Jay Patel
Mrs. Weiss
Honors English 11
27 august 2010
Redemption “A price paid for sins”
Redemption is a concept typically associated with religion. It is defined as receiving forgiveness for the commission of sin. For Christians, the terms redemptions and salvation are often used interchangeably. When an individual pledges to mend the error of his ways, his soul will be absolved of past sins at the time of death and achieve an external afterlife. This religious connotation seems to imply that redemption comes only with death and that it remains elusive in life. Redemption is a concept which defines that good deed can erase all the bad ones. Every person in his life at some point tries to attain redemption. It is an old concept but no one knows if it’s true or just a myth. In the novel “The kite runner”, you see redemption with Amir, Baba, Soraya and even Rahim Khan. In his first novel “The kite runner”, Khaled Hosseini features the protagonist Amir’s desire for redemption after betraying his servant and best friend Hassan in the worst possible way. He stands by passively and refuses to intervene when Hassan is brutally raped by future Taliban operative Assef. Adding further insult to injury, Amir is responsible of the removal of Hassan and his father Ali from his family’s affluent home. Unlike Amir and his father Baba, Hassan is unable to flee the war-torn Afghanistan, Hassan is not so lucky. Amir struggles with the weighty burdens of his guilt and hopes that he will be able to redeem himself through good
Patel 2 works so his life can somehow be salvaged. Amir wants to redeem himself from all his sins but does not know how to do so. Amir sleeps every night with regret that he was never a good friend for Hassan. Hassan did everything for Amir, but Amir was never so nice to Hassan. Amir just seeks for a chance to make everything right again but he does not know what to do. Amir never had a good relationship with his father either. Amir repairs his relationship with his father and nurses him through a bout of cancer. He finds happiness in an arranged marriage to Soraya, and accepts her even after she confides her sexual past to him. However, Amir never confesses his sins to anyone – not to his father, not to Soraya, and not to Hassan (Rankin-Brown). He is too ashamed, but still his religious faith assures him “redemption is possible” (O’Rourke). In his darkest moments, Amir turns to God, which demonstrates that despite his inability to confess his sin to anyone else, God will listen and offer his redemption. This is important because Amir is not a Christian; he is a Muslim who becomes a devout practitioner of Islam throughout the course of the novel (O’Rourke). Here, the author is making clear that redemption is a concept that transcends all religions, and the desire for forgiveness is truly universal (O’Rourke). After hearing the shocking news of Hassan’s death at the hands of the Taliban, Amir realizes that if he is able to save his friend’s son Sohrab from a similar fate, redemption for his life might be attainable. His father’s old friend Rahim Khan provides Amir with wise counsel, reminding him, “In the end, God will forgive. He will forgive your father, me, and you too. I hope you can do the same. Forgive your father if you can. Forgive me if you wish. But, most important, forgive yourself” (Hosseini 266-267). Rahim then reassures the guilt-ridden Amir, “There was a way to be good again. A way to be good again” (Hosseini 273). Amir eventually
Patel 3 succeeds at smuggling Sohrab out of Peshawar, and takes him to live with him and Soraya in the United States. Uncertain as to break through the mute child’s impenetrable grief, Amir decides to share his love of kite flying with him, as he did many years earlier with Hassan, who was accomplished kite runner. With everything coming full circle, Amir realizes his life has been transformed and has achieved redemption. It did not come from the act of bravery; it came when Amir was able to forgive himself at long last. The penance of guilt was not a punishment of God. Instead, it was a life sentence Amir imposed upon himself. Thus Amir receives redemption and even Rahim Khan does as he called Amir back to his country and told him the truth which would help Amir redeem himself by saving Sohrab. Baba has committed many sins as he has neither told Amir nor Hassan that they are brothers. Due to this Amir never treated Hassan as a brother and Hassan could not go to America and live like his brother and his father. Baba was also a strict man in Afghanistan and never loved Amir as his son like a normal father would love his son, but he redeems himself in America as he takes good care of Amir and tries to improve his relationship with his son. Baba always regrets that Hassan was never with them in America as he never told the truth and he takes this secret with him in the grave but Rahim Khan reveals the truth. Baba improves his nature in America and dies a peaceful death. Baba redeems himself in America. Soraya has also committed sins as she ran away with a man in her life. She comes back but can never forgive her as she has not got any man yet, but when she finds Amir she tells him the truth before marrying him and tries her best to redeem herself from all her sins by letting Amir do what he wants and supporting him in all his works. Soraya finds redemption and is later
Patel 4 happy with her life as now she has given her life a meaning to live for. Soraya is very happy to have found a man like Amir. If redemption was reserved only for the soul and could not be achieved until death, it would not serve much purpose for the living. When a person is going through the trials and tribulation associated with his daily life, there has to be a tangible sense that whatever regrettable sins or transgressions committed along the way can be forgiven if a serious effort is made to be a better person. A person must be convinced that redemption is possible or there is no incentive or motivation to attempt a moral transformation. Acts of kindness or good deeds make everyone feel better. Seeing and experiencing the positive effects of such gestures inspires individuals to continue travelling a more virtuous path. In this way all the characters in the novel finds redemption of their own sins that they have committed. Redemption is possible if you pay the right price for it. Redemption is seen with Amir, Baba, Soraya and Rahim Khan.
Patel 5
Works Cited
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003. Print.
The Kite Runner. Dir. Marc Forster. DreamWorks Pictures, 2007. Film.
O’Rourke, Meghan. “The Kite Runner.” www.slate.com. The New york times, 25 July 2005. Web. 23 Aug. 2010. <http://www.slate.com///>.
Pandit, Prachi. Personal interview. 27 Aug. 2010.
Shah, Sakhi. “The Kite Runner.” Message to Jay Patel. 25 Aug. 2010. E-mail.
Cited: Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003. Print. The Kite Runner. Dir. Marc Forster. DreamWorks Pictures, 2007. Film. O’Rourke, Meghan. “The Kite Runner.” www.slate.com. The New york times, 25 July 2005. Web. 23 Aug. 2010. <http://www.slate.com///>. Pandit, Prachi. Personal interview. 27 Aug. 2010. Shah, Sakhi. “The Kite Runner.” Message to Jay Patel. 25 Aug. 2010. E-mail.
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