The Kite Runner
Khaled hosseini, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.
The quest for redemption makes up much of the novel’s plot, and expands as a theme to include both the personal and the political. Throughout his childhood, Amir ’s greatest struggle was to redeem himself to Baba for “killing” his mother during childbirth, and for growing up a disappointing son who was unlike Baba himself. After Hassan ’s rape, Amir spends the rest of his life trying to redeem himself for his betrayal of his loyal friend. This ultimately culminates in Amir’s return to Afghanistan and his attempts to save and adopt Hassan’s son Sohrab .
After Amir learns of Baba’s betrayal of Ali , Amir realizes that Baba was probably trying to redeem his adultery through his many charitable activities and strong principles in later life. Amir is also able to find a kind of redemption in his bloody fight with Assef (Hassan’s rapist), and his adoption of Sohrab. Hosseini subtly connects these personal quests for redemption to Afghanistan itself. Despite its violent and corrupted past, Hosseini hopes for a redemption for his country someday.
Redemption ThemeTracker
Redemption Quotes in The Kite Runner
Because the truth of it was, I always felt like Baba hated me a little. And why not? After all, I had killed his beloved wife, his beautiful princess, hadn’t I? The least I could have done was to have had the decency to have turned out a little more like him. But I hadn’t turned out like him.
I was going to win, and I was going to run that last kite. Then I’d bring it home and show it to Baba. Show him once and for all that his son was worthy.
I envied her. Her secret was out. Spoken. Dealt with. I opened my mouth and almost told her how I’d betrayed Hassan, lied, driven him out, and destroyed a forty-year relationship between Baba and Ali. But I didn’t.
Listening to them, I realized how much of who I was, what I was, had been defined by Baba and the marks he had left on people’s lives… Now he was gone. Baba couldn’t show me the way anymore; I’d have to find it on my own.
My suspicions had been right all those years. He knew about Assef, the kite, the money, the watch with the lightning bolt hands. He had always known.
Come. There is a way to be good again , Rahim Khan had said on the phone just before hanging up.
“You know, Rahim Khan said, “one time, when you weren’t around, your father and I were talking… I remember he said to me, ‘Rahim, a boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.’ I wonder, is that what you’ve become?”
As it turned out, Baba and I were more alike than I’d ever known. We had both betrayed the people who would have given their lives for us. And with that came this realization: that Rahim Khan had summoned me here to atone not just for my sins but for Baba’s too.
Another rib snapped, this time lower. What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace. I laughed because I saw that, in some hidden nook in the corner of my mind, I’d even been looking forward to this… My body was broken – just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later – but I felt healed .
I loved him because he was my friend, but also because he was a good man, maybe even a great man. And this is what I want you to understand, that good, real good, was born out of your father’s remorse. Sometimes, I think everything he did, feeding the poor on the streets, building the orphanage, giving money to friends in need, it was all his way of redeeming himself. And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good.
Your father, like you, was a tortured soul , Rahim Khan had written. Maybe so. We had both sinned and betrayed. But Baba had found a way to create good out of his remorse. What had I done, other than take my guilt out on the very same people I had betrayed, and then try to forget it all?
“Sohrab, I can’t give you your old life back, I wish to God I could. But I can take you with me. That was what I was coming in the bathroom to tell you. You have a visa to go to America, to live with me and my wife. It’s true. I promise.”
If someone were to ask me today whether the story of Hassan, Sohrab, and me ends with happiness, I wouldn’t know what to say.
Does anybody’s?
I looked at Hassan, showing those two missing teeth, sunlight slanting on his face. Baba’s other half. The unentitled, unprivileged half. The half who had inherited what had been pure and noble in Baba. The half that, maybe, in the most secret recesses of his heart, Baba had thought of as his true son… Then I realized something: That last thought had brought no sting with it… I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.
“Do you want me to run that kite for you?” His Adam’s apple rose and fell as he swallowed… I thought I saw him nod. “For you, a thousand times over,” I heard myself say. Then I turned and ran. It was only a smile, nothing more… A tiny thing… But I’ll take it. With open arms. Because when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the first flake melting.
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The Kite Runner
A journey for redemption in the kite runner justin caleb walters college.
In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, several major themes arise. One of the most dominant themes is the idea of redemption for past wrongdoings. The protagonist, an Afghani-American named Amir, relays the story of his childhood; through this, one realizes the issues he went through and the events that will come to shape the plot of the novel. Amir seeks redemption for his betrayal of his childhood best friend, Hassan. Because of his cowardice during Hassan’s rape, his betrayal of Hassan after the incident, and his committing of the vilest sin in Afghani culture, Amir must depart on a long and debilitating journey for the ultimate goal of total redemption that will take him back to his violent and war-torn homeland and beyond.
As children, Amir and Hassan were inseparable. The two of them “used to climb the poplar trees in the driveway of [Amir’s] father’s house and annoy our neighbors by reflecting sunlight into their homes with a shard of mirror” (Hosseini 3). The two young boys, though they were of different social classes and ethnicities, were able to remain steadfast friends no matter the circumstances presented to them. Amir, a Pashtun, was of a higher class and a different religious sect than Hassan, a Hazara. This did...
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Theme of Redemption in the Kite Runner
This essay will analyze the theme of redemption in Khaled Hosseini’s novel “The Kite Runner.” It will explore the protagonist’s journey of atonement for past mistakes and the novel’s portrayal of guilt, forgiveness, and personal growth. The piece will examine how the theme of redemption is intertwined with the motifs of friendship, betrayal, and cultural and political changes in Afghanistan. PapersOwl offers a variety of free essay examples on the topic of Book.
How it works
It is only normal for humans to make mistakes, but it is how the mistakes are resolved that will dictate ones’ fate. In The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, he describes the life of a young boy named Amir whose mistake haunts him for years, and his journey to find a way to relieve the guilt he had to live with. The author demonstrates how guilt can physically and psychologically push a person to search for ways to redeem them self.
Redemption is a way to rid people of the guilt from the mistakes they have made. Without redemption, it could really affect the way someone lives their daily life because that thought, or act can stay with the person their whole life. Most people earn and deserve a shot at redemption; yet some people don’t change, and commit acts so vile that they cannot be redeemed.
The main character of The Kite Runner, Amir, knows a thing or two about making mistakes. Throughout all stages of Amir’s life, he is striving for redemption. Whether it was him saying the wrong things or hiding from the truth, Amir was always finding out new things he would have to redeem himself for. It started from when Amir was a child, when he felt that his father blamed him for his mother’s death and how his father Baba couldn’t love him the same. Amir sees Baba as an elevated person that he could never amount too and that is why Amir is always trying to find ways to make things right with him. For example, Amir enters the popular kite flying competition they traditionally do in Afghanistan and wants to win in order to gain love and acceptance from his father. Although Amir wins the competition, something went wrong which would stay with him forever. Amir’s closet friend Hassan, who was also his servant and neighbor since he was born, was the reason Amir won the competition. Hassan ran after Amir’s winning kite and found it in an alley where three other older boys were also, and who wanted the kite. Hassan refused to give it to them and stayed loyal to Amir as he was since the first day they met. The older kids led by a cruel nasty boy Assef, refused to back down and ended up raping Hassan as a result of disobeying him and not handing over the kite. The worst part about this is how Amir watched the whole thing happen, paralyzed at the scene. Amir stabbed Hassan in the back by not jumping in and not putting one bit of effort to try to rescue Hassan. This results in Amir not living a peaceful life due to his nagging guilt because deep down in his heart he feels he should have done something and feels horrible that he had chosen not to. Amir’s feeling of guilt and his vital need for redemption are always a part of his life as he grows up. Amir chooses to be a coward when Hassan is raped. A few days later, Amir already feels guilt and resentment inside him and you can hear the emotion from his narration:
I watched Hassan get raped, I said to no one. Baba stirred in his sleep. Kaka Homayoun grunted. A part of me was hoping someone would wake up and hear, so I wouldn’t have to live with this lie anymore. But no one woke up and in the silence that followed, I understood the nature of my new curse: I was going to get away with it. (Hosseini 86)
As Amir is lying in the dark, nothing but his own thoughts and guilt are taking over his life. He understands how he is going to get away with betrayal and how the only way to live with his remorse is to ignore Hassan, so he doesn’t have to think about his sin. In a result, Amir ends up setting up Hassan, and states, “I took a couple of the envelopes of cash from the pile of gifts and my watch and tiptoed out…I lifted Hassan’s mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghan bills under it.” (Hosseini 104). Amir needed to get Hassan out of sight and the only way was to make it look like Hassan has committed a sin that Amir’s dad hated the most, stealing. This led to Hassan and his father getting kicked out of the house; however, Amir still can’t get over his guilt and the fact how Hassan has moved out of the house doesn’t change anything. His sin will still haunt Amir in his adult years and makes him feel worst when he feels responsible for Hassan’s tragic death.
After reading the novel and studying Amir’s guilt, due to the betrayal of Hassan, the reader sees how guilt can worsen over time and can have a major impact in the decisions one makes. Guilt is an emotion that has the power to destroy one’s life without redemption. Redemption is for the people who deserve it and understand to learn from their mistakes and become a better person from it. Redemption is not for everyone, some mistakes are more costly than others and some people just don’t have the heart to change no matter how much advice or help they get. However, that is not always the case, in fact it is always inspiring to see someone pick themselves up and keep trying even though they keep making the same mistake and go through many disappointments. “Mistakes are synonymous with being human. We all have a dark side, a destructive side. How much we allow it to take over depends on our level of awareness and what stage of growth we’re at.” (Manal Ghosain). Most people in this world have it in their hearts to change and to grow from failure, some people just can’t make up for their vile acts and those are the people who are ones facing life in prison and the people who just mentally can’t move on from their past. In an interview with famous American executive, Oprah Winfrey, she stated, “We’re all on the same journey. People are taking different paths to get there. And I think no matter how many times you fail, you fall down in your life, you certainly have the opportunity until you take your last breath to be redeemed.” (Manal Ghosain). In other words, as long as someone is alive with the right heart and mindset, every minute can be the beginning of a new chance. It takes guts to own one’s mistake and go for a second chance. It is an act of courage to admit to our shortcomings and takes strength and trust to believe in ourselves and the possibility of changing. “We can’t escape the effects of our past causes, of course, but we can aim to be transformed by them in a way that strengthens the good in us.” (Alex Lickerman). People who live in the past and don’t learn from their past mistakes are the people who just don’t have what it takes to be redeemed. Unlike Amir, it is not until several years later that Amir finally finds a way to redeem himself of his sins when he says, “There is a way to be good again, he’d said. A way to end the cycle. With a little boy. An orphan. Hassan’s son. Somewhere in Kabul.” (Hosseini 226-227). Amir is now aware that he must save Hassan’s son, Sohrab, to atone for his sins. He understands how he needs to risk his life to save Sohrab and since Amir is older and more mature in this point of the novel, he finally makes the right decision to go that would eventually change his character and future life.
Exploring Amir’s need for atonement shows the reader how important finding redemption is and how being forgiven can allow one to finally have freedom from one’s sins and feel good about themselves. Guilt is dangerous and can take over someone’s life if they don’t redeem themselves. Redemption can only be earned and deserved and key to living a healthy lifestyle. The Kite Runner teaches how personal sacrifice, no matter at what cost, has a lasting reward. Amir helps the reader learn how that feeling of redemption allows one to move on from the past and to instead look towards a brighter future.
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- The Kite Runner
Khaled Hosseini
- Literature Notes
- Themes in The Kite Runner
- The Kite Runner at a Glance
- Book Summary
- Character List
- Summary and Analysis
- Character Analysis
- Character Map
- About The Kite Runner
- Khaled Hosseini Biography
- Critical Essays
- Symbols in The Kite Runner
- Full Glossary for The Kite Runner
- Cite this Literature Note
Critical Essays Themes in The Kite Runner
Betrayal and Redemption
Betrayal, which can be considered a form of sin, is enduring and ends up being cyclical in The Kite Runner. For most of the novel, Amir attempts to deal with his guilt by avoiding it. But doing this clearly does nothing toward redeeming himself, and thus his guilt endures. That is why he still cringes every time Hassan's name is mentioned. When Amir finds out about Baba's betrayal of Ali (and subsequent betrayal of Hassan), he realizes that everything he thought he knew and understood about his father was false. And Amir himself feels betrayed. But Baba has been dead for fifteen years, and there is nothing he can do about the situation. Neither feelings of betrayal nor punishment are enough to redeem Amir. Rescuing Sohrab from Assef is not enough either. Only when Amir decides to take Sohrab to the United States and provide his nephew a chance at happiness and prosperity that was denied to his half-brother does Amir take the necessary steps toward atonement and redemption.
Forgiveness
Ideas about forgiveness permeate The Kite Runner . Hassan's actions demonstrate that he forgives Amir's betrayal, although Amir needs to spend practically the entire novel to learn about the nature of forgiveness. Baba's treatment of Hassan is his attempt at gaining public forgiveness for what he has not even publicly admitted to have done. Yet the person who speaks most poignantly about the nature of forgiveness is Rahim Khan. In his letter, he asks Amir to forgive him for keeping Baba's secret but also writes explicitly "God will forgive." Rahim Khan is confident that God will forgive all transgressions, and he encourages Amir to do so, too. Rahim Khan understands that it is God who readily forgives those who ask for forgiveness, but it is people who have a hard time forgiving. Thus, the only way complete forgiveness can occur is when one forgives oneself, and that will only occur when one has truly attempted to atone for the mistakes that one has made.
Every relationship in The Kite Runner is strained at one point or another, thus providing multiple examples of the complexity of various types of love. Hassan's love for Amir is selfless, while Amir's for Hassan is mostly selfish. The two relationships thus demonstrate — albeit unknowingly to the characters — the nature of brotherly love, a love that includes jealousy and insecurity. Ali, Baba, the General, Hassan, Rahim Khan, and even Amir demonstrate varying degrees of paternal love, each having expectations for his child and providing physical and/or emotional support. Amir and Soraya illustrate romantic love, and their relationship plays an important part in Amir's character development. Hassan's character comes closest to demonstrating selfless love towards all others, and the other characters are able to learn from his example. Most of the characters are living a life that includes a personal quest for love. And most of them realize that both forgiveness and love of self are necessary before you are able to love another.
Social Class and Ethnic Tensions
The socioeconomic conditions in Afghanistan demonstrate the disparity between the majority (Sunni Muslims) and the minority (Shi'a Muslims) and how people discriminate against each other based on physical features and religious beliefs. The socioeconomic differences are also explored in the United States, as Baba and many other immigrants give up lives of relative prosperity and security for manual labor and little pay. In addition to the differences between Muslim sects, The Kite Runner also alludes to the differences between European and Western Christian cultures on the one hand, and the culture of the Middle East on the other. And the conservative Taliban, which outlaws many customs and traditions, also demonstrates the differences within the same religious groups.
The Immigrant Experience
The Kite Runner effectively demonstrates that the difficulty of the immigrant experience begins when one attempts to leave his homeland. Baba and Amir are among many Afghans who struggle to leave — under cover of night, unsure of the next passage, taking calculated risks. Obviously, some immigrants die before they even reach their new homes. In addition to the difficulties of their lives in a new country, the immigrants also have to deal with the perception of them among those who stayed behind. Amir realizes this when he returns to Afghanistan. Finally, the adjustment to a new country is not just about learning a new language; it is about maintaining traditions and some semblance of your own culture. Baba loses his status and still has his old world prejudices, thus demonstrating the precarious balance between old and new. Soraya and her mother also demonstrate the difficult role women have balancing the expectations of an old world culture with the new world in which they are living.
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Kite Runner: Guilt And Redemption
- Category Literature
- Subcategory Book
- Topic The Kite Runner
The major themes of the novel are guilt and redemption. Guilt is the fact of having committed a specified or implied offence or crime. Redemption is compensation for one’s sins through actions that relieves one from guilt. In the novel, The Kite Runner, the author Khaled Hosseini takes us back to his home country Afghanistan. He tells a story of the life of a young boy named Amir Khan who as a Pashtun is of better race then the Hazara according to Afghani culture. Amir and his Hazarra brother are the best of friends the self proclaimed “Sultans of kabul” (Hosseini). Amir and Hassan did almost everything together but Amir could not be seen with Hassan anywhere other than his home because he is a Hazara. In the novel, The Kite Runner, the character faces problems that lead to guilt. They atone for their past sins by going on the road to redemption. Hosseini exhibits this through the characters; of Amir, Baba, Amir’s father. Hassan, his servant, a hazara, despised caste. Soharab, Hassan’s son.
Amir and Hassan were best friends, brothers, companions. Hassan’s loyalty was never questionable. However Amir dishonored their loyalty. one day during the Many Kite Royales that are held in Kabul, Amir had been the last Kite standing and Hassan was Amir’s kite runner and Amir needed That kite to show his father who was a strict and noble figure who expects a lot from Amir and is harsh on him due to the fact that Amir killed his mother when she gave birth to him. Amir thinks that he’s at a debt to his father, and getting this kite is what he believes to be his only chance to gain Baba’s respect. Hassan is not aware of the reasoning behind why Amir wants this kite badly other than its as if a medal of honor, so he being the loyal person that Hassan is, he get the kite for Amir “For you a thousand times over.” (Khaled Hosseini pg. 67). How upon trying to get this kite he is confronted by the neighborhood bully for in return of the kite he shall spare Hassan. However Hassan refuses to give up the kite and Aseef the neighborhood bully proceeds to the rape while this was going Amir witnessed this tragic event and is afraid to do anything to intervene. Amir is haunted and instead of realizing this experience and confronting it, he allows it to take control of him as he leaves it dorment trying to forget. “There’s a way to be good again.” (Hosseini pg.2) Rahim Khan, one of Baba close friends knew about the tragic event that took place and is offering Amir a chance to redeem himself. Amir redeems himself by rescuing Hassan’s son, Soharab, and brings him to the United States and raises him as his own.
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Baba guilt is revealed in Rahim Khan’s letter to Amir. “He loved you both, but he could not love Hassan the way he longed to, openly and as a father.” (Hosseini pg.316) Baba revealed in his letter that he cheated and slept with Ali’s wife and conceived Hassan. He feels guilty because he betrayed Ali. Baba believed that “there is only one sin, if someone lied they are stealing someone right to the truth.” (Hosseini pg. ) Baba redeems himself by building an orphanage for kids .
Soharab feels guilty when Amir risks his life to save him from Aseef. Soharab feels dirty because the sexual abuse performed by Aseef and his guards. When they escaped Amir made a promise to Sohrab that he would never abandon him again. But he had to break this promise because the government would not allow him to take sohrab without a death certificate of his parents and he had to leave sohrab stranded in a boys home where he promised to come back for him which demolished his trust for Amir and caused him to commit suicide. Luckily he failed but after that point he never spoke to Amir again. Even after they immigrated to America. After moving to a different country and having everything, he never truly got over his depression from being abandoned only at the end of the book he is seen flying kites. Soharab becomes a way for Amir to redeem himself. He is grateful for the opportunity Rahim gave him to redeem himself and they lived happily ever after.
The Kite Runner deals the themes of guilt and redemption. However it also shows that there can be way of unburden yourself to your trauma by trying to help yourself or talking to someone about your trauma. For an example trauma. If hassan never told Rahim khan about his rape he would have never gotten Amir to find Sohrab and Amir would have never redeemed himself. The moral message of this novel is sometimes it’s better to find help then trying to forget.
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Home / Essay Samples / Literature / The Kite Runner / Guilt And Redemption In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini
Guilt And Redemption In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini
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- Topic: The Kite Runner
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