Khaled Hosseini’s historical fiction novel, “The Kite Runner,” takes place in Afghanistan. Amir, a 12-year-old boy, wants to win a local kite tournament. In the end, he won the kite competition, but he witnesses the rape of his servant and friend Hassan. Amir then becomes guilt-stricken and wants Hassan to get out of his life. Then, once Amir grows up, he returns to Afghanistan on the path to redemption to get rid of his guilt and overcome his deception. One theme the story suggests is that betrayal comes from fear, and it can be overcome through courage.
Amir witnesses Hassan getting raped by the neighborhood bully Assef. He watches this happen yet does not help, and once he gets guilt-stricken he tries to make Baba, Amir’s dad, send Hassan away from living in their …show more content…
Once Amir grew up, he visited Rahim Khan who tells him that Baba is actually Hassan’s father. Amir was furious that Baba had kept this a secret from both him and Hassan: “I’m thirty-eight years old and I’ve just found out my whole life is one big f***ing lie! … And with that, I stormed out of the apartment.” (p. 206) Amir had to face the fact that Hassan is his half-brother; that he betrayed both his friend and brother. Amir realized that he never made up for his wrongdoing for his betrayal of Hassan when they were children; and this is Amir’s inspiration to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab. Amir takes this news of Hassan was his half-brother primarily hard because Baba tells Amir that he hates people who are dishonest when really- he is the dishonest one. Eventually, Amir is risking his life to save and adopt Sohrab and complete his ‘duty’ to his family’s legacy. He has the courage to go back to Kabul and make things right again. Amir’s character goes from self-centered to helping others, which is a BIG change for him from his past. He has the courage to go back to Kabul to save Sohrab from being harmed, and to redeem himself from his guilt from his
Amir witnesses Hassan getting raped by the neighborhood bully Assef. He watches this happen yet does not help, and once he gets guilt-stricken he tries to make Baba, Amir’s dad, send Hassan away from living in their …show more content…
Once Amir grew up, he visited Rahim Khan who tells him that Baba is actually Hassan’s father. Amir was furious that Baba had kept this a secret from both him and Hassan: “I’m thirty-eight years old and I’ve just found out my whole life is one big f***ing lie! … And with that, I stormed out of the apartment.” (p. 206) Amir had to face the fact that Hassan is his half-brother; that he betrayed both his friend and brother. Amir realized that he never made up for his wrongdoing for his betrayal of Hassan when they were children; and this is Amir’s inspiration to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab. Amir takes this news of Hassan was his half-brother primarily hard because Baba tells Amir that he hates people who are dishonest when really- he is the dishonest one. Eventually, Amir is risking his life to save and adopt Sohrab and complete his ‘duty’ to his family’s legacy. He has the courage to go back to Kabul and make things right again. Amir’s character goes from self-centered to helping others, which is a BIG change for him from his past. He has the courage to go back to Kabul to save Sohrab from being harmed, and to redeem himself from his guilt from his