Kite runner guilt and betrayal motif
“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime…” this quote is obtained from the novel “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. Baba says the quote as he addresses Amir about what happened to Soraya in the past and the controversy associated with it. In this case, the quote describes the way the past influences the future of an individual. This aspect is evident in the entire novel as the past acts of Amir haunt him for the rest of his life. In this case, he lives the whole process trying to correct the things that he did wrong, and in the process, he ends up doing more wrong. The novel is based in Afghanistan before the country was taken under the leadership of the Taliban. In this case, the lives of Amir and Baba are tied to those of his family friends who they betray. This situation makes betrayal the central theme in the entire novel as it is evident through the lives of Amir and Baba. Amir’s escape from guilt brings him back to a similar situation, and he pays for his deeds. This aspect is evident when Amir asserts that “And with that came the realization: that Rahim Khan had summoned me here to atone not just my sins but for Baba’s too.” Despite the various activities undertaken and the changes of plot form one location to the other, an incident that Amir does. At the same time, he is still young changes the entire life as he tries to correct the mistakes of his father and his past.
Betrayal starts when Amir sees Hassan being sexually abused and understands nothing about it. Hassan and Amir were raised together and played together, even though they belonged to different social classes. This aspect shows the kind of friendship that exists without being limited to either race or social class. This kind of relationship was also evident through Amir and Hassan’s father, who was a boss and his servant. The leading cause of the betrayal starts when Ali and Hassan participate in the kite fighting tournament and win. When Hassan delays coming back, he goes and finds him being sexually harassed, and he chooses to remain silent. This kind of betrayal is evident in one of his arguments when he says that “The curious thing was, I never thought of Hassan and me as friends either…” The guilt he experiences after this experience makes him want to stay away from him so that he does not see him every day. In this case, he puts a bunch of money and a watch under Hassan’s mattress so that they can be chased away and avoids his guilt. This act torments him so much that he does not have peace, for he is always guilty of his actions throughout his entire life. His guilt is evident when he states that “Nothing is free in this world, maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay…” this shows that Amir was guilty of his betrayal towards Hassan and how he felt about it.
The aspect of betrayal is also evident through Baba to Hassan’s father. Although Baba was the boss of Hassan’s father, the two had a powerful bond. This aspect was visible through the way the two stayed together and allowed their families to stay together, although they belonged to different social statuses. In the novel, Baba betrays Ali by sleeping with his wife and siring a child with him. This aspect is the highest level of betrayal that one can do to his close friend. This aspect is evident when Rahim Khan summons Amir to Afghanistan to save his half-brother, Sohrab. This aspect makes Baba feels so guilty that he starts to undertake charity measures to redeem himself from his betrayal. This aspect is evident through Amir’s confessions that “I think everything he did…it was all his way of redeeming himself.” This aspect shows how guilty transformed Baba after realizing his mistakes and started doing good to repay for his betrayal towards Ali.
In conclusion, the entire novel revolves around the aspects of betrayal and the actions of the betrayers towards redeeming themselves from the guilt that they felt for the wrongs that they did. Such elements are evident through the lives of Amir and Baba, who spend the better part of their lives paying for their betrayal towards their closest friends. In Amir’s case, his betrayal towards Hassan leads him to pay for his actions in a hard way. In this case, he does not save Hassan from his bullies, but the same thing happens to his half-brother, where reality makes him face the same situation in a hard way. This situation makes him be significantly hurt in the process of saving his brother. On the other hand, Baba faces his fair part of betrayal by contacting cancer, which puts his life at stake. Before he dies, he starts charity work to redeem himself from the guilt he felt for his betrayal to Ali.