The Kite Runner

At the end of the first chapter, Rahim Khan tells Amir, “There is a way to be good again.” Why does this become so significant once we see what happens at the end of chapter 7? Then at the end of chapter 12, Soraya divulges the secret of her past, and Amir forgives her but is also envious of her courage. Why does he envy her? Why is this significant? How have your mistakes in the past haunted you? Have you ever wanted to tell someone your secrets and be forgiven so that you could be good again? How did that work out? Write a short essay of three paragraphs or less that demonstrates your understanding of The Kite Runner up to this point in the story.

In the first few chapters of The Kite Runner, we learn about Amir’s childhood and his friendship with Hassan, a boy who works as a servant at his home. Amir then reveals his betrayal when he allowed Hassan to be raped. At this point, the quote “there is a way to be good again.” becomes significant because it shows that Amir goes through a process to make up for what he did Hassan. It foreshadows that Amir goes on a journey to redeem himself and to resolve the guilt of betraying his loyal friend. 

Amir is envious of Soraya’s courage because he was always too afraid to confront the wrongdoings of his past. When Amir didn’t receive his punishment from Hassan, he set Hassan up so that Baba would fire Hassan and Ali. This shows that Amir is running and hiding from the guilt. Amir wanted Hassan to punish him for what he did because he felt like he deserved the consequences. He wanted to make up for what he did so that the guilt would stop haunting him. However, he couldn’t achieve these things because of Hassan’s loyalty and forgiveness, as well as his fear. 

One time, I broke someone’s bicycle but blamed it on my little cousin so that I wouldn’t get in trouble. My cousin got scolded by her parents but I did not. I felt guilty because I put my responsibilities on her. I should’ve been a better role model instead of taking advantage of her innocence to avoid the consequences. Even though my example isn’t as extreme as Amir’s situation, I felt really bad because she was falsely accused of something she didn’t do. I wanted to confess to my parents but I was still scared of the consequences. Similar to Amir, I was running away from my responsibilities. I never ended up telling the truth or apologising to my cousin, but I’ve learnt to just fess up to my mistakes. It’s better to know that I was honest and face the consequences than to feel guilty forever. 

Reflection:

These mini essays helped me to gain a deeper insight on the book as I was required to analyse the text and identify the most prominent themes. I was able to draw several connections between the book and my personal experiences, which helped me to understand the significance of the events in the book better. I became more engaged in the book as I wrote this mini essay because I was curious to see if my predictions were accurate.