Amir's Redemption

In The Kite Runner, Amir claims that he “became what [he was] today at the age of twelve” (Hosseini, 1). It is discovered that he is referring to a particular set of events early on in the novel, that include, but are not explicitly limited to: Assef’s rape of Hassan and Amir’s cowardice in not trying to save Hassan. These events would lead one to consider Amir as a traitor, and a coward, and that if Amir believes that the events in that year define him, then one would would believe that Amir thought this of himself as well. This statement, like many other facets of the novel, however, is not that straightforward. This proposition that Amir makes has a double meaning to it. The first, as implied, is that he became a someone who put his own priorities far ahead of the needs of others. But with these events came with consequence: the guilt that Amir feels immediately after both Hassan’s rape and Amir’s framing of Hassan of theft, and the prolonging haunting guilt that followed him every day and only began to diminish after returning to Afghanistan and helping those around him, namely Sohrab. It is seen that at the age of twelve, while Amir became an unloyal friend, he also became a seeker of punishment for his sins, as demonstrated when he barks at Hassan to throw a pomegranate at him. After hitting him the the fruit repeatedly, “[Hassan] opened [the pomegranate] and crushed it against his own forehead… I let the tears break free, rocked back and forth on my knees. ‘What am I going to do with you, Hassan?’” (Hosseini, 98-99) Another case of positive attitudes towards punishement is where he feels good to be beaten up by Assef, redemption, and atonement for his sins. These qualities are two sides of the same coin, as they both come at once, and are both absolved at the same time; after saving Sohrab, he is no longer a coward, or a traitor, as he has proven his courage by risking his life to rescue Sohrab, and has amended his betrayal of Hassan through being there for