Redemption as Seen in the Kite Runner

Redemption

By the end of the novel The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini, the main character Amir redeems himself when he saves his half-brother’s son, Sohrab, by bringing him back to America. This journey of redemption which ends with Sohrab’s saving begins when Rahim Khan calls him. Hosseini writes, “Come. There is a way to be good again,” (pg.177). When Rahim Khan puts this opportunity forward, he is implying that Amir’s unatoned sins can be redeemed if he comes back to Afghanistan. When Amir lands in Afghanistan and goes back to his home in Kabul, Rahim Khan hands Amir a letter written by Hassan. In this letter Amir discovers new information for example, that Hassan has a son named Sohrab. Rahim Khan also reveals that Sohrab is now in an orphanage because the Taliabans shot Hassan and his wife. Hosseini writes, “There is a way to be good again, he’d said… With a little boy. An orphan. Hassan’s son.” (pg.209). Thinking back to what Rahim Khan told him, Amir sees that the only way to achieve redemption is to save Sohrab. Amir goes to the orphanage, and the director tells him that a Taliban took Sohrab a month ago. Arriving at the place that Sohrab is being held in, he comes face to face with Assef. He is the one that is keeping and abusing Sohrab. In the process of trying to explain why Amir needs to leave with the boy, Assef starts a fight and punches, kicks, and scratches Amir. At one point Amir starts laughing. Hosseini writes. “I don’t know at what point I started laughing, but I did…. the harder I laughed, [the] harder he kicked me, punched me, scratched me.” (pg. 265). Amir was laughing during the fight because he is getting the punishment he deserves for not saving Hassan from getting raped. When Amir brings Sohrab back to San Francisco, he brings him to a park where kids are flying kites. Amir flies a kite with Sohrab and when Amir cuts a kite, he asked Sohrab if he wants him to run it. Sohrab nods. Hosseini writes, “‘ For you, a thousand times over,’… I ran… I ran with the wind blowing in my face, and a smile as wide as the Valley of Panjsher.” (pg. 340). After a long journey to seek redemption Amir achieved it by running the kite for Sohrab. The description given about Amir’s wide smile shows that he has come to terms with what he did as a child and finally feels relieved and redeemed.

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