What Is Amir's Guilt In The Kite Runner

In the novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini writes a fictional story about a young Pashtun boy named Amir, who lives with his wealthy father, Baba, and his two Hazara servants, Ali and Hassan. Amir and Hassan share a strong bond with each other despite the fact that both of them are part of different ethnic groups. However, their friendship is torn apart when Amir decides to betray his best friend for Baba’s love during a time when political tensions were high in Afghanistan. When the Soviet Union decides to invade Afghanistan, this causes Amir and Baba to flee the country to Fremont, California, leaving behind Hassan and his gentle father, Ali, to a terrible fate. For many years, Amir has carried a strong guilt with him throughout his adulthood
for the betrayal of Hassan. One day, Amir visits his first adult friend, Rahim Khan, in Pakistan, where he tells Amir that there is one chance for him to redeem himself for what he did in his childhood. This motivates Amir to head back to his childhood home, Kabul, to try to right past wrongs against the one friend who is willing to sacrifice himself “a thousand times” to make Amir’s life better. When someone feels guilty of hurting someone in the past, that person does everything in their power to let go of their guilt. Baba’s lack of connection with Amir leads him to make the wrong decisions for Baba’s love. After fleeing Afghanistan during a time of war, Amir and Baba have strengthened their bond in America, however, Amir stills feels guilty for what he did in the past. Amir decides to head back to Afghanistan, regardless of the fact that the Taliban is ruling the country, so he can save Hassan’s son, Sohrab, in order to finally redeem himself for his betrayal of Hassan in his childhood.