The Role Of Redemption In The Kite Runner

Tennessee Williams, an American playwright, once claimed that “hell is yourself and the only redemption is when a person puts himself aside to feel deeply for another person.” This beautiful quotation emphasizes the requirements that need to be met for one to redeem himself- focusing on someone else. However, is it possible that someone can do too much bad for there to be any redemption? Khaled Hosseini explores this topic in his first novel The Kite Runner. Edward Howel notes that The Kite Runner is “a story of fierce cruelty and fierce yet redeeming love.” Amir, the young son of a wealthy businessman, displays this cruelty as he grows up with his loyal best friend Hassan, a servant of Amir’s father. In their early years, Amir and Hassan were
After feeling guilty for not helping when he came upon Hassan being raped, Amir asks his father, “Baba, have you ever thought about getting new servants” (Hosseini 75)? Instead of apologizing or acknowledging his mistake to Hassan, Amir just wants to throw away his problems and simultaneously throw away the life of his childhood best friend and Hassan’s disabled father. Hassan and his father would have a difficult time finding work because they are both Hazara Mongoloids -the “inferior” race in Afghanistan- and Hassan’s father is disabled. After his father’s refusal to look for new servants, Amir takes matters into his own hands and frames Hassan for stealing his birthday money. Amir tells his father that Hassan stole his birthday money, but, to Amir’s astonishment, his Father forgives the servants. However, Hassan’s father recognizes that Amir wants them to leave and complies despite Amir’s father’s pleas for them to stay (Hosseini 80-87). Amir not only refuses to help Hassan while he was being brutally raped, but he tries, and succeeds, to drive Hassan and his father away in order to not have to face his guilt every day. Amir’s contuous selfish actions condemn him to a life of more guilt than he had felt before. After doing such awful and selfish things -to someone loyal enough they claimed they would eat dirt if Amir asked- Amir’s conscious appears to be permanently
Many years after Amir arrives in America, he receives a phone call from someone in his past claiming that he still has a “way to be good again”, but first, it required for him to travel to Afghanistan. Amir puts his life on America on hold in order to find a way to redemption (Hosseini 166).When he arrives at the residence the phone-line addresses, he is told about Hassan’s death. Amir is also told that Hassan is actually his half-brother, and, for the first time in his life, Amir wholeheartedly and truthfully accepts Hassan as a brother and equal. Amir’s acceptance of Hassan is significant because, racial tensions between the Hazara and the Pashtuns were worse than they had ever been after Al Qaeda took over afghanistan. So, by completely accepting Hassan as a brother, Amir lowers his own status by being related to a Hazara. Therefore, by putting someone else before himself, Amir begins his journey of redemption and partially redeems himself. Hosseini utilizes this first point of redemption as proof that anyone can find redemption regardless of their past sins. If Amir, who committed such evil and seemingly unforgivable acts, is able to find redemption, then anyone should be able to find redemption. Amir was able to find absolution in more ways than just accepting Hassan as a brother. Amir was presented with the opportunity to save