According to The Oxford Handbook of English Literature and Theology, redemption is “the human potential to succeed after having failed”. In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir watches Hassan, his friend and Hazara servant, get raped; looking out for his own best interest, Amir does not stand up for him, and consequently he is soon overcome with guilt that he is forced to live with throughout his adolescence. But, as Amir grows older, he gradually bounces back from his failure and betters himself. While Amir will never be able to fix or justify his past mistake, he takes a step towards achieving redemption by recovering from them, learning from them, and accepting them.
Amir becomes a better person from his past. During Amir’s childhood, Baba often made remarks about Amir’s defenseless nature and ability to be easily swayed, worrying that he would never stand up for himself, as well as anything he believed in. Additionally, during a traumatic dream that Amir had, he was stuck in a snowstorm where he “[fell] and [lay down] panting on the snow, lost in the white, the wind wailing in [his] ears” (Hosseini 74). Only when a hand reached out to save him was Amir transported into a “field of apple green grass with soft wisps of clouds drifting above” (74). The significant difference in imagery between the violent snowstorm and the beautiful field symbolizes Amir’s transition from having a chaotic mind to being at peace. The fact that Amir is unable to reach a state of tranquility on his own and relies on the assistance of someone else suggests his dependency on others and lack of faith in himself. This idea is especially relevant if the hand that reaches out to save Amir is Baba’s; Amir does not stand up for himself or anything he believes in because he is too caught up in impressing Baba. Because Amir’s happiness and peace are dependent on Baba’s approval of him, he fails to defend Hassan. However, Amir grows up to stand up for what he believes in, regardless of the circumstances of a situation. When Amir brings Sohrab, Hassan’s son, back to America, General Sahib, Amir’s father-in-law, asks Amir what he should tell people when they ask why a “Hazara boy” is living with their daughter. Amir responds by telling the General to “never again refer to [Sohrab] as ‘Hazara boy’ in [his] presence. He has a name and it’s Sohrab” (361). Amir’s fearlessness to rush to Sohrab’s defense is an impressive improvement from Amir’s unprincipled and weak action towards Hassan as a child. While the fact that Amir defends Sohrab certainly does not justify his past action towards Hassan, it does shows the strides he has taken. His transition from a boy who couldn’t defend himself and others to a man who fiercely stands up for what he believes is proof of his step in the right direction.
Amir also begins to recover from the burden of carrying his terrible past sins. The winter that he won the kite flying contest was a winter that changed everything; it was the winter that he won Baba’s approval, but that came at the cost of Hassan. When Amir watched Hassan get raped, he dreamt that he“[was] lost in a snowstorm. The wind [shrieked], [blowing] stinging sheets of snow into my eyes” (74). Hosseini’s uses the words “lost”, “shrieked” and “stinging” to depict winter and snow in a frightening and violent way. This establishes their symbolism of Amir’s inability to live with his terrible past, his lack of peace with his action. However, when Amir flies a kite with Sohrab many years later and sees Sohrab offer a small smile after not having spoken for a year, it is an indication that “the first flake is melting” (371). This one final reference to snow brings its symbolism throughout the novel full circle; the weight of the immense guilt that Amir has had to live with is finally beginning to lift. When Amir flies kites with Sohrab and makes efforts to treat him kindly like a son, the way he should have treated Hassan, readers see that Amir has finally achieved success after having failed. Of course, Amir can never completely erase the terrible sin he committed, and this is only the “first flake” — he still has a long way to go. But his acceptance of his action and the fact that he has grown from it offer a glimmer of hope for the future and give Amir the redemption that he needs to carry on with his life.
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