; this leads to Hassan suffering harassment from a group of boys. This bullying drastically halts on the day of a kite-running competition, where the group leader rapes Hassan as a form of "punishment." Amir watches without interfering, afraid his father will be disappointed in him. When Amir lies about Hassan stealing due to his guilt, Ali and Hassan move out.

In his novel, Hosseini tackles the challenge of depicting the complexities of father-son relationships and the vital need for an emotional connection between the two men in the relationship. Hosseini characterizes this theme with the relationships between; Amir and Baba, Hassen and Baba, and Amir and Sohrab.
It becomes evident at the beginning of the book that Amir feels he needs to fight for his father's attention. Hosseini writes, "And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba. His was Amir. My name. Looking back on it now, I think the foundation for what happened in the winter of 1975 —and all that followed— was already laid in those first words." (Hosseini 11). While Hassan's first word was "Amir," further proving Hassan's adoration for Amir, Amir's was Baba, the man he fights for the affection of. This quote sets the tone for the