Guilt In The Kite Runner

Guilt is a driving force in the actions of many people. Amir, the main character in the novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini has quite a few dark memories of his past that he greatly regrets. There are many important forces in his life driving him to fix the wrong choices he made when he was younger. As the novel progresses, the reader learns that no matter how many mistakes someone makes, there is always a way to redeem themselves, and true honor comes from love. Through the selfish choices, loss of family, and life sacrifices that Amir struggles through, he learns there is always a way to make things right. Amir made many selfish decisions in his early life. The most crucial one; however, is when he lied about his best friend, Hassan, in order to have him kicked out of his home.
Growing up without a mother really caused Amir to look up to his father. Amir tried to make his father proud in everything he would do whether it was writing stories in his adulthood or fighting kites in his childhood. When Baba passes Amir wondered, "Baba couldn't show me the way anymore; I'd have to find it on my own" (Hosseini 174). Baba was a man of great honor and in Amir's eyes he seemed to make little to no mistakes. Because of his high amount of respect for his father, Amir feels as though he should right his wrongs with Hassan because he knew that Baba loved and truly cared for Hassan. When Hassan and his father, Ali, left it devastated Baba. As Baba mourns their departure Amir states that he "... saw Baba do something I had never seen him do before: He cried" (Hosseini 107). Baba never showed emotion. For Baba to breakdown and actually cry at the fact that Hassan and Ali are gone conveys that he loves and cares for them both. Amir experiencing this display of emotion by his strong father influences him to help Hassan out in any way he