...How betrayal can lead to redemption Betrayal is an issue several people can relate to, either done by a family member or a friend. In the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, we witness how betrayal played a vital role in the downfall of the main characters Amir and Hassan’s friendship, and how it influenced Amir’s pursuit to redeem himself in hopes to move on from his mistakes. The novel begins with Amir as an adult, recalling an event that took place in 1975 Kabul, Afghanistan and how this event was what changed the rest of his life and made him who he now is. This event was Amir’s reluctance to help Hassan while he was being raped, and how this impacted his desire to, later on, mature and be “good” again. Khaled Hosseini shows how Amir’s Islamic faith and guilt over abandoning Hassan ultimately led Amir to forgive himself and seek redemption. All in all, this novel demonstrates that even in cases of betrayal, redemption is possible. In The Kite Runner, Hosseini tells a story of the close friendship of two young boys who come from different social classes, Amir, the Pashtun wealthy boy and Hassan, the Hazara servant. Taking place in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970s a time where there was a huge...
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...“There is a way to be good again.” (Hosseni 192) These words hold a powerful meaning to Amir, the main character of Khaled Hosseni’s novel The Kite Runner. This quote is essential to Amir whom struggles with the guilt of the self-centered choices he makes at the beginning of the novel. Hosseni incorporates the theme of betrayal throughout the book; this is done through the occurrence of Hassan’s rape and the discovery of Baba’s second child Hassan. In the book The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseni uses foreshadowing and irony to demonstration the sin of betrayal. In the book The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseni uses foreshadowing and irony in order to effectively communicate betrayal as a means of egocentric behavior which is a sin and leads to the unraveling...
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...The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a beautifully written story about the life of one Afghani boy's struggle from riches to rags and finding the truth about people in general. The story is about two boys growing up in pre- Soviet and Taliban Afghanistan. Amir is a Sunni or the privileged class; Hassan is Shi'a, which is the lowest minority. Even still the two boys, grow up together as brothers. Until one horrible incident changes everything. The Kite Runner is a story about love, guilt, truth, and redemption. Amir grows up as the only son of a WEALTHY MAN in Kabul where life is rich and full of possibilities prior to the Soviet invasion. His father Baba is disappointed in the bookish, non-athletic child he must raise. Amirs' playmate Hassan, a Hazara servant seems to have more of Baba's respect than Amir. Baba's love for Hassan and his disappointment in his own son drive Amir to taunt and abandon Hassan, even though he loves him more deeply than even he himself knows. Amir, burdened by jealousy, can't come to his friend's aid when he brutally raped, not even on the most glorious day of their childhood when together they claim the kite-fighting title. When the Russian army invades, Amir and his father flee to the United States. Amir grows up poor and in a different land, but with the same Afghanistan culture. He marries, goes to college, while wondering what happened to his childhood friend, the one he betrayed. As time marches on, Amir loses his father and is summoned to Pakistan...
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...traumatic event from his childhood. The novel, told as a flashback from the perspective of an adult Gene, looks back on his friendship with a private school classmate and Gene’s destructive feelings of jealousy, fear, and anger. Assignment Write a 3-5 page literary analysis that explores one of the attached essay topics. Structure You might want to think of a five-paragraph structure, but because of the length requirements, you may need to expand on that to adequately explore your topic. Intro: This should include a “hook,” background information, and a thesis. It should clearly lay out what you are going to discuss in your essay. Body: Provide analysis and supporting evidence. Mention several key events or moments from the novel. Include at least three carefully chosen quotes to help capture larger ideas from the novel. Blend them in with your own writing. Conclusion: Finalize your argument with final thoughts related to the main idea. Reminders: This is a literary essay so there should be no uses of “I” or “you.”Include an original title to capture interest. Requirements Your essay should have the following: ✓ A clear argument of opinion and purpose expressed in a thesis statement and introduction. ✓ Numerous accurate supporting details and events from the novel that directly back up your opinions. ✓ At least three (probably more) properly cited quotes from the (each)...
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...forgiveness. Forgiveness plays an important part in The Kite Runner. Hassan had forgiven Sanaubar after she abandoned him when he was only a few days old. Hassan had forgiven Amir many times for acting like a coward. Amir goes on a journey seeking forgiveness by raising Sorab as his own child. Hassan had forever given Sanaubar after abandoning him when he was only a few days old. Hassan took her in, and treated her as if nothing had happened since she left when he was just a baby. Hassan himself has...
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...traumatic event from his childhood. The novel, told as a flashback from the perspective of an adult Gene, looks back on his friendship with a private school classmate and Gene’s destructive feelings of jealousy, fear, and anger. Assignment Write a 3-5 page literary analysis that explores one of the attached essay topics. Structure You might want to think of a five-paragraph structure, but because of the length requirements, you may need to expand on that to adequately explore your topic. Intro: This should include a “hook,” background information, and a thesis. It should clearly lay out what you are going to discuss in your essay. Body: Provide analysis and supporting evidence. Mention several key events or moments from the novel. Include at least three carefully chosen quotes to help capture larger ideas from the novel. Blend them in with your own writing. Conclusion: Finalize your argument with final thoughts related to the main idea. Reminders: This is a literary essay so there should be no uses of “I” or “you.”Include an original title to capture interest. Requirements Your essay should have the following: ✓ A clear argument of opinion and purpose expressed in a thesis statement and introduction. ✓ Numerous accurate supporting details and events from the novel that directly back up your opinions. ✓ At least three (probably more) properly cited quotes from the (each)...
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...past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.” Amir thought in the beginning of the novel “The kite runner”. In the novel we meet two boys from two different ethnic groups living in Kabul, Afghanistan. Amir copes with his decisions 26 years after betraying his best friend, Hassan to get the attention and acceptance from his beloved father. The novel is written by Khaled Hosseini in 2003 and is a redemption story. In order for Amir to cope with his guilt, he needed to find redemption of his betrayal of Hassan. Amir develops through the story and is a dynamic person. The protagonist of the novel is Amir. He is the son of Baba, a wealthy man living in Kabul in Afghanistan. Amir and his father Baba are Pashtun, the larger ethnic group in Afghanistan. He thinks that his father blames him for killing his mother during childbirth, and he tries to get his father’s acceptance and attention. Amir as a young boy is very jealous of Hassan, and the attention Baba gives to him. The only time he really gets Baba’s attention and love is when he and Hassan wins the kite tournament i 1975. Amir describes himself as a coward, a description that is made clearly when Hassan gets raped by Assef, when Amir is watching without doing anything. “From just around the corner, I could hear Assef's quick, rhythmic grunts. I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could...
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...Kite Runner vs. Poetry Key quotes: “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything” – Baba says this to Rahim Khan as a comment on the behaviour of Amir. Through this he identifies Amir’s greatest flaw: cowardice. It is this trait that leaves him desperately craving Baba’s love, and ultimately leads to be letting Assef rape Hassan. It also foreshadows Amir’s return to Kabul in search of Sohrab; the test of Amir’s character also tests whether Baba’s statement is true. “Huddled together in the dining room and waiting for the sun to rise, none of us had any notion that a way of life had ended” – This sentence appears towards the start of chapter five and indicates the fall of the monarchy and the descent of Kabul (and indeed Afghanistan) into political instability. The peaceful world Amir knows, made possible by Baba’s wealth, turns into one full of violence and uncertainty. It ultimately leads to Baba and Amir fleeing the country. “There is a way to be good again” – Rahim Khan says this to Amir over the phone when trying to encourage him to come to Pakistan and in the dialogue this appears like an afterthought. It reveals that Rahim Khan knows the truth about what Amir did to Hassan. It also ties into the theme of redemption, allowing the reader to believe that by returning to the Middle East, Amir will be given the opportunity to break the cycle of guilt he is trapped in. “My body was broken—just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later—but...
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...In the book The Kite Runner, original social status is proven to create barriers in life regarding the aspects of friendship, mindset, and adaptation to change as we observe Baba’s and Amir’s life journeys in order to discover how it affects these aspects. Amir’s friendship with his hazara servant’s son Hassan takes a sudden toll as he ultimately comes to believe that traditional and historical beliefs outweighed true friendship as he was a young child. The mindset of Baba does not adjust when he and Amir are forced to move to America, as he still believes he possesses the same amount of power as he did in Afghanistan. While living in America, Baba never fully adapts to the American culture and way of life as he continues to live and act the way he would when he was back home. Baba showed this through his attire, and gestures while out in public and at work. Through the many examples in the book, alongside of studied evidence, there is a clear correlation between original social status and barriers which are presented when it comes to friendship, mindset, and the adaptation to change. Being born a Poshtun boy into a wealthy family, Amir is expected to portray specific qualities of a man and society expects him to associate himself with a particular crowd as this factor influences his friendship with Hassan. Baba pressures Amir to portray qualities of a masculine man, such as being aggressive and violent, which is not in Amir’s nature. Baba motivates Amir by comparing him to...
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...IntroductionMany times since his death in 1883, Karl Marx’s ideas have been dismissed as irrelevant. But, many times since, interest in his ideas has resurfaced as each new generation which challenges the unequal, unjust and exploitative nature of the capitalist system looks for ideas and a method to change the world we live in.Marx’s ideas – a body of work collectively described as Marxism – was added to by his closest collaborator Frederick Engels after Marx’s death and subsequently added to and enriched by the writings and living experience of Lenin and Trotsky who led the 1917 October Russian Revolution.For any person looking to change the world in a socialist direction the ideas of Marxism are a vital, even indispensable, tool and weapon to assist the working class in its struggle to change society.Most people who describe themselves as socialists will have at one stage or another looked at Marxist ideas and, unfortunately, some have chosen to ignore the rich experience and understanding that Marxist ideas add to an understanding of the capitalist world and how to change it.However, Marx’s ideas are once again becoming fashionable; even amongst people Marx would have regarded as his political opponents. Having been voted the thinker of the Millennium in a BBC poll in 2000, Marx has now been taken up by university professors and City analysts alike as offering one of the most modern ways to understand globalised capitalism.But, for socialists who wish to permanently remove...
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...Splendid Suns Title: A Thousand Splendid Suns Author: Khaled Hosseini Page Number: 367 Quote Page Number: 113 Author: Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. His father was a diplomat in Afghan government at that time and his mother taught History in Kabul. However, after the Soviet Invasion, Khaled and his family moved to the United States in the 1980s. In the US, he completed high school and went on to get his Medical Degree. He started writing while working published his fist book in 2004, which was The Kite Runner. Summary: A Thousand Splendid Suns is a story about two women and their lives in Afghanistan during the invasion of the Soviet of Afghanistan and the Taliban regime. It shows the suffering of Afghan citizens and their sacrifice in time of war. In this story, the two women named Mariam and Laila play an important role of a typical wife in Afghanistan who have to face torture and brutality from their husband and society. The story starts out by introducing Mariam, who is an unwanted teenager. In the story, she is forced to marry Rasheed, an abusive husband at age 15. Rasheed is a cruel man who breaks Mariam’s dreams and tortures her everyday. On the other hand, Laila is an attractive girl who lives just up the street from Mariam’s house. She is born to educated parents and enjoys the freedoms that Mariam is restricted from by Rasheed. She has a boyfriend named Tariq, but their plans to marry get destroyed when he...
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...The scene in which Baba explained my quote “Then he would remind us that there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast” (Hosseini. 11). Amir and Hassann that explains no matter what, they will have a strong connection and friendship with one another. The scene that I have chosen is also very important because that scene explained that Baba wants Amir and Hassann to be really close to each other but also it shows that Baba has a common and also strong affection between not only Amir but also Hassann Even though towards the end of the book a secret reveals that Baba is Hassan’s real father but he hides that from both Hassann and Amir. Baba basically betrayed both Amir and Baba in the beginning of their lives before anything happened to both of them it could’ve most likely changed Hassan’s life and also the affects that took a toll on his life in the book....
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...Forgiveness is a necessary part of human existence, although it is hard to forgive others, and sometimes harder to give to ourselves. The Kite Runner is full of examples of forgiveness between people, with themselves. Baba forgives Hassan, Hassan forgives easily, and Amir is unable to forgive himself but throughout the book the readers saw the travel of Amir how he forgive himself. The opening sentence sets this theme with "I became what I am today at the age of twelve," as Amir relates how he believes one action at that young age defined his entire life. However, as the novel progresses, the reader comes to the conclusion that it was not one action, but a series of choices and events that created Amir's persona as an adult. By holding onto his guilt and fear of discovery, Amir could only bury his past for short periods of time before his own conscience uncovered it and the emotional baggage attached. Throughout the course of Amir's life, he made choices based on jealousy, fear, and guilt, and thus allowed his life to be immersed in regret and shame until he finally allowed himself redemption. Baba first demonstrates forgiveness when he pardons Hassan for stealing Amir's money and watch (even though Hassan didn't actually steal it). Baba is unaware that Amir was only framing Hassan for stealing his money and watch. Baba asks, "Did you steal that money? Did you steal Amir's watch, Hassan?" Hassan responded, "Yes." By Hassan taking the blame of stealing Amir's belongings, he...
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...Hosseini represents Amir’s feelings in many different ways throughout the Kite Runner. From after the rape scene that occurs between Hassan and Assef, Amir gains a horrible sense of guilt which remains with him throughout the whole remainder of the book. These feelings of guilt then lead to him being ashamed of himself, but instead of dealing with those feelings openly, he harbours them and then uses the first opportunity he can find to get rid of what he sees as the source of his guilt--Hassan. From the point Amir decided he was going to try and get rid of Hassan, he had gained a sense of confidence that made him believe that if Hassan was out of the way then he would lose his sense of guilt and be able to go back to living his care free life again. But this changed suddenly when Amir saw Hassan and Ali invited back to his father’s office and noticed their red eyes from crying and he states “...And I wondered how and when I had become capable of causing this kind of pain.” This quote shows how Hosseini wants the reader to acknowledge how Amir is aware of his actions and he is still taking full account for what he has done, and deep within he will always carry the guilt for not helping his friend. Moving onto when Hassan accepts taking the watch and money even when Amir and the reader both know that it was Amir himself who had planted them, allows Hosseini to represent the side of Amir that shows his ignorance towards Hassan dedication and devotion to him. To take things back...
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...well-to-do Pashtun boy, and Hassan, a Hazara and the son of Amir's father's servant, Ali, spend their days in a peaceful Kabul, kite fighting, roaming the streets and being boys. Amir’s father (who is generally referred to as Baba, "daddy", throughout the book) loves both the boys, but seems critical of Amir for not being manly enough. Amir also fears his father blames him for his mother’s death during childbirth. However, he has a kind father figure in the form of Rahim Khan, Baba’s friend, who understands Amir better, and is supportive of his interest in writing stories. Assef, a notoriously mean and violent older boy with sadistic tendencies, blames Amir for socializing with a Hazara, according to Assef an inferior race that should only live in Hazarajat. He prepares to attack Amir with his steel knuckles, but Hassan bravely stands up to him, threatening to shoot Assef in the eye with his slingshot. Assef and his henchmen back off, but Assef says he will take revenge. Hassan is a successful "kite runner" for Amir, knowing where the kite will land without even watching it. One triumphant day, Amir wins the local tournament, and finally Baba's praise. Hassan goes to run the last cut kite, a great trophy, for Amir saying "For you, a thousand times over." Unfortunately, Hassan runs into Assef and his two henchmen. Hassan refuses to give up Amir's kite, so Assef exacts his revenge, assaulting and raping him. Wondering why Hassan is taking so long, Amir searches for Hassan and hides...
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