Redemption In The Kite Runner

Throughout the historical fiction novel, "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini, the theme of achieving redemption is shown through the life of a man named Amir Quadiri. As the book begins, Amir is initilly portrayed as a selfish character. For instance, Hassan was an extremely loyal friend to Amir throughout the beginning of the story. As they were participating in the kite fighting tournament together in Kabul, Afghanistan, Hassan says he will run the kite for him to bring to his father. In this moment, he says to Amir, "For you, a thousand times over" (Hosseini). Although this proves Hassan's loyalty, Amir betrays him, as he runs away when Hassan is being assaulted, in order to get back to his father and gain his approval. Amir reflects on this moment, thinking that, "Maybe Hassan was the

Later, he hears of Hassan's death from his father's old friend, Rahim Khan. In this conversation, he explains, "There is a way to be good again" (Hosseini). In this moment, he was referring to saving Sohrab, Hassan's son, who was now in an orphanage. Eventually, Amir agrees, and after facing many conflicts, such as putting his life at risk to save him from the Talib man, Assef, Hassan is a part of Amir's small family. As they start their new lives, Amir is treating Hassan in a very different, and much kinder way than he treated Hassan. After all that he put Hassan through, this was his chance to finally start his journey to redemption. At the end of the book, Amir is kite fighting with Sohrab, and sees a slight smile on Sohrab's face. He thinks how, "...when Spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the first flake melting" (Hosseini).This gives hope for Sohrab's new, better life, and shows how much Amir has changed, from playing a major role in Hassan losing his smile, to being a significant factor in Sohrab gaining his smile