Redemption in the Kite Runner

Introduction

People try to redeem themselves from their past evil acts. These evil acts may be as a result of conflicting principles. Hosseini in his novel, Redemption in the kite running, demonstrates the ability for a person to better themselves after being involved in war, whilst pointing out that one can never truly be in a state of complete moral right or wrong. What are the Instances of Inner or Outward Redemption and Moral Ambiguity of the Society in Redemption in the Kite Running? Moral ambiguity is seen when people have conflicting principles. Usually, there is lack of clear ethical decisions being made when trying to gauge whether a certain situation is morally right or wrong. Amir is conflicted at whether to save Hassan from the cruel hands of Assef or to leave him there suffering. He is not sure on whether it is morally right or wrong to leave Hassan at the cruel hands of Assef so as to win back the love and trust of his father. Amir says, ‘I had one last chance to make a decision…I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan-the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past-and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran…I actually inspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba.’ (77) Inner redemption can be described as one’s inner peace after saving oneself from evil that took place in the past. Amir tries to redeem himself or search for his inner peace from the evil activities that took place while he lived in Afghanistan before the war. Amir was wrestling with the idea that Hassan’s troubles and lack of a good life like his was because of him. He says, ‘I have a wife in America, a home, a career and a family. But how could I pack up and go home when my actions may have cost Hassan a chance at those very same things.’ (238). Amir did not stop Assef from violating Hassan. He watched and kept quiet about it. Instead of helping Hassan deal with the evil acts from Assef, he made sure that his father fired Hassan’s father so that Hassan is safe from Assef. However, Amir never checks up on Hassan to find out whether he was doing well. Amir had been presented with many chances to redeem himself but he ignored them. Eventually, he tries to redeem himself. He says, ‘There’s a way to be good again.’ (238). He decides to save Sohrab as a way of redeeming himself. Outward redemption results into better outward treatment. It is seen when Amir tries to redeem himself for his father because he felt that he was the reason why his mother died while giving birth to him. He felt that his father’s disinterest in him was because he made his mother die. He was also worried on why his father treated Hassan better than him and yet he was his son. Amir, thus, tried to redeem himself so that his father may like him by winning the kite-tournament and take the losing kite to his father. Amir’s main motive in performing these actions is to have a better outward relationship with his father. At the beginning of the novel, he says, ‘It’s wrong what they say about the past. I’ve learned about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out.’ (1)

Conclusion

In conclusion, people are often faced with the problem of deciding whether a certain situation is either morally right or wrong. This is because of conflicting principles. The execution of a wrongful act may often make people to redeem themselves from these wrongful acts.

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