The novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini discusses the life of Amir and his quest for redemption. In his early childhood, Amir forms what appears to be a strong bond with Hassan, his servant; however, Amir betrays Hassan after only seven chapters of the story which begs the question: Why does Amir allow his friendship with Hassan to fail? After some analysis, a few possible reasons for this betrayal can be deduced, but what ultimately causes the destruction of this friendship is the imbalance of power. Similarly, brothers Salim and Jamal from The Slumdog Millionaire experience this uneven distribution of power as well. Salim holds power over Jamal simply because he is the older brother and that makes him feel more entitled to power. In…
Set throughout the time of Afghanistan’s feud with Russia and also the control of the Taliban cluster, Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner takes US through the excruciating journey that emeer (The main character) should endure to achieve redemption for his sins still as his father’s love. Hosseini shows US the death of a child's innocence once emeer horrifically witnesses his supporter, Hassan, obtaining raped and will nothing to prevent it, each attributable to the very fact of their social variations and also the ‘reward’ that emeer would gain if he let it pass. This death of emeer's innocence propels the story forward by pushing Amir to come back to extreme measures so as to disembarrass himself of the…
The story opens in pre-Taliban Kabul, Afghanistan. The protagonist, Amir, is recalling events from his childhood. He lived a lavish life with his father, Baba, and their servant, Ali and his son Hassan. Hassan and Amir grew up together and were almost like brothers, however Ali and Hassan belonged to the religious minority group, the Shias, and Baba and Amir, Sunni Muslims, superior. The different religious sects made it difficult for the boys to be real friends, despite their many character similarities and personal connection to one another. Hassan and Amir had a lot in common, such as the fact that they both grew up without a mother. Though they were raised with different beliefs, they were brought up together, and spent their entire childhoods making memories with each other.…
In the novel The Kite Runner the character Amir Jan respond in a significant way to justice for Sohrab. Amir Jan feels that since Sohrab is his nephew and his half-brother Hassan is dead he should rescue sohrab from the orphanage and bring him back to America to live with him and his wife Soraya. Even though Hassan and Amir went through good times and bad times Amir feels it's his duty to help his family out though he did them wrong. Amir goes back to Pakistan to rescue Sohrab and find that he's in the hands of Assef the man that raped his brother.…
This essay will prove that the themes of betrayal and atonement exist within the novel Kite Runner. Two of the main characters, Rahim and Amir provide evidence towards these themes.…
“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.…
A voice is heard in the wilderness telling people to “repent:” “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turn to God” (3:8 Matthew). In this passage, Prophet John the Baptist is preparing people for redemption. If anyone returns from their evil ways, there will be a redemption and peace for the rest of their lives. These concept of redemption is seen in the movie, The Kite Runner, which takes place in the late 70s in Kabul, Afghanistan. Director Marc Forster tells the story of a friendship between Amir and Hassan, two young boys growing up in Kabul. Although, they are raised in the same household and shared the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan grew up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan is the son of Amir's father's Hazara servant. As a protagonist, Amir has many complexes and struggles with the consequences of the…
As we go through life we all make mistakes, how we deal with them shows more about us than the mistake its self. In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir makes a huge mistake that he will struggle with for many years to come, until one day he gets a phone call telling him that “There is a way to be good again.” (Hosseini 2) After this he sets off on a journey to redeem himself.…
Everyone in their lifetime will acquire some form of guilt no matter how big or small. From not cleaning your room after your parents have told you for the thousandth time, or just telling a little white lie. The way we deal with this guilt is through redemption. Either telling the truth about not cleaning your room and then cleaning your room plus the bathroom or just doing something that makes up for the cause of guilt. Throughout The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, there is a theme of betrayal and redemption. This is mostly shown through the main characters Amir and his father, Baba. Amir is living with the guilt of what he did to Hassan in the winter of 1975 while Baba is living with the guilt of not being able to acknowledge Hassan as…
In the novel the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini he illustrates the sacrifice one gives for love. Over the course of the novel, Amir, Hassan, and Baba all face dramatic events that shape them to the person they are. Each one of them sacrifice a piece of their own happiness for the one they love. Hassan is loyal to Amir even though in their childhood Amir was not a good friend. Baba sacrifices his life in Afghanistan for Amir to have an education in America. Amir risked his life for Sohrab, Hassan’s son, to repay the wrong he commits toward Hassan. The recurring theme of sacrifice for the ones you love is presented all throughout the novel through Hassan, Baba, and Amir.…
Guilt can drive people to the ground. It can ruin ones life from top to bottom. Some people spend their whole life being guilty and they lose sight of what is really important in life. They spend way too much time trying to redeem themselves and it is in their conscious forever. In the case of Amir, he spends his entire childhood and midlife trying to redeem himself. He feels guilty for many reasons and all of his struggles in the novel are because of his feelings of guilt. Guilt and redemption are what drive this novel.…
Novels have to be catching to eye; a good book has to possess certain characteristics to allow the reader to be engaged in the novel and to be able to make personal connections or references to their everyday lives. Having a theme gives the novel an edge and creates a better story to read. Three key themes that are portrayed in the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini are betrayal, forgiveness and atonement.…
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…
Hope and fear are two very powerful emotions and can influence people in many ways. Thing is what exactly is hope and fear? How does it influence people in many ways and why are those two emotions so strong?…
Forgiveness is a necessary part of human existence, although it is rarely easy to give, and sometimes hardest to give to ourselves. The Kite Runner illustrates humanity's tendency, and even willingness, to dwell on past mistakes. The opening sentence sets this theme with "I became what I am today at the age of twelve," as Amir unapologetically relates how he believes one action at that young age defined his entire life. However, as the novel progresses, the reader comes to the conclusion that it was not one action, but a series of choices and events that created Amir's persona as an adult. By holding onto his guilt and fear of discovery, Amir could only bury his past for short periods of time before his own conscience uncovered it and the emotional baggage attached. Throughout the course of Amir's life, he made choices based on jealousy, fear, and guilt, and thus allowed his life to be immersed in regret and shame until he finally allowed himself redemption.…