Well, I'm going to leave the content of this week's posts up to you. Please don't rehash what's already been said, but here are some ideas....
Does Amir find redemption? Explain.
What do you think about the end of the novel? Are you satisfied? Explain
Thematic statements are sometimes implied, but sometimes they are explicitly stated in the text. See if you can identify a statement that a character actually says that reveals a universal truth.
Follow through with motifs and symbols you have mentioned. As they show up again in the novel, how does that intensify their meaning and make their use more complex?
Remember the David and Goliath scenario that played out between Assef and Hassan in the first part of the book? See if you can recognize something similar happening during the reading for this week.
Or you can apply any of the ideas from Foster's text to this novel.
These are just some ideas. Tackle 2 of them, or come up with some ideas of your own. Remember I'm looking for thoughtful comments that indicate careful and sophisticated reading. We will be digging into the novel when we meet in class. I am so looking forward to meeting all of you!!
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Amir's Redemtion:
ReplyDeleteAmir did find redemption by the end of this novel. Amir couldn't make physical peace with Hassan, but he did it through Sohrab. Amir traveled a great distance to find this little boy, only because he was Hassan's son. He went face to face with Assef, the man who caused all this suffering in Amir's life. Amir was brave, and wrestled a bear in a sense, just like his father. So in the mix of finding redemption from Hassan, Amir also found it with Baba. Amir finally became the man Baba wanted him to be. He finally became brave and fought for his family. He also found redemption with his God. Amir prayed for Sohrab while he was in the hospital, for the first time in over fifteen years Amir could talk with Allah. So things are right with Amir, I do believe he found what he was looking for.
David and Goliath:
I didn't realise this symbol until it was said but it is very true. Assef, the brutal Taliban who believes he is fighting for God through "ethnic cleansing", is Goliath. Everyone is afraid of the Taliban, Amir is even scared of Assef. However, Sohrab is David. Sohrab, the boy who challenges Assef with a slingshot, he is David. And Assef says that God is on his side, but Sohrab beats him in battle. He hits Assef in the eye with a slingshot, while Assef is big and bad with his brass knuckles. God is on David's side, because if he wasn't Sohrab would have died there, and so would Amir.
Symbols and Motifs
ReplyDeleteReferring back to my post on symbolism and motifs in the beginning of the novel, several symbols that I mentioned have come back with new meaning.
The orphanage, for instance, initially seemed like selfishness to Amir and a hope for redemption for Baba. After Baba dies, the orphanage is gone as well, and Amir has less reason to hold a grudge against his late father. It is a sign that guilt is passing by to make room for redemption.
Hassan's deformed lip was a visual aspect of the lower-class Hazara people, and when Amir receives an injury to his lip with the same appearance, he is finally put on equal terms with his half-brother.
Kite-runners are still a symbol of determination, but the second-place prize is so much sweeter knowing that while Amir may not be able to amend his wrongs with Hassan, he can still redeem himself through Sohrab by retrieving a kite they cut down together.
So all of these symbols intensify the theme of redemption in this novel, but guilt is the prerequesite of redemption. As a motif, instances of guilt reappear throughout the novel from each time Amir remembers his past to insomnia to his attentiveness to Sohrab's feelings. The author even plays on the guilt of other characters when Rahim Khan admitted he kept the brotherhood a secret and the adoption officer at the US embassay in Pakistan who lost a daughter.
Thematic Statements
ReplyDelete"Sometimes, I think everything he did, feeding the poor on the streets, building the orphanage, giving money to friends in need, it as all his way of redeeming himself. And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good." Rahim Khan, pg 302. Not only does this statement flat out explain the symbolism of the orphanage, it clearly links guilt to redemption that sometimes one doesn't need to apologize in person or save someone's life to attain inner peace, he or she just needs to do good to those of similar circumstances of the oppressed.
"You're still the morning sun to my yelda." Amir, pg 357. I just thought this was a beautiful look on life, even if it might not be stated explicitly. When someone has found love or some other reason to pursue life, they have something to look foward to. Those who celebrate yelda look foward to the morning after the longest night of the year. The theme of this: there is always something better to look foward to.
Finally, the reoccurance of "For you, a thousand times over." Amir, pg 371. It is a sign of dedication and repetition, possibly even a tradition. This is more of a motif than a universal theme, unless you're talking about dedication and loyalty to a loved one or a fighting cause.
Does Amir find redemption? Explain.
ReplyDeleteYes: Amir’s struggle throughout the novel was with his guilt over his actions toward Hassan. In traveling to Afghanistan to try and gain Hassan’s forgiveness, Amir was pursuing the hope of redemption. When Amir discovers that he was Hassan’s half brother, he feels indebted to him to endeavor to save his nephew Sohrab in order to gain some kind of redemption. By putting his life on the line to fight Assef and being savagely beaten, Amir feels a near euphoric sense of peace—He finally becomes a man who will stand up for the weak and broken. In this momentary peace, Amir is able to forgive himself for his actions while still honoring his responsibilities to Sohrab as an uncle. Despite him forgiving himself, Amir still feels the need to gain forgiveness from Hassan even though he is dead. Amir then begins to act upon his responsibilities as an uncle by working to adopt Sohrab so they can go back to America. In a larger sense, Sohrab becomes intercessor for forgiveness on Hassan’s behalf. (Biblical allusion—Jesus—the Son--is the way to the Father’s (Hassan) love and forgiveness) Even with Amir’s mistake about the orphanage that resulted in Sohrab’s suicide attempt, Amir still acts correctly in his responsibilities to care for Sohrab as he failed to do for Hassan. In a way, this arrangement does provide redemption for Amir’s earlier actions as his new actions and courageous decisions overshadow his previous failings, and this demonstrates Hassan’s teaching to Sohrab in which he stated, “…bad people sometimes become good. (Pg. 318)”—Thematic statement that ties into the ‘hope of redemption’ idea.
What do you think about the end of the novel? Are you satisfied? Explain.
I enjoyed the ending of the novel because it provides both hope for a new beginning and the complete redemption from past wrongs for Amir in many different ways. The fact that Sohrab, after not speaking for a year, begins to open up again provides much promise for a new relationship between him and Amir’s family. The shared experience of kite running plus the change of position—Amir is now the kite runner and servant for Hassan’s son—makes the last few pages of the novel the most meaningful of all.
David and Goliath scenarios
I saw two different ‘David and Goliath’ scenarios that played out during the course of the story.
1st is when Hassan sacrifices himself to Assef and his cronies to get the Kite for Amir.
2nd is when Amir puts his life on the line to fight Assef and save Sohrab
1st is when Hassan stands up to and scares off Assef with his slingshot.
2nd is when Sohrab stands up to his master and nearly kills Assef with his slingshot.
As I stated in a previous post, I portrayed that Amir would have to become a man after his father, Baba, would pass away. As one can see, Amir did become a man just like his father. Amir began by earning to take the journey back to Afghanistan to search for Sohrab his biological nephew. Sohrab's father was Hassan which would make Hassan the biological brother of Amir. Even after Amir learned of this shocking news, he still had a passion to return to his homeland and find Sohrab. When Amir returned to Afghanistan, he found Sohrab in the hands of Assef. Assef and Amir agreed that Amir could take Sohrab with him under one condition, payback from Hassan's slingshot attack and calling him "One Eyed Assef." Assef pulled out his brass knuckles and gave Amir a serious beating. Sohrab was the one who stopped the fight buy flinging a brass ball, from a table leg, into Assef's eye. Talk about irony!!! After Amir and Sohrab leave, Amir finds out that the couple from America that he was looking for, to leave Sohrab with, were nowhere to be found. Sohrab becomes sad and thinks that he will have to return to an orphanage. In an attempt to kill himself and escape another orphange, Sohrab cuts himself with a razor blade. Sohrab is sent to the hospital and is treated as needed. Amir finds out that Sohrab will live and be alright. Amir waits with Sohrab until he is able to leave. Amir then takes Sohrab and shows him how to run kites to conclude the novel. In conclusion, my hypothesis was correct when i portrayed that Amir would become a man just like his father Baba.
ReplyDeleteThe Kite Runner vs. Foster's Novel
ReplyDeleteIrony is written all over The Kite Runner just as Foster writes about in his work. Foster mentions that irony is one of the most common literary elements. The Kite Runner follows Foster's statement about irony. One example of irony within The Kite Runner is how Amir takes the punishment for Sohrab, Hassan's son, when he encounters Assef when during his childhood he just watched in silence as Hassan was attacked. Amir would never have taken the punishment for Sohrab if he were still in his childhood. Amir had to grow up and become a man and take on that responsibility. Secondly, Baba wished to see his son grow up into the man that he wanted Amir to be. Amir grew up into that man that Baba wanted him to be; however, Baba passed away before he ever had a chance to see Amir, that grown, mature man. Lastly, when Amir was being beaten by Assef, Sohrab finished the fight by flinging a brass ball into Assef's eye. This is the exact approach that Hassan, Sohrab's father, had tried earlier in his childhood when Assef was bullying Amir and Hassan. Hassan even called Assef "One Eyed Assef." Hassan's son had taken care of Assef just the way his father had mentioned many years earlier.In conclusion, The Kite Runner resembles Foster's work on irony.
Amir and Redemption
ReplyDeleteAmir attempts to redeem himself for what he has done throughout the entire novel. He has to deal with the fact that he watched his best friend get raped and did nothing about it. At first, Amir believes that one day he will be able to apologize to Hassan and everything will be okay, but when he finds out that Hassan has passed he must find another way to make up for his wrong doings. Amir's way of redeeming himself was by finally standing up to Assef by saving his son from the sexual abuse he was receiving from him. Amir even goes as far as to take Sohrab in as his own son and tell him stories of his father to help him deal with the hardships that he has faced throughout his childhood.
Thematic Statements
Rahim Kahn openly states a theme about redemption and guilt in the letter that he wrote to Amir. He says "is what true redemption is, Amir Jan, when guilt leads to good." Rahim is summing up the whole theme of guilt and redemption with that statement. Amir finally does good by saving Sohrab from Assef and this makes him feel like he has finally made up with Hassan.
Symbols
The symbol that jumped out at me the most towards the end of the novel was the peacefulness and happiness that the kites bring. At the very end of the novel, Amir runs Sohrab's kites for him just like Hassan used to do for himself. This part of the novel shows how the relationship between Amir and Sohrab has developed into something very much like Amir and Hassan had.
At the end of the novel, Amir finds redemption by doing something he never had done before. He gave his life for the boy to redeem himself for his past failures to Hassan. It mentions in the book that while Amir was getting beaten that he found peace by paying for the things he didn’t do. He found peace and redemption through the punishment he had to endure from Assef. It’s amazing how that peace conquers even physical torture. In such a tragedy he found happiness. In such a bad mess he redeemed himself from the demons inside of him torturing him since the day he had let Assef hurt his friend. There is nothing like the inner peace when knowing that the wrong you did has been corrected. Amir found that peace at last and moved forward in his life. But the end of the novel wasn’t what I wanted it to be. We didn’t see the sunshine and rainbows that we expect to see in a novel. We desperately want that for Amir but he doesn’t get that. He is stuck in another trial of redemption because he failed Hassan’s son too. He has to try to convince him to give life a chance and actually enjoy it. We really don’t see the outcome of this but we do have a glimmer of hope at the end when Amir and Sohrab bond while they were flying the kite.
ReplyDeleteThemes and Symbols
As I said earlier, Hosseini gives us a glimmer of hope when Amir and Sohrab bond during the kite flight. A theme that comes to mind through this story is that things don’t always turn out like you want them too, but hope always drives people forward. Both Amir and Soraya wanted Sohrab to have a better life in America and to enjoy it. But Amir messed up and he is in another trial of redemption. At the end of the novel we see Amir continue to emotionally labor to redeem himself for breaking his promise to Sohrab. He is constantly discouraged but at the end he sees hope. This hope continues to drive and encourage him to make things right.
Once again I believe the kite represents redemption in this part of the novel. The kite is the object that begins to rebuild the bridge between Sohrab and Amir that the reader hopes will be completed. It was what brought Amir into a relationship with his father and it is what will bring him into a relationship with his nephew.
One more thing I thought was interesting was the sequence of events that transformed Amir. First he committed to rescuing the boy, he took the punishment to bring the boy home, he ended up having his lip look like Hassan’s lip, and he continually tried to be Sohrab’s friend even when Sohrab hurt him emotionally. If you ask me, the transformation here is drastic. Amir becomes just like Hassan. He forgives people, he becomes devoted to his religion, and he risks his life for his friends. His lip is just an external clue of his internal transformation. But ultimately, Amir becomes the son that his father would have been proud of. He gives up his pride and risks it all when the time was right. He became his father’s desired son. It was then that Amir fulfilled his dream and found peace.
Amir definitely finds the redemption that he was searching for. Then, all of the sudden, Hosseini then throws the reader a curve ball at the pinnacle of happiness. Sohrab, after seeing no hope left, cut his wrist, causing a gigantic loss of blood and almost a loss of life. This traumatic event is what ruins the ending for me. I was just fine with a perfectly happy ending. Hosseini, in theme with the book, redeems the situation to a bitter sweet ending, with kites in the sky. I have really enjoyed this theme of redemption. For redemption is the most beautiful and happiest moment of a person's life. In the fight scene, I love how Hosseini throws in the irony of Amir's laughter. This is the moment so full of joy, that Amir simply cannot contain it. I don't know about anyone else, but once my teeth are knocked out I'd be done. This joy would be so hard to comprehend if I hadn't experienced a great redemption through the Lord God Almighty. After several long but few minutes of critical thinking I have stumbled upon a motif. Many instances throughout the story Hosseini gives us a situation full of deprivation. Amir, of his father's affection, Amir and Hassan-knowledge of brotherhood, Hassan-education, children after the war-home, Sohrab-father/"old life", and so many more. Those were only a taste of a select few situations. However, the one thing that Hosseini never deprives them of is redemption. Hosseini gives us such a clear theme, with such powerful examples, that the reader might take these thoughts back in to their own lives, outside of running kites.
ReplyDeleteKite Runner
ReplyDeleteClaire Wyse
Amir Redemption...
Amir finds redemption while on his 'quest' to find Sohrab. An excellent example would be when he is getting beat up by Assef while rescuing Sohrab, and starts laughing at the situation. Amir believes he is finally getting his payback for pelting Hassan with the pomigranites. All throughout this quest for Sohrab, Amir finds things he feels will redeem him.
End of Novel..
I am happier with the end of the novel more than the beginning. I am not satisfied, however, with Sohrab being so quiet. Exspecially after all that Amir has done. Though the ending does hint for more to come.
*At the momment I can'd find a good thematic statement a character says to reveal a truth.
One could be when Farid and Amir were in the stadium and the cleric was speaking. After Farid said "And they call themselves Muslims." Implying that they act something they are not, which a lot of people do so it could be considered a universal truth.
Follow up on Motif and Symbol...
Assef worked on his motif of getting rid of Hazaras or using them for other purposes.
The pomegranite tree(symbol) is brought back again as a sort of wake up call to Amir that his childhood/old life are gone with his country's revolution.
David and Goliath...
Basically Hassan saved Amir from Assef as children, and now Hassan's son Sohrab saves Amir's life from Assef in the end. This is dramaticlly a re-do of a story from the Bible(David and Goliath), which can prove the 'Or the Bible...' chapter in How to read literature.
Amir's Redemption
ReplyDeleteIn the end it seems that Amir finally found his redemption. It took him going back to his home, facing his oldest enemy, spending time in a hospital, uncovering long burried secrets, and almost losing his last connection to Hassan. But in the end Amir found it. Along the way hi discovers that he was not the only one with secrets, his father had kept a secret that effected every decision he made. His father was always trying to make up for his deception, he did alot of good, built an orphanage, and was always willing to help those in need. When his father's secret was revealed, it provided explanations for many events in Amir's childhood, including the way his father treated him. In the end Amir is able to make a connection with Sohrab, which in a way is his redemption, he couldn't save Hassan from the Taliban, and he didn't save him from Assef all those years ago. Bun now Amir has the chance to give Sohrab the life his father, Hassan, never had, a life where he will no longer have to live in fear.
Amir does find redemption at the end of the novel. Though the end of this book had a fairly happy ending to it, the following chapters for this week had a sad beginning to them. Sohrab was a meaning or kind of like a symbol to Amir, mainly only cause his father meant everything to him. Amir couldn't have begged for forgiveness to Hassan personally in real life, but in a spiritual way, adopting his son was the least he could do to cover his guilt. Reading the letters from Hassan, Amir had seen that Sohrab was wanted to be raised by the life that his father could never recieve. Though, with the Taliban it was very difficult for him to achieve it, including with the murdering of his father. Amir's guilt was running through his veins and Amir had to do something to fix it. Sohrab was the only solution. Traveling to his homeland he knew that there would be difficulties with the Taliban trying to retrieve his half brother's son. Meeting with Assef really didn't make things better, knowing that as a reader that Assef only took the child because of the pain Hassan gave him as a boy. Though when Sohrab shot him, Amir could see Hassan, not Sohrab, as the boy with the slingshot. Even with the difficulties of coming home, Amir had struggled with the trust of the boy. Though even in the end of him attempted committing suicide, that still didn't stop Amir from taking the boy home, even if Sohrab didn't want to change his life completely. In the end the author used foreshadowing with Amir and Sohrab flying their kites as if like a memory of him and Hassan in their childhood. There Amir knew he had helped his guilt wash away and knew that this new life would help him prove the life of Hassan was watching over guiding not only him, but his own son too.
ReplyDeleteDoes Amir find redemption? Explain.
ReplyDeleteYes. In the beginning of the novel, Amir was full of jealousy. He was jealous that his father did not pay him much attention, but showed attention toward Hassan, a Hazara, who was the servant’s “son.” After witnessing Hassan being raped by Assef in the alley, Amir could stand to be around him. The reason being he not only still wanted Hassan out for Baba’s attention, but he was now filled with guilt. He wanted to be punished for being a bad friend. He fooled with Hassan’s education and did not stand up for him. Amir goes on living in America after the Russian invasion and forgets. Amir is still filled with guilt and was uncomfortable whenever Hassan would come up in conversation. He finds redemption in the end. When he stands up for what’s right (saving Sohrab, Hassan’s son) and ignoring his insecurities. Amir wanted to prove to Baba that he grew up to stand up for something. He wanted Baba to be proud of him. Amir also wanted Hassan’s forgiveness. He wanted to pay Hassan the respect and love he should have had. Amir takes care of Sohrab and saves him from Afghanistan. Amir thinks that he being “beat up” by Assef was the punishment he deserved for not helping Hassan. But he owed Hassan enough to take care of his orphaned son. Yes, Amir finds redemption in the end. This quote proves it: “What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace…My body was broken—just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later—but I felt healed. Healed at last. I laughed.” (p. 289) Amir found redemption in facing his countries enemies (Taliban) and facing himself. He found peace when he finally fixed the crack between him and his half-brother, Hassan.
What do you think about the end of the novel? Are you satisfied? Explain.
I thought the entire novel was a masterpiece. Hosseni writes with so much honesty that you would think it was his past he was trying to fix. I am satisfied with the ending because it’s not a “fairy-tale ending,” significant events happened which showed characteristics you didn’t think the character would show. The end of the book was genius because of the emotion and realism of “lost souls,” meaning Amir yearning for redemption and Sohrab yearning for his past. This book was fantastic. Bravo Amir.
Motif:
Hazara is mentioned as a disease throughout the novel. Hazaras are criticized of their race. Racism comes up everywhere, showing the ignorance of the world.
Question: Do you think Assef knew Sohrab was Hassan’s son? Do you think he still wanted to torment Hassan’s soul by sexually abusing Sohrab?
Symbol: As I mentioned before, the Kite is the ultimate peacemaker. The kite is the symbol of freedom from the world’s judgment.
Amir finding Redemption
ReplyDeleteIn the end Amir finally finds redemption because he rescues Sohrab and adopts him as his son. I believe the story was well written because the reader believes Amir will confront Hassan about what happened when they were children, but in reality Hassan is dead, and Amir is left to try and find a way to ease his guilt. Amir’s guilt grows deeper when he finds that Hassan was his brother, and Amir becomes willing to give his life for Sohrab while rescuing him because he realizes his guilt will never be gone if he doesn’t. When Assef and Amir fight, Amir felt the burden of his past lift away with each hit. After Amir rescues Sohrab he finds a small amount of weight lifted off his shoulders, but the full redemption isn’t reached until the very end of the story when Amir and Sohrab are flying kites, and Amir feels at peace, like when he was a child.
Symbols/Irony
As I said before, the full redemption isn’t reached until Amir and Sohrab are flying kites. The kites, even at the end of the novel, still, and even more, represent happiness. Amir is finally at peace with himself, and can live like he used to in the days he flew kites, without guilt and at peace. Another symbol I noticed at the end of the novel was the cleft lip. I also find it ironic as well. Hassan had a cleft lip when he was a child, and after Amir receives his in the fight with Assef he becomes more like Hassan, finally sticking up for himself. It is ironic because Amir receives the one thing that set Hassan apart from others. Hassan was happy when he had his cleft lip, and after it was removed trouble came. Amir was troubled during his life, and when he received his cleft lip, he was at peace and happy.
Redemption:
ReplyDeleteI believe Amir finds redemption from situations in Kabul and San Francisco. Amir was full of jealousy needless to say, which peaked when he framed Hassan for stealing. In the end, not only does he redeem himself through bringing back Sohrab to America, but he also allieviated the guilt he felt because of Soraya's infertility (spelling?). I believe one of the themes for this book is how maturity and guilt can truly efface the power of jealousy and deceit. Not only do I believe this is shown through Amir's guilt about his mistreatment of Hassan, but also just how he is related to Hassan; Baba's deceit and how ironic it was that he looked so mature with his burly figure, yet he couldn't own up to his own "mistakes". Although, I wouldn't call Hassan a mistake, because through Hassan: Ali was extremely; Sasa got to spend her final years with Sohrab; Hassan got to be the great father that he was, before his untimely demise; Amir had his greatest friend and in the long run, he gained something that he and Soraya couldn't produce. On Page 361, I believe that Amir shows his first trait as a mature and proud father as he calls out the juvenility of the General. I found this moment particularly defining as he was always the shy, weaker person in Afghanstan, yet he is stronger than his father now in America.
As for symbols, I can't wait to have a class discussion on symbols. I believe, I have found many symbols in this book, but for now; I will talk about the obvious kite symbol. In the end, Amir became a kite runner again. He became the world's best kite-runner in fact, because he was running not for himself, but for Sohrab. It was "a tiny thing" or "a leaf in the woods", but it showed the final scene of Amir's redemption and dedication. A quarter-century ago, Amir was running for Baba and no one else. Now, he was running for Hassan and Sohrab, maybe even Baba and Soraya. He cut the green kite, oddly enough, on his way to victory for Sohrab. We, the reader, can say he won, because he "just witnessed the first flake melting" when Sohrab smiled. Whether or not, he actually won THE competition, he won HIS competition. Through his multiple acts of maturity, we know his competition, was to show a pride for his son that would never have to be won through a kite competition. To always stand up for him, the way Baba did, for some of his children.
In the end, Amir is ultimately redeemed. He is emotionally and symbolically redeemed. As Amir is at the gathering, he starts seeing and smelling the things from Afghanistan. It takes him back to the place he grew up. When they brought out the kites, I just knew he would fly one and cut someone else's down. It was just one of those things that had to happen. If it didn’t then the story would feel totally incomplete and like it had a horrible ending, so I'm glad Hosseni did that. As Amir is flying the kite and Sohrab finally helps him, we see the relationship that Amir had with Hassan. Amir gets a second chance to be the friend he never was. He also gets the chance to be the father that he always wanted growing up. I believe that in the end, he feels like he has let the situation that happened in that alley effect his life so drastically, that he couldn't live with it anymore. It was time for him to let go. He had paid his dues and fought his battles. When he let go of that kite, it was sort of a freeing feeling for him. But the kite hovered over the ground for a second before he let it really take flight. This could be symbolically equivalent to Amir's life in how he, at first, wanted to stay close to his old ways and not except Hassan as an equal. We can see his change in tone towards derogatory words like "haraza" when he stands up for Sohrab after he is called that. But, back to the kite. When the kite takes off, we can see Amir's journey unfold, just as he was set free with opportunities in America, like school and a family. The cutting of the other kite's string represents Amir's determination to cut away the anguish and live his life free of guilt. He is redeemed. Symbolically he is redeemed too. As in Foster's text, we can see that it was raining when the kite flying took place. This rain, unlike the earlier sad rain, represents a cleansing to come over Amir and "wash away" all he has had to live with for so long. When Amir cuts the kite, he asks Sohrab if he wants him to run the kite for him. Sohrab says yes and Amir begins to run. He also uses that phrase, "For you a thousand times over". It just shows how far he has come. It also shows us as the reader how much Amir has become Hassan. He is now taking care of Hassan's boy, he is now running the kite for someone, and he now even has picked up the scar on his lip. There's another little bit of irony there also. How ironic is it that the very blemish that Hassan wanted to be fixed, was the very thing given to Amir. That is kind of like the rape and guilt. The rape happened to Hassan, but Amir basically felt every bit of the guilt and emotional pain he went through. This book ends on a high note and it makes me smile. I am glad that Amir is finally redeemed and free, as shown with him running to get the kite. And the last words give me chills; "I ran." They make me feel a rush of emotion and relief at the same time; not that the book is over, but the fact that Amir's story has been complete and he can finally live.
ReplyDeleteDoes Amir find redemption? Explain. After Amir witnessed the raping of his best and most loyal friend, he saw the biggest flaw that he had in himself. Realizing his cowardice, he had to live with the guilt that the event caused him. He could’ve done something; he could’ve saved Hassan, but he didn’t. After he got his trophy kite, Amir still couldn’t get over the pain he saw his loyal friend take for him. He tried throwing pomegranates at Hassan to get him to throw some back at him as a “punishment,” but Hassan loyalty won even in this situation. When that didn’t work, he framed Hassan into stealing his birthday money Baba had given him and his watch; this ended in Hassan and his “father,” Ali, to leave the home they lived in. But even with Hassan gone out of his life forever, Amir was still being pressured by his guilt. Moving to California, made him forget much of what was happening in Afghanistan, but the rape was one of the only things that he was never able to forget or forgive himself for. When he got the call from Rahim Khan, he saw this as his one and only chance to redeem himself. After receiving an extremely brutal punishment from his former archrival, Assef, and rescuing Sohrab from the Taliban controlled Pakistan, Amir still didn’t feel full redemption, because of the fact that Sohrab had recently attempted to end his life, and has completely stopped speaking. But when he does his and Hassan’s favorite activity (kite fighting) with Sohrab, Amir notices Sohrab’s slight smile, and sees his new hope for life. With Sohrab well taken care of, Amir finally achieves complete redemption of his and his father’s sins.
ReplyDeleteSymbols.
The Pomegranate Tree. In the beginning of the story, when we are introduced to the pomegranate tree in Amir’s back yard, we notice that it is very productive and also that it has the names of both Amir and Hassan engraved in it. So from that we can infer that the tree symbolizes their perfect and “productive” friendship with each other before the raping. Later in the story though, when Amir returns to Kabul from California, he notices how the pomegranate tree is now dead and fruitless. I think that the dead tree would at this moment symbolize the now dead and finished friendship between Amir and Hassan. With Hassan dead to the brutality of the Pashtuns, and their friendship not yet fixed, it is dead.
The Brass Knuckles of Assef. Assef always used his brass knuckles to threaten and to cause pain to others. In that sense, we can see that his brass knuckles symbolize pain and fear. When Assef tried to swing at Amir the first time in the story, Hassan was at Amir’s side to protect him from the pain, although he couldn’t defend Amir from the fear. When Assef pulls out his brass knuckles later in the story to beat Amir in his “office,” Amir was fully ready to accept the pain that the brass knuckles gave him (this gave him the feeling of rightful punishment that he had been long awaiting), and they now symbolize the painful way that redemption comes into one’s life.