Minhazul Hoque's Reviews > The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner is the story of Amir. He grows as a child in Kabul, Afghanistan with a close friend named Hassan. They spend many years together Kite Running to escape their fears. It is a true story of friendship. Amir loses Hassan after he gets raped by some Afghan bullies and Amir watches the whole scene uncover. Amir migrates to the United States of America but he still remembers Hassan. Amir goes back to Afghanistan to search for him. However, he is dead and he has a son left. And Hassan hands his son over to Amir’s hands.
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So after following this book, I came up with something:

I am reading the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. This book is about Amir, the protagonist and tells his story and how he came to be what he is today. He lived in Kabul where he had spent his childhood. His early days were about strength, bravery, faith, God, cowardice, guilt, and trying to win his Baba’s heart. During the winter of 1975 his life had changed into a life filled with guilt. His friend, Hassan was raped and Amir just stood there watching and fled from the scene. He was a coward and felt that if he had fought the rapist, Assef then something negative would’ve been brought into his life. He wasn’t the same since. Rahim Khan, one of Amir’s best friends tells him, “There is a way to be good again” (Hosseini 2). Amir then knows that he can once again be redeemed of himself. The sin, betrayal is what he takes account for, is the negative aspect of his life. Amir tires to forget his sin, and thus guilt endures. Amir can only get rid of his guilt by redemption. He can make up for the deed that he had done on that winter in many ways. Thus, I was left with one question after reading the book, how can Amir be good again?
I have continuously read the chapters of the Kite Runner over and over to develop a distinguish answer to the question. I think that Amir can be good again by standing up for himself and fighting his personal bear Assef. Baba has been fighting bears for his entire life. Those bears portrayed raising a son without a wife, leaving his land, death of his wife, poverty, and indignity. “They fall to the ground with a loud thud and Baba is sitting on the bear’s chest. His fingers digging in its snout. He looks up at me and I see me. He’s me. I am wresting the bear” (Hosseini 295.) The bear in this case represents a problem. And the problem that Amir is facing is Assef and he is wrestling him. All his life Amir didn’t fight anyone; he never even threw a punch. “The first time I’d fought anyone. I had never thrown as much as a punch in my entire life” (Hosseini 288). Fighting a bear shows responsibility, something that Amir hasn’t accepted during his life time. After the Russian soldier had fired a round in the air, while Amir thinking that the gun had fired into Baba, he was thinking, “It’s done then. I’m eighteen and alone. I have no one left in the world. Baba’s dead and now I have to bury him. Where do I bury him” (Hosseini 116).But he now knows that accepting this responsibility may lead him to redeeming himself for what he has done during that winter of 1975. Responsibility was now something that Baba has been trying to teach Amir. “Haven’t I taught you anything? ……. ‘Tell him he’d better kill me good with that first shot. Because If I don’t go down, I’m tearing him to pieces…” (Hosseini 116). Baba was a brave and powerful man. When Amir fought Assef, he demonstrated bravery. With Baba dead who has died before this part in the book, would have been very proud of his son standing up for himself. This I believe is one way for Amir to be good again.
When I was in my Lit Circle group discussion I developed, I came up with another answer. I thought that Amir can be good again by parenting Sohrab, the son of Hassan and taking care of him like a father because Hassan has died an untimely death. From pages 300-302 of the Kite Runner, I think that the initial purpose of Rahim Khan’s letter is for Amir to parent Sohrab. He is the one to tell Amir that there is a way to be good again. So I think what Rahim Khan means by that is for Amir to parent Hassan and be a father that is more caring than Baba but the same qualities of him including bravery, responsibility, kind, etc should be inside of Amir. “Haven’t I taught you anything? ……. ‘Tell him he’d better kill me good with that first shot. Because If I don’t go down, I’m tearing him to pieces…” (Hosseini 116). Bravery and responsibility was something that Baba wasn’t able to teach Amir. But in the fight with Assef, Amir was able to demonstrate responsibility and bravery to Sohrab. Thus, part of his guilt will be redeemed. Hassan was raped by Assef in a form of punishment. Amir was brutally beaten by Assef, but he didn’t feel pain. He felt peace at last. “‘WHAT’S SO FUNNY?’ Assef bellowed. Another rib snapped, this time the lower left. What’s so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace….My body was broken….but I felt healed. Healed at last” (Hosseini 289). However, I think here is more to this mission. I think that part of being good again is for Amir to bring Sohrab to America and not to leave Sohrab in the orphanage to suffer even more. Sohrab thinks it the orphanage that rapes him, but Assef takes Sohrab to his place and causes trouble. Amir should ensure that Sohrab is safe and secure. “‘I don’t want to go to another orphanage,’ he said. ‘I won’t ever let that happen. I promise you that. Amir parenting, taking care of, and bringing Sohrab along with him to America will Amir redeem of himself and is another way to be good again.
When I was analyzing Soraya and Amir’s relationship/marriage I found another answer to the question. I thought in order for Amir to be good again he should be able to confront his sins from the past and be able to redeem himself. Furthermore, he should be able to explain Soraya the sin that he made during the winter of 1975. I think that one can’t hold their guilt inside them forever. If Amir tells Soraya he would display the quality of courage which he wasn’t able to do when Soraya had told him her secret. “‘When we lived in Virginia, I ran away with an Afghan man…We lived together for almost a month. All the Afghans were talking about” (Hosseini 164). Soraya was courageous enough to tell Amir this even if she knew that Amir may not want to marry her anymore. Amir was full of guilt and he hadn’t mentioned this to anyone since the winter of 1975. “…I’d betrayed Hassan, lied….and destroyed a forty-year relationship between Baba and Ali. But I didn’t” (Hosseini 165). There was so much that Amir had destroyed, he felt that he couldn’t be compensated for. However, the time came when Amir asked Sohrab to come to America. “Then I did something that I hadn’t done in fifteen years of marriage: I told my wife everything. Everything. I felt something lifting off my chest. I imagined Soraya had experienced something very similar the night of our khastegari, when she told me about her past” (Hosseini 325). Amir told everything about the highlighted moment in Amir’s mind that took place during the winter of 1975. Amir mentioned that he felt “something lifting off his chest.” The thing that lifts off his stomach during this conversation is his guilt. The same thing had happened to Soraya. Consequently, tell Soraya “everything” will free Amir of his guilt and make him good again.
There are many answers to this question. Amir’s life was full of problems. Problems that Amir thought would be solved. Amir solving these problems will help redeem himself of his guilt. You have heard three possible answers; however, when you read the story you may come across another answer(s) to the question. How can Amir be good again?