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The Kite Runner Critical Analysis Essay

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Mishra 1 Tanya Mishra Kanika Dang English Midterm Literary Analysis Paper 25th November 2015 SIN AND ATONEMENT IN “THE KITE RUNNER” Khaled Hosseini explores the theme of sin and atonement in his novel “The Kite Runner”. The rape of Hassan by Aseef and his friends left deep impact on not only Hassan but Amir too. This incident left an ever-growing mark of guilt in Amir’s life that led him to make some regretful choices in his life. Redemption is an act of atoning or making amends for a fault or sin. The Cromwell College very rightly claimed “Amir defined himself by his guilt”. Amir’s life was ruled by his guilt and all the decisions taken by him were somehow influenced by this guilt. Hosseini too writes in regard to Amir that “I became what I am today at the age of twelve”. This shows that Amir is driven by his guilt and that makes a large part of his life. Throughout the novel Amir’s guilty conscience plays a pivotal role in the atonement of sins committed in the past and the choices made by him were a make or break in his quest for redemption. Hassan’s rape caused Amir to feel guilty and culpable. After the rape Amir begins to create an …show more content…

He thinks of himself as superior to Hassan and starts to become inconsiderate towards Hassan and his feeling. Deep down his heart he convinces himself that Hassan was a sacrificing lamb and that he could not help Hassan in any manner. Jenny Ivers too critiqued the same, “It is an unequal friendship- Hassan adores Amir while the latter takes advantage of the formers unswerving faithfulness.” This portrays that Amir subconsciously does what benefits him whereas Hassan, on the other hand, does what pleases his Amir agha despite the fact that it might ruin his reputation and his life. However, some of his decisions helped him redeem in his life. For instance, when Amir took Sohrab away from Aseef and provided him with a bright future in America he atoned for his

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