The English word ‘Atonement’ originally meant “at-one-ment”, in harmony with someone, according to the Church. When we commit a sin, we break our bond of ‘one-ness’ with God. In order to make amends with God, we need to ‘at-one’ ourselves, in Christian philosophy. Christians have been using different metaphors and examples to express how atonement might work. However this is just one way of understanding how sin is committed, and how atonement is done. If one undergoes a strong change in perspective and truly regrets their past actions, then every sin is atonable, even if it has permanent repercussions. We all commit sins in some form or fashion, even if we don’t realise it. It is just human nature; no one is perfect. What really makes us …show more content…
This little flashback of Amir’s shows that all these years, Amir never redeemed himself, therefore he had to learn to bury his sins with guilt. One may infer that in order to break free from our guilt, we need to do something to redeem ourself, may come in the form of atonement. For some, atonement may simply come in the form of forgiveness from the person we hurt. For example, in the story of Jacob and Esau, when the two brothers finally reunited, Esau hugged and kissed Jacob, and was surprised that he thought there would be any hard feelings between them. In this way, Jacob’s sins were made up for, simply by seeking forgiveness. For other people, redemption may come by doing something for the person whom we have hurt. This is shown in ‘The Kite Runner’. In an attempt to make up for what he has done to Hassan, Amir addots Hassan’s orphaned son, Sohrab. He takes Sohrab to the United States with him and saves him from the terrorist group that had been keeping him hostage,”Taliban”. In this example, Amir could not get away from his guilt without actually taking responsibility for his
Firstly, one of the many unforgiving things that Amir did yet was still forgiven for, was the fact that Amir did not stand up for his friend who got beat up and raped by a group of boys in an alleyway. This happened because Hassan stood up for Amir and did not give the kite to the
Hosseini portrays Amir’s quest for redemption beautifully throughout his life as an innocent teenager in the enthralling and serene city of Kabul to his life as a family man in The United States of America. Through Amir’s life, Hosseini clearly portrays the fact that all sins can be atoned however grave or futile they may be and by their atonement one can attain self-satisfaction and can be at peace. According to the Holy Bible, and the Old Testament, an act of committing a sin is that which “separates man from God himself” (Anonymous). Baba, Amir’s father believed that “there is only one sin, only one.
Amir is not capable of asking for forgiveness from Hassan. He rather have the guilt reside in him then apologize. His reluctance to apologize for his actions prolongs the time he holds his guilt. Amir’s pride had stopped him from ever fully redeeming
To undo this guilt he does different actions in the positive way that show how his actions are now used for positive good deeds. Amir grows to become someone willing to die for Sohrab and believes Sohrab to be a part of his family which is ironic because Hassan was never able to become a part of their family due to social pressures. After Amir recognizes that Hassan knew all along Amir has a bigger feeling of guilt which is only washed away through constant deeds. One service is when Amir places the crumpled money for a positive outcome rather than to chase someone out, “ Earlier that morning, when I was certain no one was looking, I did something I had done twenty-six years earlier: I planted a fistful of crumpled money under a mattress ( 242) ”. As Amir grows as a character after ridding himself of different guilts he develops and grows by changing different actions that he has committed in the past as a sin.
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.
It might be thought that Amir did not revert his wrong to Hassan and did not redeem himself. Amir was able to do this in various ways throughout the book, especially towards the end. The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini shows that Amir is able to redeem himself from the wrong he did to Hassan by putting himself in danger to rescue Sohrab, by receiving a scar from the fight with Assef signifying his redemption, and finally by bringing Sohrab back to United States with him. Amir is able to redeem himself by putting his life in danger to rescue Sohrab.
To forgive himself, he tries to atone for all the sins he has committed. In Rahim’s letter Amir is told tat God forgives anyone who asks for it but it is the people who have a hard time forgiving others. Baba, Amir’s father, has also committed sins and done some bad deeds.
The guilt started the second Amir was able to recognize that what he did was wrong. It took him some time to realize that he had to start repaying for the wrong, which was traveling to Afghanistan to save Sohrab. Amir was not exactly successful, in order words, he did fulfill Rahim Khan’s wish, which was selfless of Amir, but it created other problems that would leave both Amir and Sohrab damaged. Overall, Amir’s situation proves that the ability to be redeemed may not be as simple as one might think. Amir will never be able to forgive himself.
After rescuing Sohrab from Assef, Amir feels like he is making up for not being there for Hassan. Amir did something that was truly brave and noble. By saving Sohrab and giving him a better life in America, Amir was able to find a way to be good again. Just like Rahim Khan said he would over the phone. Amir will never be able to fully forgive himself for what happened in the winter of 1975, however, by working to become a better person, he can slowly redeem himself and move forward with his life.
Being good is sacrificing the good of your being, health, and life for the needed benefit of others who are suffering. Yes, Sohrab was suffering, but Amir was denying traveling back to his past on the phone until he said, “There is a way to be good again.” At that exact moment, Amir agreed to go back. Amir brought his fate upon himself, and he had two chances to correct the past that in the end can never be repaired. Not only is the past of Amir scarred, but the past of Rahim, Hassan, Baba, and Sohrab have forever been shattered, and it’s in too many little shards of glass for Amir to place each piece back together again, trying to resemble what his life and everyone else’s life should have been compared to what it is now and will forever
In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, Amir struggles to cope with his inaction during Hassan’s rape. Overwhelmed with guilt, Amir devises a plan to get Hassan and Ali dismissed so they would no longer be a constant reminder of all the times Hassan had protected him and his failure to do the same. The guilt of betraying Hassan burdens him for years, and even after he and Baba move to America, he carries the weight of his actions with him. However, after he accepts Rahim Khan’s request to rescue Sohrab and bring him to safety, Amir strives to leave behind the selfishness and cowardice he had previously succumbed to. Amir progressively begins to forgive himself for his injustices towards Hassan as he recognizes his evolution from a coward
Many people think that some actions can be forgiven and while others think it cannot. Forgiveness helps everybody feel light and get rid of hard feelings that haunt everybody. Forgiveness creates positive feeling in one’s mind. People who are close, hurt or betray an individual is difficult to forgive. This is prevalent in the story where in Amir and Hassan were best
Sakshi Verman Ms Kanika Dang English Thesis Paper 27th November, 2015 Khaled Hosseini explores the theme of sin and atonement in "The Kite Runner" It is human nature to sin but it is also the responsibility of humans to redeem those sins. According to Li Cunxin, redemption means "The salvation or deliverance from sin or evil of human being" (Li Cunxin, Levy93's Blog). For redemption, it is necessary for an individual to confront their sin.
Redemption was the only answer that will stop one’s suffering and gain peace with their internal
The main character in “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Mr. Hooper represents how everyone carries a sin with them but some choose to acknowledge it, while others choose to hide them. People may live for long periods of time and say that they are “free of sins”. The truth is everyone carries a sin with them, they just choose to not acknowledge it. This world is filled with people with sins, they may be horrible, while others are not so significant, and others are shared. When people tell their sins to the world everyone looks at them like if they are the devil themselves, or if one did have a sin everyone tries to figure out what that sin is, forgetting that them, themselves also carry sins, but it is much easier to acknowledge others sins.