In the Kite Runner, a novel written by Khaled Hosseini, redemption is one of the main themes. The book follows Amir and his path to become good again. At the end of Chapter 7, Amir runs away from Hassan as Hassan is getting raped. Amir immediately regrets his decision, and he begins to make more mistakes and frames Hassan of theft to send Hassan away. His aim was to get Hassan out of his life in order to him forget all his guilt. This becomes significant as it allows us to understand what Rahim Khan was alluding to in Chapter 1 when he tells Amir “There is a way to be good again”. Essentially, Rahim Khan is claiming that Amir can redeem his mistakes. At the same time, it gives readers a sense of hope that there is still a chance for Amir.
Besides Amir’s grave mistakes, readers also learn that Soraya, Amir’s wife, has made a tragic mistake in her early life when she eloped with her first love. Soraya is ashamed of her actions and does not want to tell anyone about it. However, she decides to tell Amir as she wants to be honest with her future husband. Amir envied such an action because he himself never found the courage to tell anyone about all the guilt he was carrying. He had no one to talk to and no one to support him unlike Soraya now. Once again, this shows the lack of courage that Amir has when it comes to confronting his biggest challenges.
Although Amir has made many mistakes and perhaps it may be difficult for the readers to forgive him at this point in the story, I personally empathize with him. When I was small, I once fooled around so much in a fire drill that the teacher banned me from recess for a week. Despite the fact my mistake was nowhere as grave as Amir’s mistake, to me back then, it was a huge deal. Only most naughty actions would get such a severe punishment from the teacher. However, what haunted me the most was the fact that I had to tell my parents. I really did not want to because I know they would be disappointed in me and would even scold me. Therefore, I went home and lied about my day in school until I could not contain my guilt, and I suddenly burst out everything to my parents late that night. If such a small incident caused so much guilt and fear in me, I could only imagine what Amir had to swallow down for so many years. Obviously, his actions are inexcusable, but I can still emphasize with the pain and guilt that Amir is currently dealing with in the story.
Reflection: This mini-essay was definitely one of my favorite ones because it was a chance for me to relate to Amir and his struggles. It allowed me to understand the story better as I was able to look at the situation through a third person perspective as well as Amir’s perspective. While I was writing the essay, I also realized that Amir was actually lucky that he got a second chance to redeem his mistakes. This is because sometimes, when we make a big mistake, we may not get a chance to even make up for it. Therefore, I should always be grateful when I get a second chance.
Samuel Kwan's Writing Portfolio 