The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, who is haunted by the guilt of betraying his childhood friend Hassan, the son of his father's Hazara servant. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan through the Soviet invasion, the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime. The biggest theme seen throughout the kite runner is redemption. Amir’s quest to redeem himself makes up the heart of the novel. Early on, Amir strives to redeem himself in Baba’s eyes, primarily because his mother died giving birth to him, and he feels responsible.
Formal Writing- Kite Runner “There is way to be good again.” This remark of Rahim Khan suggested to Amir that he could make up for his past mistakes. This realistic novel highlights the tension between two ethnic groups the Pashtun and the Hazara living together in 1970’s Afghanistan. This is shown in the story through the two main characters and their childhood friendship as Pashtun and Hazara boys. A significant event in Kite Runner is the Assef’s violation of Hassan after the kite flying tournament. When Amir decided to run away from Assef’s attack on Hassan, it meant that he chose to protect himself rather than help his friend.
Redemption liberates people from their sufferings and their sins. In the books The Kite Runner and Beloved, it is debatable whether either Amir or Sethe suffer more to gain their redemption. The Kite Runner is about a boy named Amir. Amir betrayed his best friend, Hassan, when he watched him get raped by Assef and did nothing to help. Amir felt guilty his whole life for what he did.
Was honor and certainty shown in The Kite Runner? Source: “Discuss the ideas developed by the text creator about the ways in which individuals struggle to restore honor and certainty.” In the book “The Kite Runner “by Khaled Hosseini, the major theme in this book way the way in which individuals struggle to restore honor and certainty. It is evident in the story with Amir and his journey for redemptions for the sins of his past mistakes. Amir dishonored himself by not helping out his half-brother in his time of need. Amir is the character that is extremely similar to his father Buba, because they both have committed sins in their past.
Baba was a typical father that expected his son to be into athletic things such as soccer and such, and when Amir tried things of that nature, he felt bad because he was not as good as Baba had hoped. But one thing that interested both Amir and Baba was the Kite tournament. It was Amir’s dream to win the tournament so that Baba could be proud of something that he did. Later on throughout the story, Amir won that tournament and in order to show Baba the winning kite, the price he had to pay was to watch his friend Hassan get raped. In Chapter 7 Amir states, “I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world.
Amir’s first experience of violence is when Amir wins the Kite fighting Tournament, and Hassan, runs off in pursuit of Amir’s trophy. Hassan is gone long enough to alarm Amir, who begins to search for him and once he finds him, he sees Assef, a bully, raping him. Amir at first is scared of Assef but later convinces himself by says, “Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay to win Baba (Amir’s Father) Was it a fair price?” (Hosseini 82). As Amir never helps Hassan, this shows that Amir will do anything to get Baba’s love and intention.
Amir would rather his father love him and be proud of him for one day than help his best friend from getting raped. Amir was selfish and unappreciative. After Hassan got raped, the relationship between him and Amir changed for the worst. Amir did another terrible thing by framming Hassan. This was the last time Amir saw Hassan because after Hassan and his father left, Amir and Baba moved to America.
It is so severe, that even the mentioning of Hassan’s name brings Amir not only mental, but physical pain as well he feels like “there is an iron fist clamped around [his] throat”. However it is evident in the later stages of the novel, that “true redemption” is possible when Amir’s “guilt leads to good.” Amir atones for his sins through the action of confronting his past and returning to Afghanistan to save Sohrab. Rhaim Khan
Amir goes in search of Hassan and as he hears Assef voice, hides. Amir witnesses Hassan get raped by Assef but is too scared to act out. Hassan stays quite about the incident. Amir feels a great amount of guilt and tries to deal with it by avoiding it. He eventually frames Hassan for stealing and Hassan and his
Hassan refuses to give up Amir's kite. Amir searches for Hassan but hides when he hears Assef's voice. He witnesses the rape but is too scared to intervene, and returns home ashamed, guilty for not being able to help his best friend. He feels that his cowardice in Hassan's rape would destroy any hopes for Baba's affections, so he says nothing. Afterwards, Hassan and Amir keep a distance from each other.