Kite Runner - Religion Roles/How Political Events Effect Characters. Essay Example

3. In the novel The Kite Runner, the author Khaled Hosseini rarely mentions religion, but in a way, it plays a big role in the growth of the main character, Amir. In the beginning of the novel, Amir first questions his religion. Either he can listen to a “mullah” who taught that drinking was a sin, or he can listen to his more westernized father who thinks that religion is meaningless and drinks for his enjoyment. As one works their way through the novel, religion at first appears as a minor role, and eventually evolves into a much greater role in the life of Amir. The first important instance of Religion, appears in chapter three when Amir learns about sin and drinking. “Mullah Fatiullah Khan”, a teacher who taught Amir about Islam, said that “Islam considered drinking a terrible sin”, and that drinkers would one day answer for this on “the day of Qiyamat, Judgment Day”. Amir tells Baba, Amir’s father, about what he learned and Baba responds by saying that Amir has “confused what [he’s] learning in school with actual education”, says that “no matter what the mullah teaches, there is only one sin”, and that one sin was theft. Killing, cheating, lying, were all variations of theft. Amir blames himself for killing his mother, and believed that Baba hated him for this. Many people seek forgiveness through religion, but at this point of the novel, Amir has no idea which religion he should turn to. This young Amir seems as if he is indifferent toward Religion, and maybe might not care for it as a traditional follower of Islam would. Even though it seems this way, he will carry religion with him throughout the novel and will become a greater part in his life as he matures. In chapter twenty-four of The Kite Runner, Amir talks to the American Embassy about adopting Sohrab, Hassan’s son that Amir rescues from a Taliban official, and a man says that Sohrab is going to need to go to an orphanage again. Sohrab did not like the idea of being in an orphanage again and