Redemption In The Kite Runner

In the words of American author Gretchen Rubin, “Negative emotions like loneliness, envy, and guilt have an important role to play in a happy life; they’re big flashing signs that something needs to change” (brainyquote.com). In Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, he talks about true redemption being achieved through guilt leading to good. Ultimately, One can achieve redemption from the guilt they struggle with only by acts of extreme selflessness and by putting your life at risk. There are multiple ways Hosseini demonstrates selflessness in his novel, The Kite Runner, whether it’s Amir risking his life to rescue Sohrab or going into the heart of the Taliban’s organization where Sohrab was living. Yet, there were also times where he was to timid …show more content…
It all started in an alley, with a blue kite, and a loyal Hazara. After long, strenuous hours of kite fighting, Amir cut the string of the last one. As it begins to tumble down to the earth, Amir tells Hassan to go run the kite for him. Hassan replies “For you a thousand times over” (Hosseini 67)... little did Amir know at the time, those words would haunt him for decades to come. A little while later Hassan still hasn’t returned so Amir goes to search for him. But upon finding him, he comes to the realization that he’s getting bullied and that he’s about to be raped. That’s when Amir makes the decision of his lifetime, he runs away from it, he leaves Hassan to get raped. As Amir tells us after fleeing the scene is that “the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world” (Hosseini 77). This moment in his childhood was the moment all the guilt set in. Amir witnesses Hassan get bullied and raped, yet he decided to run from it. The guilt Amir experiences from here on out is a result of what took place in that alley. It is his true motive for redemption and all the attempts to …show more content…
Fortunately, this was the case for Amir after his father and him moved to America. After about two years in America, Amir felt like he had adjusted nicely to the new culture and customs that came with his new life. In fact, Amir tells us how he felt about America, he tells us, “America was different. America was a river roaring along, unmindful of the past. he could wade into this river, let my sins drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far” (Hosseini 136). Although Amir struggles with guilt throughout his life, he does realize that moving to America was good for both him and his family. It allowed him to finally escape his guilt throughout the day and carry on with his life. He learns that in America, one can do something terrible to his friend, but within a week or so it’s forgotten and forgiven, this is what Amir is most grateful for in America. Yet, that guilt isn’t completely forgotten. During the day Amir may be able to hide the guilt with story writing or talking to his wife, Soraya, but during the night it’s a completely different story. One night, while lying in bed with his wife, Amir’s thoughts are going crazy and he’s struggling to find sleep. Finally, after quite some time, Amir finds his sleep, he tells us “I drifted to sleep. And dream of Hassan running in the snow, the hem of his green chapan dragging behind him, snow crunching under his