An Analysis of Redemption in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

“There is a way to be good again“ (1). The lesson of forgiveness and redemption come hand and hand; in order to be fully forgiven you have to redeem yourself. For some it takes years to master this lesson of maturity and growth, while for others it takes a lifetime. In the novel The Kite Runner, the author Khaled Hosseini portrays guilt and perseverance as the motivation for an individual to seek redemption and attain the satisfaction of self- fttlfillment. Guilt and self-redemption can be seen through key characters in the story, such as Amir who experiences many phases involving cowardice and guilt, and must overcome and escape the difficulties of his past mistakes in order to find redemption and transform himself into the selfless giving man he becomes, Hosseini illustrates the guilt and cowardice Amir feels in the beginning, the motivation to seek redemption in the middle of the novel, and finally when Amir becomes a better person, in the final pages of The Kite Runner.

As a child Amir had no idea that one fateful day would follow him the rest of his life.

Amir resents his choice to be a coward when Hassan is raped. His guilt is immediate and it troubles him. A few days after Hassan was assaulted, Amir already feels guilt and resentment inside him. “I watched Hassan get raped,‘ 1 said to no one.

A part of me was hoping someone would wake up and hear, so I wouldn’t have to live with this lie anymore…l understood the nature of my new curse: I was going to get away with it,”, While Amir is lying in the dark, with nothing but his own thoughts, he feels that his guilt is taking over his life.

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He realizes that he is going to get away with his betrayal and yet he feels terrible. l-le decides that the only way he is going to live with his remorse is to ignore Hassan, blot him out, so he does not have to think about his sin. Amir’s guilt is so great that he cannot bear to have Hassan under the same roof, so he commits another sin. He lies to his father and accuses Hassan of stealing. “…I took a couple of the envelopes of cash from the pile of gifts and my watch, and tiptoed out…l lifted Hassan‘s mattress and planted my new watch and a handful ofAfghani bills under it…I knocked on Baba’s door and told what I hoped would be the last in a long line of shameful lies.“ (104). Amir needs to get Hassan out of his sight.

The only way of doing so is to make it look like Hassan has committed a sin and stolen Amir’s property. Ali and Hassan cannot live in Baba’s house anymore with the thought that Hassan had been accused of stealing something from his master, so they decide to leave. To conclude, his guilt becomes so great that he feels he needs to redeem himself for his actions. Throughout the novel, Amir’s inability to think for himself has made him a selfish, unkind character. For instance, when Hassan corrected Amir when he read to him, Amir said, “What does he know, he’s just a Shia.” This shows how ignorant Amir is; how society and his peers dawned on him and influenced him into thinking he’s better. Amir is being very selfish because he thinks he’s above Hassan, due to his heritage and race. Another example of Amir being self-centered is seen when Amir is reading to Hassan by the tree, “My favourite pan of reading to Hassan was when we came across a big word that he didn’t know, I’d tease him, expose his ignorance”. This shows how manipulating and un-caring Amir is. Amir has the opportunity to teach Hassan how to read, to give a helping hand, but instead he just disrespects Hassan by making fun of him. Amir also tells Hassan the opposite of what each word means, for example “Let‘s see, Imbecile.’

It means smart, intelligent I’ll use it in a sentence for you. When it comes to words, Hassan is an imbecile”. Amir is teaching wrong things to Hassan, instead of being a good spiritual teacher who helps others, he does the complete opposite. To conclude Amir is a very selfish person and cannot think for himself. The guilt Amir felt drove him to make things right with himself. After a few years of suffering Amir found a way to redeem and transform himself into the selfless giving man he wants to become. Amir decided to go back to Afghanistan and find l-lassan’s son Sohrab to help him forgive himself. Amir was reluctant at first to go back to Kabul but he went through it due to Rahim Khan’s death wish, which was for him to find and care for Sohrab. Amir witnesses the horror of the new war torn capital and the harsh treatment of the Taliban. But Amir never gave up and continued his mission to find Sohrab and give him a new life worth living Amir goes and prays for the first Lime in years and asks for “My hands are stained with Hassan’s blood: I pray God doesn’t let them get stained with the blood of his boy too” (346), Amir strived to save Sohrab and give him a new life worth living. it took Amir the entire novel to learn about the true nature of forgiveness.

He finally understands that full closure can only occur when he forgives himself: “In the end, I ran”, It is ironic, during the moment he most regrets, he runs away. Then, during the moment he finally forgives himself, he runs again. But this time, he is not running away because he is a coward, he is running away because he is not afraid anymore. He is no longer haunted by his past; instead he looks back and sees the days well spent with a good friend In the end, he ran towards his new life, towards forgiveness, He ran with Sohrab, Hassan’s son. Amir ran with his wife, and with Baba, and with Rahim Khan and finally Hassan. He can look back on these people with love, and he can look towards the future with hope, Amir is finally free of his guilt, free of the burden that weighs down his life. To conclude, Amir is able to accept himself for the mistakes he makes, and he learns from these mistakes. That is what true forgiveness really is To conclude, the lesson of forgiveness and redemption come hand and hand, in order to be fully forgiven you have to redeem yourself.

For some it takes years to master this lesson of maturity and growth, while for others it takes a lifetime. Amir’s sense of guilt and critical need for redemption were a constant part of his life when he was younger, and clung to him throughout adulthood. He knew soon after he betrayed Hassan that it would change their relationship forevert He willingly gives up a friendship to release himself, so he thought, from guilt. However, living with this sin of betrayal for so many years, Amir finally finds a way “To be good again“ , Hosseini portrays the guilt Amir feels towards Hassan, then Amir gets the motivation to seek redemption in the middle of the novel, and finally Amir becomes a better person, in the final pages of The Kite Runner by saving Hassan’s child, Suhrab.