The most substantial part of Amir’s search for redemption stems from his guilt regarding Hassan. One of the most iconic and memorable events in the novel is the kite fighting tournament which leads to Hassan being raped by Assef, forcing Amir to make a decision that ultimately results in Ali and Hassan leaving the house as he couldn’t live with them anymore. Amir sacrifices Hassan after the tournament to get the blue kite so that he can please his father and finally get some recognition in his house. However, just to get some form of acceptance from his father, he ends up destroying the only true relationship he had with anybody. Hassan was loyal to Amir until the very end and even took the blame for the watch incident and quietly left the house.
Early on, Amir strives to redeem himself in Baba’s eyes, primarily because his mother died giving birth to him, and he feels responsible. To redeem himself to Baba, Amir thinks he must win the kite-tournament and bring Baba the losing kite, both of which are inciting incidents that set the rest of the novel in motion. The more substantial part of Amir’s search for redemption, however, stems from his guilt regarding Hassan. That guilt drives the climactic events of the story, including Amir’s journey to Kabul to find Sohrab and his confrontation with Assef. The moral standard Amir must meet to earn his redemption is set early in the book, when Baba says that a boy who doesn’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.
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.
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.
In Amir’s case, Baba was disappointed not to be graced with the archetypal Afghan son of the 1970’s that was tall, strong, sportive, willing to carry on the family name, but perhaps more importantly being able to stand up in himself. Unfortunately, Baba did not look towards the merits in Amir’s creative talent, labelling him as a boy who he’d ‘never believe he’s my son’. An interesting
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.
He needed to be treated as if he was a part of the community and maintains an ability to make a difference. However, the teachers all shoved him away refusing to hear his heart crying out for love and acceptance. He had no idea who he was as a person nor love to guide him through life. Paul’s father could have made the biggest impact on his suicide. More than anyone, a boy needs his father to approve of him and teach him how to be a man.
This indicates that he lacks the love from his real father. The boy tries to live up to his fathers expectations, and has a strong bond to his father. Loyalty and being true to your closest is also an important element of the boys behaviour, he protects his father no matter what, and that is a crucial part of the boy´s mental state in this short story. The boy is naive and has high thoughts of his father, these thoughts are shown through the boys’ actions and delighted comments. The boy protects his father when his mother speaks badly of him.
Amir tells us that his first word was 'Baba' and Hassan's "Amir,' suggesting that Amir looked up most to Baba, while Hassan looked up to Amir. Assef, a notoriously mean and violent older boy with sadistic tendencies, mocks Amir for socializing with a Hazara, which is, according to Assef, an inferior race that should only live in Hazarajat. He prepares to attack Amir with brass knuckles, but Hassan bravely stands up to him, threatening to shoot out Assef's left eye with his slingshot. Assef and his posse back off, but Assef threatens revenge. Hassan is a successful "kite runner" for Amir, knowing where the kite will land without even watching it.