The Kite Runner

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The Kite Runner
The theme of Guilt
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• 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, hadnt i? (ch.3)
• Amirs 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)

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• 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.
• Amirs 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? Wellhappily 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.
  
• Amirs 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.

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• 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 wasnt his
  fault, so he should stop blaming himself for
  things he was not responsible for.

By Rebecca Samet