When Guilt Comes Knocking To what end of the earth would a person travel to help the one they love? In the book The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini, Amir, the protagonist, suffers from constant internal struggles. He blames himself for the demise of his brother and is instrumental in helping his nephew, Sohrab, escape his petrifying life in the war torn Middle East. “Every saint has a past but every sinner has a future” are the words of Oscar Wilde. Oscar’s words suggest that people who have made mistakes always have a chance to make amends with their pasts. The future is unwritten, unknown, and presents the potential for freedom from past sins. The statement is undistorted and relates to the realities of life. Through the use of symbolism
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The quote not only demonstrated the importance of running for the kite, but also revealed Hassan’s characterization. The quote provided evidence of Hassan’s innocence and willingness to put others needs and necessities above his own. It also demonstrated that Hassan had a great deal of affection for Amir despite Amir always putting Hassan second. Later that same night, Amir witnessed Hassan be raped by the brutal antagonist, Assef. Assef’s words were the law and he was feared by all; he always had his brass knuckles in hand and had earned the nickname “the ear eater”. The book states “I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into the alley, and stand up for Hassan- the way that he’d stood up for me all those times in the past- and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end I ran”(77). While this demonstrated Amir’s cowardice, it also provided readers insight into how deep Hassan’s affection for Amir actually was. Hassan allowed himself to be raped rather than sacrificate the kite. This demonstrated extreme loyalty that very few would ever even consider. It is evident that Amir’s “happiness” seemed to always come at the expense of others. Following this traumatic event, the relationship …show more content…
Amir’s father, Baba, was seen as a leader and was very affluent. Baba had spent countless hours on many endeavors, such as building an orphanage, acted as a distraction from his real world realities. In pursuing these endeavors, Baba missed out on the quality time Amir carved. With Amir's return to Pakistan and the truth that had been presented about the true nature of Amir’s and Hassan’s relationship, readers could speculate that the true motivation behind the construction of the orphanage was Baba’s guilt. The book read “Baba paid for the construction of the two-story orphanage, just off the main strip of Jadeh Maywand south of the Kabul River, with his own money. Rahim Khan had told me [Amir] that Baba had personally funded the entire project, paying for the engineers, electricians, plumbers, and laborers, not to mention the city officials whose “mustaches needed oiling”(14). This allowed readers to infer that Baba felt culpable for never having spent time with Hassan as his father. Baba grew old and eventually died never having the opportunity to be the parent for his own son. Hosseini demonstrated Baba seeking atonement through the building of this orphanage, for while Baba could not help his own son he would try to help other children in need of kin. With the progression of the story readers began to recognize a pattern with Baba, for Baba
The quote not only demonstrated the importance of running for the kite, but also revealed Hassan’s characterization. The quote provided evidence of Hassan’s innocence and willingness to put others needs and necessities above his own. It also demonstrated that Hassan had a great deal of affection for Amir despite Amir always putting Hassan second. Later that same night, Amir witnessed Hassan be raped by the brutal antagonist, Assef. Assef’s words were the law and he was feared by all; he always had his brass knuckles in hand and had earned the nickname “the ear eater”. The book states “I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into the alley, and stand up for Hassan- the way that he’d stood up for me all those times in the past- and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end I ran”(77). While this demonstrated Amir’s cowardice, it also provided readers insight into how deep Hassan’s affection for Amir actually was. Hassan allowed himself to be raped rather than sacrificate the kite. This demonstrated extreme loyalty that very few would ever even consider. It is evident that Amir’s “happiness” seemed to always come at the expense of others. Following this traumatic event, the relationship …show more content…
Amir’s father, Baba, was seen as a leader and was very affluent. Baba had spent countless hours on many endeavors, such as building an orphanage, acted as a distraction from his real world realities. In pursuing these endeavors, Baba missed out on the quality time Amir carved. With Amir's return to Pakistan and the truth that had been presented about the true nature of Amir’s and Hassan’s relationship, readers could speculate that the true motivation behind the construction of the orphanage was Baba’s guilt. The book read “Baba paid for the construction of the two-story orphanage, just off the main strip of Jadeh Maywand south of the Kabul River, with his own money. Rahim Khan had told me [Amir] that Baba had personally funded the entire project, paying for the engineers, electricians, plumbers, and laborers, not to mention the city officials whose “mustaches needed oiling”(14). This allowed readers to infer that Baba felt culpable for never having spent time with Hassan as his father. Baba grew old and eventually died never having the opportunity to be the parent for his own son. Hosseini demonstrated Baba seeking atonement through the building of this orphanage, for while Baba could not help his own son he would try to help other children in need of kin. With the progression of the story readers began to recognize a pattern with Baba, for Baba