Firstly, one of the many unforgiving things that Amir did yet was still forgiven for, was the fact that Amir did not stand up for his friend who got beat up and raped by a group of boys in an alleyway. This happened because Hassan stood up for Amir and did not give the kite to the
In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, Amir struggles to cope with his inaction during Hassan’s rape. Overwhelmed with guilt, Amir devises a plan to get Hassan and Ali dismissed so they would no longer be a constant reminder of all the times Hassan had protected him and his failure to do the same. The guilt of betraying Hassan burdens him for years, and even after he and Baba move to America, he carries the weight of his actions with him. However, after he accepts Rahim Khan’s request to rescue Sohrab and bring him to safety, Amir strives to leave behind the selfishness and cowardice he had previously succumbed to. Amir progressively begins to forgive himself for his injustices towards Hassan as he recognizes his evolution from a coward
While being beaten up by Assef, Amir feels at peace. He feels this ways because he feels that as he is taking the hits from Assef, it shows that he would do anything for Hassan. He is redeeming himself in a way that he is standing up not only for Hassan but also for Sohrab. Amir also stands up for his family, redeeming himself. " Hassan is dead now.
After rescuing Sohrab from Assef, Amir feels like he is making up for not being there for Hassan. Amir did something that was truly brave and noble. By saving Sohrab and giving him a better life in America, Amir was able to find a way to be good again. Just like Rahim Khan said he would over the phone. Amir will never be able to fully forgive himself for what happened in the winter of 1975, however, by working to become a better person, he can slowly redeem himself and move forward with his life.
Manya Kapur Ms. Kanika Dang English Thesis Paper 9th November 2015 You Before Me The act of sacrifice can significantly be highlighted in the Islamic religion, where one must resign from the materialistic realm to re-establish the divine connection with Allah. Khaled Hosseini has masterfully crafted The Kite Runner and made numerous references to slaughter of the lamb as a portrayal of one’s love towards God.
For example, Amir insists that Baba visits a “...radian oncologist to talk to Baba into getting radiation treatment” (161) after being diagnosed with a metastasized form of cancer. From this quote, Amir’s intent is to help Baba survive the cancer so he can live a longer lifespan. Even after refusing to undergo preventive medical procedures, Amir remains faithful to Baba and fulfills his commands until his death in Chapter 13. Sacrificing Hassan to gain Baba’s affection is another horrifically indicative yet illustrative precedent of Amir’s past, specifically in the quote, “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (77). To validate his reasoning for leaving Hassan, Amir uses self-deception into thinking that his relationship with Baba carried more value rather than a Hazara.
By Rahim Khan saying this, Amir now understands why Baba always tried to do good, because deep down inside he couldn’t bear to know what he’s done. He couldn’t love Hassan the way he wanted to. That’s why he built the orphanage and did so many other great things so he had something to distract him from his mistake and hopefully feel some redemption. Rahim Khan, Amir and Baba all redeem themselves through Sohrab. “I looked at the round face in the Polaroid again, the way the sun fell on it.
In the fiction novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, happiness and redemption are two separate occurrences in life that are achieved in different ways. A critic of the novel writes that The Kite Runner is a “thoughtful book in which redemption and happiness are not necessarily the same thing,” The happiness and redeeming qualities of the characters in the novel are not one and the same; sometimes, one is without the other. This leads to a disconnection between these two aspects. When Amir was a young boy in Afghanistan, the one thing that brought him true happiness was when Baba was proud of him.
The saddest part was that Amir was there watching from a distance and was unwilling to help his best friend due to his lack of courage and inability to stand up for himself. Up until adulthood, Amir had to carry the baggage of betraying Hassan by not being there when he most needed him, this guilt tormented him to the point where he moved to America with his dad, Baba, as a way to escape his
Amir is not capable of asking for forgiveness from Hassan. He rather have the guilt reside in him then apologize. His reluctance to apologize for his actions prolongs the time he holds his guilt. Amir’s pride had stopped him from ever fully redeeming
However, he also turned out to be someone who tried his best to confront his sins and redeem them by building orphanages, fixing Hassan's harelip, and helping others in general (Li Cunxin, Levy98's Blog). Unlike Baba, Amir was afraid of confronting his sins. In the novel, Baba, with reference to Amir, says, "A boy won't stand up for himself becomes a man who can't stand up to anything" (page 22, chapter3) which foreshadows how Amir was unable to face his sin, unlike
A healed sin becomes reconciling friendship, becoming a source for fuller healing that embraces all. One can only redeem their sin if their redemption is done by heart and is meaningful. People who do not experience forgiveness, guilt swallows them up and they feel as if they are drowning. As Richard Baxter said, “that sorrow, even for sin, may be overmuch. That overmuch sorrow swalloweth one up.”
The final guilt Amir struggles with is his guilt of apathy where he physically commits the action and instead of standing as a bystander becomes the person who committed the act, which gives him a different form of guilt. Amir feels apathy guilt through betraying his friend and kicking Hassan out of the house because he is a witness to the crime Amir has committed. Amir has guilt because he chases Hassan out, “I flinched, like I’d been slapped… Then I understood: This was Hassan’s final sacrifice for me… And that led to another understanding: Hassan knew.
It might be thought that Amir did not revert his wrong to Hassan and did not redeem himself. Amir was able to do this in various ways throughout the book, especially towards the end. The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini shows that Amir is able to redeem himself from the wrong he did to Hassan by putting himself in danger to rescue Sohrab, by receiving a scar from the fight with Assef signifying his redemption, and finally by bringing Sohrab back to United States with him. Amir is able to redeem himself by putting his life in danger to rescue Sohrab.
Redemption, the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. In the novel The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini, the theme of redemption is evident throughout the book. Hosseini himself explained redemption in his own way, stating “true redemption is… when guilt leads to good”, and this “fiction is inspired by his memories of growing up in pre-Soviet-controlled Afghanistan and Iran, and of the people who influenced him as a child.” (768 Gale) The theme is shown through each and every character, whether it be Amir the protagonist or Sanaubar, the mother of Hassan.
