Redemption Quotes In The Kite Runner

Shivam Vora

Mrs. Overbeck and Ms. Oakley

Honors English 9

6 March 2023

Guilt to Good

“‘There is no monster’, he had said, ‘just water.’ Except he had been wrong about that. There was a monster in the lake. I was that monster”(Hosseini 80). The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, is about the journey and story of Amir, the main character in the book. Hosseini portrays many themes in The Kite Runner, however, the most persistent is the guilt Amir faces and his path to redemption. Through his use of juxtapositions and irony, Hosseini reveals how the path to redemption involves the uncovering of shocking truths and the rectifying of past sins. He also argues that true redemption is when guilt leads to good.

Hosseini describes the beginning

Following the conversation, Amir dwells on one thing, and that is the quote, “There is a way to be good again”(Hosseini 2). Amir travels to Pakistan and learns from Rahim Khan, his friend, a shocking truth. Hosseini depicts the scene,” Did Hassan know? … How could you hide this from me? From him? … I’m thirty-eight years old and I’ve just found out that my whole life has been one [ ] lie”(Hosseini 206). The truth that Rahim Khan had disclosed was that Baba had illegitimately been the father of Hassan, therefore making Hassan Amir’s half-brother. This is an example of Hosseini using juxtaposition to illustrate Amir’s path to redemption because he ties this illegitimate brotherhood back to Amir’s initial perception of his brotherly relationship with

Amir, frightened and nervous, learns that the official is none other than Assef, the bully who had assaulted Hassan in the alley all those years ago. Assef promises to hand Sohrab over if and only if Amir can beat him in a fistfight. The fight starts badly for Amir, who is unarmed and weak. However, Amir, who can feel his ribs breaking, begins to laugh. He laughs and laughs and laughs as Assef throws down punches and kicks. This is an example of Hosseini’s usage of irony to describe Amir’s feelings. Someone who gets beaten should not be laughing and enjoying it as much as Amir did. Amir recalls,” What was so funny was that for the first time, I felt at peace. … I remembered the day on the hill where I had pelted Hassan with pomegranates, trying to provoke him. … I hadn’t felt happy and I hadn’t felt better. But I did now”(Hosseini 265). This quote is an example of a juxtaposition in the sense that it shows the contrast between Amri’s feelings on the day after Hassan got assaulted compared to his beatdown by Assef. His feelings shifted from that of guilt to that of satisfaction. Amir finally believed that he got what he deserved, thus nearly fulfilling his path to