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.
What is the significance of redemption in “The Kite Runner”? The theme of redemption is very important in the Kite Runner as it is the main theme of the play. The present day event in the story is about Amir in America as he searches for redemption. He then gets a call from Rahim Khan and the novel’s first chapter ends with an afterthought of some words that Rahim told Amir before hanging up. ‘There is a way to be good again.’ From this, you can tell that Amir is trying to gain forgiveness and wants to redeem himself of the actions that haunt him to this day.
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.
a)"The idea of America" is referred to as the fleeing to America. Baba wants to go to America because Afghanistan now is in trouble and Baba does not want Amir to see thing that should not be seen by a small boy. b) Yes, there is a huge difference between the way immigrants view America and the 'real' America. Baba thought that America will be safe for him and Amir and it would be really easy to adjust there, but actually Baba dint want to go to America as he missed his old Kabul life which made him proud of what he was in Kabul. Baba just came to America for the sake of Amir for he thought he gave a gift to Amir when they were in America and for Baba it would be something that he would have to suffer for Amir.
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.
Changez, too, is guilty of nostalgia but he seeks to solve the problem and resolves to ‘pretend all is well and work hard to restore things to what they were.’ A preoccupation with reliving the past leads Changez to ‘lack a stable core’. His efforts to recreate the past are inevitably at odds with his desire to become an American and this is made evident most strongly through his relationship with Erica. It is as though America; Princeton, ‘a dream come true’ and Erica, ‘stunningly regal’, romance Changez. His retrospective commentary as he speaks to the American in the present suggest that he ignored the ‘cracks’ in favour of adopting a new identity and thus made himself vulnerable to disappointment and rejection that followed. The dangers of living in the past are also evident through the
Friday afternoon… Hassan and I…” | | |(Hosseini 122) |Commentary: At this point in the story, Amir wants Hassan out of | | |his life. Even though he begs for Hassan’s absence, he can’t help| |Commentary: At this point in the story, Amir is in a predicament |to think about him. This drives him crazy and makes him wonder | |and gets advice to think of something happy. He thinks about his |how much of a role and impact Hassan plays in his life. | |fun childhood with Hassan.
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. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba.” In this quote Hassan stole the blue kite for Amir but Assef and his two friends wanted it, but Amir did not help Hassan. Instead, Amir ran away like a coward. He wanted the blue kite that Hassan stole for him, but he didn’t want to help pay the price, instead he felt that Hassan was the price to pay. He thought that Hassan was like his own sacrifice; Hassan got raped just because he wanted to get the blue kite for his friend Amir.
Erica’s nostalgia also reflects the United States’ own idea with the past after September 11. Towards the end of the novel, Changez yearns to return home where his own set of values are reflected. His nostalgia grows and in the end he does go home after so much confusion of himself and his dream. In the novel, nostalgia controls the characters’ ability to adapt to new environments and affects their ability to make practical decisions about the future. What the author, Hamid, was trying to say is looking forward to progress is just as dangerous as always looking back with nostalgia.
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.