Guilt In Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner

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Human beings are unpredictable; this is because there is a limitless number of feelings and events that factor into their decision making. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, shows a handful of these reactions and their repercussions throughout the novel. Amir, Baba, and Rahim Khan all face issues that challenge each of them with varying severity, although they all struggle to overcome themselves. When an individual is driven by their past failures, they will spend their life compensating for their actions, because if the do not, they will drown in guilt. Amir’s guilt comes with his faults to be a true friend and stay loyal to Hasaan, so he copes with escaping from his problems. When they were small children after Amir would tease or make fun of Hasaan, there was a realization of wrongdoing in Amir’s conscious, and he stated, “I would always feel guilty about it later.” Amir goes on to say in return for his mischievousness, Hasaan would receive an old shirt or …show more content…
This is Amir’s way of feeling better about his abuse of friendship, although it is not a true redemption in that the things he gives to Hasaan are not valued by Amir. Nonetheless, giving Hasaan hand-me-down items is what Amir uses to feel better about himself, therefore relieving the feeling of guilt. It is no secret that Amir was never a perfect friend to Hasaan, he did not even consider Hasaan to be a friend, in the sense of the word, so when Amir witnesses Hasaan’s rape, he does not know how to deal with his feelings towards Hasaan. Instead of helping Hasaan, Amir shuts him out and blames Hasaan for his own betrayal. When Amir learns he is moving to America, he is excited because it is, “someplace with no ghosts, no memories, no sins.” Amir is able to move away

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Author Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. Hosseini’s father was a diplomat for the Afghan Foreign Ministry and his mother taught Farsi. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology from the Santa Clara University. At the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, he earned a medical degree. While practicing medicine he wrote his first novel The Kite Runner which was sold in seventy countries. Speaker Amir is a first person speaker. His mother died giving birth to him. Amir…

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The Kite Runner: The Influence of the Taliban in Afghanistan Throughout the novel "The Kite Runner", by Khaled Hosseini, Afghanistan is explored as it falls under the dictatorship of the Taliban. Taliban, meaning “Students” in Pashto, is a group which began as an Islamic fundamentalist political movement that spread through Afghanistan and formed a government, ruling as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001(Laub). Hosseini portrays the Taliban's effect on Afghanistan predominantly…

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From missed opportunities to broken relationships, guilt affects everyone. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, we see how the guilt in Amir's past shapes who he is as he ages. Amir is a young kid who grew up in Afghanistan with Hassan, his devoted friend and servant. One day, Amir witnesses Hassan being assaulted by Assef, the town bully, and silently hides out of fear. This traumatic event haunts Amir and changes his outlook on life. The guilt Amir receives from this incident follows him into…

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In general terms, Amir is unable to escape his feelings of guilt in Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. He makes many cryptic comments in the first few chapters of the book regarding what his guilt might be about, but it is not until chapter seven that we learn the specific cause of his guilt. The opening line of the novel is heavy with import, as Amir writes: I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching…

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Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, a novel about a boy, Amir and his journey to forget his childhood in Kabul,Afghanistan. Amir as a child witnesses his best friend and servant being sexually assaulted and does nothing to stop it inevitably causing his friend to leave. Later in the story maybe out of guilt he rescues his best friends son from the man who had assaulted his friends some years before. Hosseini writes this story from an Afghan American perspective just two years after 9/11 in a time…

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