Guilt. It’s a troublesome feeling that can transcend borders, languages, and ethnicities. Just one syllable, but it can shape a person 's life forever. Everyone, no matter who he or she is, has something to feel guilty for. The reasons for feeling shameful are varied and complex. Some examples are betraying a friend, becoming disconnected from one 's culture, and disappointing family members. In the Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini wrote “And that 's the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too” (Hosseini 55). Amir, the narrator and main character of the book, says this about Hassan, his servant and half-brother, when Amir asks him if he’d eat dirt for him and Hassan says that, for Amir, he would.
…show more content…
Rescuing Sohrab from the Taliban was part of his atonement for what he had done to Hassan decades earlier. In this moment, Hosseini wrote “I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night” (Hosseini 359). The moment was simple, just him and his new son flying a kite at the park, but it meant so much more to Amir because that was when he finally started to feel the guilt he had harbored his entire life slip away. This guilt is shown, not just in The Kite Runner, but in contemporary media too. In an episode of Black-ish, the Johnson’s decide to take advantage of their wealth to hire a full-time nanny. This is something that many upper class families do, it’s not abnormal. Soon after their new nanny starts, the “Black-White Guilt” starts to set in. Their nanny often talks about her relatives in prison, being targeted by the police, not being able to pay rent, and other things that have happened to her due to her socioeconomic status and the color of her skin. The family feels a great amount of guilt for being African-Americans, but not coming close to relating to the life of their African-American nanny. They don’t want to be ashamed of their wealth and success, because they worked hard for it and it’s nothing to be ashamed of, but they also don’t want the feeling that they’ve disowned their race by living an affluent life when so many others
Rescuing Sohrab from the Taliban was part of his atonement for what he had done to Hassan decades earlier. In this moment, Hosseini wrote “I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night” (Hosseini 359). The moment was simple, just him and his new son flying a kite at the park, but it meant so much more to Amir because that was when he finally started to feel the guilt he had harbored his entire life slip away. This guilt is shown, not just in The Kite Runner, but in contemporary media too. In an episode of Black-ish, the Johnson’s decide to take advantage of their wealth to hire a full-time nanny. This is something that many upper class families do, it’s not abnormal. Soon after their new nanny starts, the “Black-White Guilt” starts to set in. Their nanny often talks about her relatives in prison, being targeted by the police, not being able to pay rent, and other things that have happened to her due to her socioeconomic status and the color of her skin. The family feels a great amount of guilt for being African-Americans, but not coming close to relating to the life of their African-American nanny. They don’t want to be ashamed of their wealth and success, because they worked hard for it and it’s nothing to be ashamed of, but they also don’t want the feeling that they’ve disowned their race by living an affluent life when so many others