Redemption In The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner Essay
How is Redemption Possible?
“A man who has no conscience, no goodness, does not suffer,” Khaled Hosseini wrote in his novel, The Kite Runner. Redemption is an important theme throughout the book, and these words were used to reassure the protagonist, who was trying to get redemption. According to Amir’s lengthy redemption arc, redemption can be achieved by acknowledging one’s offense and proving their loyalty to whomever they wronged.
The first step to redemption is acknowledging what has been done wrong. This may seem easy, but it took Amir decades to get past this step. After Hassan was raped, Amir didn’t tell anyone about it, which built up a lot of guilt and stress in him. Amir avoided Hassan, and whenever he was …show more content…
questioned about it, he lied. This goes against Baba’s advice given to him earlier in the book: “It hurts to say that,” … “But better to get hurt by the truth than comforted by a lie.” What Amir did contradicted what Baba had told him. He neglected to tell anyone about the incident, getting mad at Hassan instead of acknowledging that he let down his friend. Amir didn’t know how to get redemption properly, so he decided to just get rid of the problem. He framed Hassan for stealing a watch along with a large sum of money, which ultimately resulted in Hassan and his father leaving their family. Amir tried to eliminate the problem instead of acknowledging his mistakes and trying to solve it, making redemption at that point impossible. Amir finally fully acknowledged his sins later in the novel, when he returned to his home country.
When Amir traveled back to Afghanistan, he began the second step of the redemption process: proving one’s loyalty to whomever they hurt.
Amir climactically achieved redemption with Hassan when he rescued Sohrab from Assef and brought him to America at the end of the narrative. Although Amir wasn’t able to prove his final loyalty to Hassan himself, he was able to prove it to Sohrab, who was suffering in a way parallel to his father. This is supported by Rahim Khan in his phone call telling Amir to come back to Afghanistan, because “There is a way to be good again.” Amir’s loyalty was tested later in the book, when the American embassy said that Sohrab couldn’t be taken to the United States with him. Amir could have just given up then and left Sohrab in Pakistan in another orphanage. However, he worked to find a way to bring Sohrab to America. When faced with troubles, Amir stayed true and loyal to Hassan, letting him achieve ultimate redemption.
Although it took Amir a quarter-century to learn it, redemption can only be earned by acknowledging one’s sins and proving to whomever they wronged that they are really there for them. This is what Hosseini was trying to convey to his readers when he wrote The Kite Runner and included redemption as the main theme of the novel. No matter how long it has been, redemption can always be
achieved.
How is Redemption Possible?
“A man who has no conscience, no goodness, does not suffer,” Khaled Hosseini wrote in his novel, The Kite Runner. Redemption is an important theme throughout the book, and these words were used to reassure the protagonist, who was trying to get redemption. According to Amir’s lengthy redemption arc, redemption can be achieved by acknowledging one’s offense and proving their loyalty to whomever they wronged.
The first step to redemption is acknowledging what has been done wrong. This may seem easy, but it took Amir decades to get past this step. After Hassan was raped, Amir didn’t tell anyone about it, which built up a lot of guilt and stress in him. Amir avoided Hassan, and whenever he was …show more content…
questioned about it, he lied. This goes against Baba’s advice given to him earlier in the book: “It hurts to say that,” … “But better to get hurt by the truth than comforted by a lie.” What Amir did contradicted what Baba had told him. He neglected to tell anyone about the incident, getting mad at Hassan instead of acknowledging that he let down his friend. Amir didn’t know how to get redemption properly, so he decided to just get rid of the problem. He framed Hassan for stealing a watch along with a large sum of money, which ultimately resulted in Hassan and his father leaving their family. Amir tried to eliminate the problem instead of acknowledging his mistakes and trying to solve it, making redemption at that point impossible. Amir finally fully acknowledged his sins later in the novel, when he returned to his home country.
When Amir traveled back to Afghanistan, he began the second step of the redemption process: proving one’s loyalty to whomever they hurt.
Amir climactically achieved redemption with Hassan when he rescued Sohrab from Assef and brought him to America at the end of the narrative. Although Amir wasn’t able to prove his final loyalty to Hassan himself, he was able to prove it to Sohrab, who was suffering in a way parallel to his father. This is supported by Rahim Khan in his phone call telling Amir to come back to Afghanistan, because “There is a way to be good again.” Amir’s loyalty was tested later in the book, when the American embassy said that Sohrab couldn’t be taken to the United States with him. Amir could have just given up then and left Sohrab in Pakistan in another orphanage. However, he worked to find a way to bring Sohrab to America. When faced with troubles, Amir stayed true and loyal to Hassan, letting him achieve ultimate redemption.
Although it took Amir a quarter-century to learn it, redemption can only be earned by acknowledging one’s sins and proving to whomever they wronged that they are really there for them. This is what Hosseini was trying to convey to his readers when he wrote The Kite Runner and included redemption as the main theme of the novel. No matter how long it has been, redemption can always be
achieved.