The Kite Runner
The theme of Guilt
The theme of guilt is first established through the
opening chapters of the book:
• We learn that Amir's mother died in childbirth, and that this is one of the sources
of his guilt as he holds himself responsible for her death, and believes his father
does too making us feel empathy for Amir.
•A good example of this is through the quotation “After all, I had killed his
beloved wife, his beautiful princess, hadn’t i?” (ch.3)
•Amir’s love of poetry provides a link between him and his mother, and this is a
constant reminder to his father, of his wife and his guilt over the sin that he has
committed.
•Quotes such as “By the time I was eleven, I could recite dozens of verses” and
“One time, I took on the whole class and won. I told Baba about it later that night,
but he just nodded, muttered, “good”.” (ch.3)
The theme of guilt is further demonstrated through the
character of Amir and his actions:
• The line “Prized trophy in my bloodied hands” is significant as he comes back
from the kite tournament guilty.
• Amir’s guilt is clearly evident when he sacrifices Hassan for the kite, the line
“Amir agha and I are friends” (ch.7) shows this as even though Amir is listening to
Hassan defending him to Assef, he does not go and try to defend him in return.
•The line “Redemption. And then? Well…happily ever after, of course”(ch.7) is ironic
because Amir believes that after what has happened that this will lead to his redemption, but
it only further adds to his guilt.
• Even years on Amir is still living with his guilt, as during his graduation Baba states “I
wish Hassan had been with us today” (ch.11) and this only reminds Amir of everything he
has done.
• Amir’s guilt manifests itself physically, as he is literally sick at the mention of Hassan's
name and also becomes an insomniac. His inability to sleep is due to him witnessing Hassan
be sexually abused but this later enhances his guilt upon him finding out they are brothers, as
he was not just watching his servant or friend be viciously attacked but his own family.
The theme of Guilt is finally rounded of by Rahim
Khan:
• In his letter he wrote “When he saw you he saw himself. And his
guilt.”(ch.23) Here Rahim Khan explains to Amir that he was not the only one
that suffered from guilt and that it wasn’t his fault, so he should stop blaming
himself for things he was not responsible for.
By Rebecca Samet
By Rebecca Samet