The Theme Of Betrayal And Redemption In The Kite Runner

There is a theme of redemption In the novel, “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini.. The redemption came from the theme of betrayal. Redemption comes when Amir realizes he cannot escape his past and must correct his wrongs from his past.

Amir, from the beginning of the novel committed terrible sins against many people. He betrayed the people closest to him, including himself. As a kid, he did not think much of his actions. He betrayed Hassan, the kid that stood up for him and would do anything for him. He saw Hassan being raped and didn’t say anything. Amir betrayed him when he needed Amir the most. But as he grows up and becomes more mature he realizes that he cannot escape his past. This became very clear to Amir when he visited Rahim Khan. Rahim told him, “There is a way to be good again, he’d said. A way to end the cycle” (Hosseini 226-227). Once Rahim told him this, he knew he needed to find a way to find redemption, to be “good again”.

After Amir visited Rahim Khan in Pakistan he discovered news that changed his life forever. He discovered that Hassan and his wife had been shot, leaving their son all alone. He also learned that Hassan was his half brother. Amir’s guilt consumed him. All this time he thought he’d betrayed his servant, but it was actually his brother. He had to do something to redeem himself. Amir seeks redemption by traveling to Afghanistan to find Hassan’s son, his nephew. While it was a tough and long journey, he knew it was what he had to do after what he had betrayed Hassan.

I do believe Amir was ultimately redeemed. There was no way that he could ever change all the wrongs he had caused and betrayal. But he wanted to try and correct them. After he had got Hassan’s son and brought him to America, they were outside playing with a kite just as Hassan and Amir used to. Sohrab had cracked a little smile. At this time Amir had then said, “It was a smile, nothing more. [...] But I’ll take it. With open arms. Because when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the first flake melting” (Hosseini 371). Amir had felt redemption. He knew it was just one of the first steps, but he knew he was going in the right direction.