English – Year 10 – Task 1, 2023
“The Path from Wrongdoing to Redemption is about suffering, but also about an end to
suffering”.
To what extent is this explored in Khaled Hosseini’s novel “The Kite Runner”?
‘The path from wrongdoing to redemption is about suffering, but also an end to suffering.’
Khaled Hosseini’s semi-autobiographical bildungsroman “The Kite Runner” (2003),
exemplifies this statement to a great extent, depicting the path to redemption of the protagonist
Amir, from initial moral failings, fuelled by jealousy and anger, to an eventual cathartic
atonement in which the protagonist comes to terms with his past. Ultimately, it is Amir’s
“suffering” amidst his own guilt following his failure to interfere with Hassan’s rape, that
drives his need for redemption, and ultimately leads to a cathartic atonement of his past sins.
Thus, without this “suffering”, there would be no end to it.
To put an end to suffering, on the path to redemption, one must first undergo a moral
transgression that highlights ones suffering and ultimately ones need for redemption. Amir’s
moral failure is introduced in “The Kite Runner” as psychologically degrading, prompting his
need to “end the suffering” and relinquish the feelings of guilt. This moral failure occurs in
Chapter 7, as a culmination of feelings of jealousy for Hassan and Baba, coupled with his
need for his father’s approval sees him avoid saving Hassan from being raped, highlighted in
the metaphor, “Behind him, sitting on piles of scrap and rubble, was the blue kite. My key to
Baba’s heart.” The metaphor of the blue kite as the “key” to his father's heart, reveals the
extent to which Amir is willing to go to please his father, as he obtains the kite instead of
saving Hassan. Amir’s path from wrongdoing to redemption sees him suffer immensely,
which in-turn leads to further wrongdoing as he attempts to rid himself of guilt, framing
Hassan for the theft of his father's cash and watch, “"I lifted Hassan's mattress and planted
my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it,” furthered by Hassan’s admittance,
“Hassan’s reply was a single word, delivered in a thin raspy voice: “yes”. Hassan’s defeated,
monosyllabic response, evokes further suffering within Amir, “My heart sank, and I almost
blurted out the truth. Then I understood: This was Hassan’s final sacrifice for me.” Thus,
Amir’s failure to act when Hassan is being raped leads to further guilt and moral failings,
prompting the need for redemption.
Ultimately, the grief and guilt that Hassan endures because of his selfishness psychologically
paralyses him, prompting a need to “end the suffering”. Hosseini accounts for the
development of Amir’s guilt in Chapter 8, “I sat up. A wedge of moonlight streamed in
through the window. I watched Hassan get raped, I said to no one.” The confession reveals
Amir’s sleeplessness and longing to end his guilt through a confession. Furthermore, the
extended metaphor of Baba as a “black bear” is subverted in the climax of the novel in
Chapter 23, “Baba is wrestling the black bear... it's me, I’m wrestling the black bear.” In
doing so, Hosseini explores the cyclical nature of suffering, as his father’s guilt of having a
child out of wedlock is now being repeated in Amir. Thus, when offered a “way to be good
again” and “break the cycle” of generational guilt and suffering, Amir acts. This eventuates
in a cathartic release of emotion in the climax of the novel, in which Amir returns to
Afghanistan to rescue Hassan’s child from the Taliban. Upon arriving, he is violently abused
by Assef, now a Taliban leader, despite this, it acts as a cathartic release of guilt, “my body
was broken - just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later - but I felt healed. Healed at last.”
Hosseini’s use of visceral imagery reveals the extent of his injuries, yet couples it with the
anadiplosis “healed, healed at last” to reinforce the cathartic nature of his release of guilt, as
he finally endures the retribution he believes he is entitled to. Despite this, the ending of
suffering is not an instant process, but rather with “pain gathering it's things, packing up, and
slipping away unannounced.” This is reinforced in the ending of the novel through the
pathetic fallacy, “when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just
witnessed the first flake melting,” as Hosseini utilises pathetic fallacy to present spring as a
new lease of life for the protagonist, away from the cold reality of winter.
Therefore, the path from wrongdoing to redemption in The Kite Runner is catalysed by
Amir’s immense grief, which develops into guilt, and thus prompts his need to relinquish
himself from his suffering. Therefore, as quoted, “The Path from Wrongdoing to
Redemption is about suffering, but also about an end to suffering”.