Redemption is definable as the act of regaining virtue and morality from previous mistakes. In Khaled Hosseini’s first novel, The Kite Runner, the overarching theme is redemption. Because of lingering guilt from past actions, the protagonist, Amir, goes on a long, painful journey to find atonement for his childhood sins. While taking the road of redemption by storm in order to be good again, Amir encounters the ghost of Hassan through the shadows of Sohrab. The guilt that plagues Amir eventually makes him decide to try to save Sohrab from the Taliban-ridden Afghanistan, because saving Sohrab is the equivalent of making things right with Hassan in Amir’s eyes. On his road to saving Sohrab, Amir encounters opportunities, ones similar to his childhood’s,
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First, Hassan yells it to Amir after Amir wins the kite fighting competition, showing that Hassan is demonstrating his loyalty, yet again, for Amir. Amir feels guilty for not returning the immense loyalty and faith that Hassan displays in every action. So much guilt in fact, that the next time Amir needs help, decades later in Afghanistan, the loyal Farid, who follows and guides Amir to Sohrab, says “For you a thousand times over” when Amir asks for a favor. In response to this Amir breaks down crying: “I buried my face in one hand and held up the other. I knew the whole room was watching me. After I felt tired, hollow. ‘I’m sorry,’ I said”(305). This quote shows that even after all these years, Amir never forgave himself. When Amir says that he is sorry, he is apologizing to Hassan for allowing him to be raped and the continued iniquities committed against him. Finally the last use of the phrase is after nearly a year of silence from Sohrab; Amir gets Sohrab to crack a small, lopsided smile after they defeated a kite together. Like Hassan did to Amir many years ago, Amir does to Sohrab; he runs the kite for him, repeating the words “for you a thousand times over”. By repeating it to Sohrab, Amir shows repentance for his actions against Hassan. Sohrab is not only Hassan’s son, but the last person that can represent Hassan in Amir’s eyes. Therefore, by repeating the words, Amir is returning the same faithfulness and loyalty that Hassan gave him to Sohrab, allowing Amir to forgive himself as well as apologizing to
First, Hassan yells it to Amir after Amir wins the kite fighting competition, showing that Hassan is demonstrating his loyalty, yet again, for Amir. Amir feels guilty for not returning the immense loyalty and faith that Hassan displays in every action. So much guilt in fact, that the next time Amir needs help, decades later in Afghanistan, the loyal Farid, who follows and guides Amir to Sohrab, says “For you a thousand times over” when Amir asks for a favor. In response to this Amir breaks down crying: “I buried my face in one hand and held up the other. I knew the whole room was watching me. After I felt tired, hollow. ‘I’m sorry,’ I said”(305). This quote shows that even after all these years, Amir never forgave himself. When Amir says that he is sorry, he is apologizing to Hassan for allowing him to be raped and the continued iniquities committed against him. Finally the last use of the phrase is after nearly a year of silence from Sohrab; Amir gets Sohrab to crack a small, lopsided smile after they defeated a kite together. Like Hassan did to Amir many years ago, Amir does to Sohrab; he runs the kite for him, repeating the words “for you a thousand times over”. By repeating it to Sohrab, Amir shows repentance for his actions against Hassan. Sohrab is not only Hassan’s son, but the last person that can represent Hassan in Amir’s eyes. Therefore, by repeating the words, Amir is returning the same faithfulness and loyalty that Hassan gave him to Sohrab, allowing Amir to forgive himself as well as apologizing to