In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, there are many important life-changing events. Some of the characters in the novel spend most of their lives trying to overcome the feelings of remorse for things they have seen or done. Amir, Soraya, and Rahim Khan each have something happen that makes each of them feel guilt and shame for most of their lives. The first character that feels guilt and shame is Amir. Just before his thirteenth birthday, he sees his best friend and servant, Hassan, get raped. Hassan is raped, after the biggest kite flying tournament, when he goes to run the kite Amir had cut. Hassan tells Amir, “...Right now, I’m going to run that blue kite for you...for you a thousand times over!” (Hosseini 67). Hassan tells
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Amir never intervenes. He does not even attempt to put a stop to the rape. He is too afraid of what will happen to him if he tries to do something. He decides to run away like a coward. The decision of fleeting changes his life forever, makes him loathe himself. It even turns him into an insomniac. He gets filled with remorse. Guilt and shame consume him. After the incident Amir and Hassan drift apart. Hassan does not understand what he did wrong, but he lets Amir continue to push him away. Amir eventually frames Hassan for stealing, to get Hassan and his father Ali, fired. Hassan lies and says it is true. Then Amir understands why Hassan did not object. “I flinched, like I’d been slapped. My heart sank and I almost blurted out the truth...This was Hassan’s final sacrifice for me” (105). Again, Hassan proves his loyalty, Amir is filled with even more regret. Years later Amir is living in the United States,he gets called back to Afghanistan. Rahim Khan asks him to rescue Sohrab, Hassan’s son, from the Taliban. He finds out Hassan was killed by the Taliban along with Hassan’s wife. He feels that if he would have prevented the rape, things would have been different, and that Hassan might still be alive. Maybe Hassan and Ali, …show more content…
Rahim is a very close friend and colleague of Amir’s father. Amir states that Rahim is one of his first friends. Rahim has been keeping a secret for Baba. A secret that could have created an entirely different story if it was not a secret. Rahim tells Amir that Ali was sterile. Baba had had an affair with Hassan’s mother, Ali’s wife, and she had given birth to Hassan, then abandoned them. Rahim and Baba had kept the secret their whole lives. The secret that Hassan was actually Baba’s son, Amir’s half-brother. Rahim Khan feels awful for keeping this secret from Amir and Hassan, but it was not his secret to tell. It was also his duty to stand by his friend’s side, and not betray him. Even now after Baba’s passing he still feels guilty for finally speaking about it. Amir asks him why they never told them, why they kept this from them. He tells Amir that it would have ruined Baba’s reputation and brought dishonor and disgrace to the family. “Please think, Amir Jan. It was a shameful situation. People would talk. All that man had back then, all that he was, was his honor, his name...We couldn’t tell anyone I’m sure you can see that” (Hosseini 223). Even though he tries to justify, he knows that it was wrong of them to deny Hassan and Amir their right to the truth. He finally frees himself from the burden of guilt and shame he has been dragging around most of his
Amir never intervenes. He does not even attempt to put a stop to the rape. He is too afraid of what will happen to him if he tries to do something. He decides to run away like a coward. The decision of fleeting changes his life forever, makes him loathe himself. It even turns him into an insomniac. He gets filled with remorse. Guilt and shame consume him. After the incident Amir and Hassan drift apart. Hassan does not understand what he did wrong, but he lets Amir continue to push him away. Amir eventually frames Hassan for stealing, to get Hassan and his father Ali, fired. Hassan lies and says it is true. Then Amir understands why Hassan did not object. “I flinched, like I’d been slapped. My heart sank and I almost blurted out the truth...This was Hassan’s final sacrifice for me” (105). Again, Hassan proves his loyalty, Amir is filled with even more regret. Years later Amir is living in the United States,he gets called back to Afghanistan. Rahim Khan asks him to rescue Sohrab, Hassan’s son, from the Taliban. He finds out Hassan was killed by the Taliban along with Hassan’s wife. He feels that if he would have prevented the rape, things would have been different, and that Hassan might still be alive. Maybe Hassan and Ali, …show more content…
Rahim is a very close friend and colleague of Amir’s father. Amir states that Rahim is one of his first friends. Rahim has been keeping a secret for Baba. A secret that could have created an entirely different story if it was not a secret. Rahim tells Amir that Ali was sterile. Baba had had an affair with Hassan’s mother, Ali’s wife, and she had given birth to Hassan, then abandoned them. Rahim and Baba had kept the secret their whole lives. The secret that Hassan was actually Baba’s son, Amir’s half-brother. Rahim Khan feels awful for keeping this secret from Amir and Hassan, but it was not his secret to tell. It was also his duty to stand by his friend’s side, and not betray him. Even now after Baba’s passing he still feels guilty for finally speaking about it. Amir asks him why they never told them, why they kept this from them. He tells Amir that it would have ruined Baba’s reputation and brought dishonor and disgrace to the family. “Please think, Amir Jan. It was a shameful situation. People would talk. All that man had back then, all that he was, was his honor, his name...We couldn’t tell anyone I’m sure you can see that” (Hosseini 223). Even though he tries to justify, he knows that it was wrong of them to deny Hassan and Amir their right to the truth. He finally frees himself from the burden of guilt and shame he has been dragging around most of his