Examples Of Atonement In The Kite Runner

Yanran Li
3 March, 2016
ELA A30
Ms. Harlos
The Kite Runner: Atonement
When a life of wrong happens, people pay careful attention to the victims, but rarely look at the wrongdoers. Human makes mistakes, but what is done afterwards is what defines the nature of mankind. Some people repeat their faults without any regret, some people struggle over their life, trying to determine what is right and what is wrong. However, some people carry on with regret and guilt, spending the rest of their life to atone. Amir in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is one of them. In the novel, young Amir chooses not to stand up and fight for his companion and friend Hassan, indirectly resulting in the death of Hassan many years after they grow up. When Sohrab,
For example, Stanley Williams directly and indirectly takes away many people’s life by founding the gang, and organizing and participating criminal activities. Nevertheless, he pays back to the society by writing children’s books to prevent youths from joining gangs. He uses his personal experience to show youths the consequences of impulse, saving countless number of youths’ life. In this way, Williams atones his sin, because the lives he saved can match the lives he took away. In The Kite Runner, Amir’s atonement is more symbolic. After Amir risks his life for Sohrab, he gets a fight with Assef that he deserves long ago, and a harelip as a result. The harelip symbolizes the disappearance of Amir’s cowardice, because he can finally fight like Hassan, his harelipped brother. Many years after Amir rescues Sohrab from Afghanistan, he runs a kite for Sohrab, wanting to gain his trust by saying “for you, a thousand times over”(391), a sentence Hassan always says to him. At this moment, the loyalty and friendship shown by the sentence has transferred from Hassan to Amir, symbolizes Amir finally wins back Hassan’s friendship, and passes it onto Sohrab. Therefore, Amir completes his atonement by saving Sohrab’s life, and passing on the loyalty and friendship to Sohrab, which matches his past sins: cowardice and
Atonement can be very subjective, whether a person has atoned or not depends on the cultural, educational, environmental background of the viewer. However, atonement and forgiveness should be encouraged, because they represent the bright side of mankind. A wrongdoer can continuously contribute to the society and make positive influence on other people’s life only when he knows there is a way to atone. On the other hand, the ability to forgive also emphasizes people’s sympathy. The chain of hatred in the world will only break if people believe there is always a chance for wrongdoers to atone. Therefore, atonement and forgiveness are external manifestations of humanity. They bring up the good in mankind, and make the world a better