ipl-logo

The Kite Runner Redemption Essay

652 Words3 Pages

The Kite Runner is a novel written by Khaled Hosseini that revolves around the friendship of Amir, the son of a rich Pashtun, and Hassan, the son of a poor Hazara. The story also focuses on Amir’s guilt after witnessing an act of violence against Hassan that he does nothing about and his path to redemption following this event. Though the novel covers many themes, the most prevalent one is that searching for redemption plays a major role in the rest of one’s life. This is shown multiple times throughout the story, both in the narrative and in literary devices such as irony and metaphors. Firstly, the theme of redemption majorly affecting one’s life is expressed through irony during Hassan’s rape. Amir feels as if he has failed his father because …show more content…

The largest of these is the metaphor of the lamb. After he runs from Hassan’s rape scene, Amir reflects “...Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba. Was it a fair price? The answer floated to my conscious mind before I could thwart it…”(Hosseini 68) Amir recognizes the sacrifice that Hassan has made for him and immediately regrets his decision to leave Hassan. This metaphor appears again in chapter 22 when Hassan’s son, Sohrab, risks his life to protect Amir’s. He unknowingly has continued the loyalty his father showed Amir and has become the lamb and, if Amir hadn’t been searching for redemption, he would have never returned to Afghanistan in the first place. Another metaphor lies in Hassan’s cleft lip. This deformity symbolises the separation between Amir and Hassan. This resolves itself in chapter 23 when Amir suffers a split lip which reflects his satisfaction in redemption though he still is going to take care of Sohrab which is the opposite of what he did when Hassan and him were still children and Amir made fun of Hassan’s inability to read. In Amir’s mind his taking in of Sohrab is his redeeming himself to

Show More
Related

  • The Kite Runner Betrayal Essay

    688 Words  | 3 Pages

    Betrayal is an issue many can relate to, whether it is done by a family member or a friend. In the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, we witness betrayal play a vital role in the downfall of the main character’s Amir and Hassan’s friendship, and how betrayal was the reason for why Amir sought redemption in hopes to move on. The novel begins with Amir as an adult, recalling an event that took place in 1975 in his hometown Kabul, Afghanistan and how this event was what changed the rest of his life and made him who he now is. Despite this heartbreaking occurrence of Amir’s reluctance to help Hassan while he was being raped, it was the reason for why Amir later decided to be brave and stand up for what he believes in.

    Read More

  • Redemption Quotes In The Kite Runner

    1189 Words  | 5 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Kite Runner Parallelism

    734 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the first half of the book Hassan spends his life working for Amir, doing everything he needed, just so he could eventually be let down. Now that Amir realizes his mistakes, he spends his adult life dedicating his life to Sohrab, Hassan's son. A specific similarity would be when Hassan ran Amir's Kite during the competition as a child and when Amir teaches Sohrab how to run kites at the end of the book. Hassan and Amir's competition as children ended in victory, and Hassan telling Amir "For you a thousand times over," (Pg.67) meaning that he would help Amir as much as he needed to.

    Read More

  • The Kite Runner Sacrifice Essay

    931 Words  | 4 Pages

    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. Hassan and Amir are divided by economic differences throughout their childhood.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Redemption In The Kite Runner

    882 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Kite Runner Theme Essay

    1675 Words  | 7 Pages

    Amir fails to protect Hassan. Amir put his needs before Hassan’s needs. As a consequence of Amir’s failure, Hassan is raped by Assef. Amir feels his betrayal as guilt for what he allows to happen.

    Read More

  • Moral Ambiguity In The Kite Runner

    844 Words  | 4 Pages

    The author provides the reader with mixed feeling about Amir. In his childhood in Kabul Amir comes off as heartless person. He is this because he has done evil stuff in his life. In the beginning of the story something bad happens to Hassan, Amir says,¨In the end, I ran.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Conflicts In The Kite Runner

    1128 Words  | 5 Pages

    The connection between the relationships of Hassan and Amir and then Amir and Sohrab thrive off of the conflicts and the recurring motifs throughout the novel. Amir lived his redemiton and his loyalty through Sohrab, trying to make what he did to Hassan feel like less of a burden on his shoulders. There are many different ways for one to redeem themselves, but there is no better way to show loyalty than to be present in a time of

    Read More

  • Guilt Quotes In The Kite Runner

    421 Words  | 2 Pages

    The final guilt Amir struggles with is his guilt of apathy where he physically commits the action and instead of standing as a bystander becomes the person who committed the act, which gives him a different form of guilt. Amir feels apathy guilt through betraying his friend and kicking Hassan out of the house because he is a witness to the crime Amir has committed. Amir has guilt because he chases Hassan out, “I flinched, like I’d been slapped… Then I understood: This was Hassan’s final sacrifice for me… And that led to another understanding: Hassan knew.

    Read More

  • Internal Conflict In The Kite Runner

    1067 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the novel, Hosseini uses Amir’s internal conflict highlights how unresolved guilt and fear can negatively impact one’s life. Hassan’s rape initiates the internal conflict in Amir that lasts the rest of his young adult life. Assef rapes Hassan after the kite running competition prompting Amir to run away in terror and fear. After the incident, Amir celebrates the victory of

    Read More

  • Essay On Sacrifice In The Kite Runner

    751 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sacrifice, one the most prominent themes in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, clearly determines a person’s unconditional love and complete fidelity for another individual. Hosseini’s best-selling novel recounts the events of Amir’s life from childhood to adulthood. Deprived of his father’s approval and unsure of his relationship with Hassan, Amir commits treacherous acts which he later regrets and attempts to search for redemption. These distressing occurrences throughout his youth serve as an aid during his transition from a selfish child to an altruistic adult.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Redemption In The Kite Runner

    1226 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini tells the story of Amir, a young, Afghan boy who learns about what it means to be redeemed through the experiences he encounters in his life. The idea of redemption becomes a lesson for Amir when he is a witness to the tragic sexual assault of his childhood friend, Hassan. As a bystander in the moment, Amir determines what is more important: saving the life of his friend or running away for the safety of himself. In the end, Amir decides to flee, resulting in Amir having to live with the guilt of leaving Hassan behind to be assaulted. Hosseini shows us how Amir constantly deals with the remorse of the incident, but does not attempt to redeem himself until later in his life when Hassan has died.

    Read More

  • Sympathy In The Kite Runner

    666 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is delineated by natural inclination that people sympathize with others who undergo an unfortunate circumstance or event. However, this type of behavior is dependent on how one uses prior knowledge to judge whether someone is worthy of sympathy. The idea that people tend to draw conclusions based on other people’s decisions and character remains as one of the many underlying themes in literature. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, Amir’s character is considered worthy of sympathy by his redeeming actions towards the end of the novel, his good intentions toward Baba, and his ability to empathize with others.

    Read More

  • Thesis For The Kite Runner

    721 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sanganeria 1 Innayat Nain Sanganeria Kanika Dang Eng, Thesis paper 8th November 2015 THESIS PAPER, THE KITE RUNNER Khaled Hosseini in his novel The Kite Runner illustrates how one seeks for redemption for the sins committed in the past. The Kite Runner is a heartbreaking story of two young boys and how the choices made in the past, changed their lives forever. Love, loss and betrayal are some of the themes in the novel which have been portrayed with a lot of sensitivity.

    Read More

  • Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies And Kite Runner

    1443 Words  | 6 Pages

    As the death of Simon symbolizes the sacrifice of Jesus, Hassan’s rape symbolizes the sacrifice of an innocent lamb. Just like how Simon’s death was for a greater purpose, Amir views sacrificing Hassan’s innocence as a sacrifice for the greater good. He sees the look in Hassan’s eyes, who is like the lamb getting sacrificed on Dhul-Hijjah, who “sees that its imminent demise is for a higher purpose”(Hosseini 64). To Amir, sacrificing Hassan is a fair price for kite, and Baba’s love. But the kite that Hassan brought back becomes a symbol of this sacrifice of innocence, and it haunts Amir for the rest of

    Read More

More about The Kite Runner Redemption Essay

Open Document