Nelson's AP Lit and Comp 2014-2015 discussion
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The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner
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Melody
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Aug 07, 2014 06:12AM
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I think the settings of Kabul and America help with the fact that Kabul is nostalgic for Amir when he goes back he remembers all of his memories there with Hassan giving him guilt so then he feels the need to redeem himself after all of the problems he gave Hassan as children later he finds out that Hassan was killed but he left behind a son Amir then goes on a rescue mission to get Hassans son back and give him a good life back in America. Also in America Amir wishes Hassan would have been there to see such new things.
The readers see that to Amir, Kabul is where he grew up - and his childhood is filled with regrets that he becomes ashamed and guilty over for the rest of his life, or most of his life, because he cannot forgive himself. America is a clean, new slate to him when he goes to America. For Amir to go back to Kabul - the source of all his regrets, guilt and shame, to the place where he betrayed his best friend, shows much redemption, especially since Amir makes it up to Hassan on his trip to Kabul.
Most of the important events happen in Kabul during WWII, a time of wars and hardships. Since the story took place during this period, the readers can predict that the character, Amir, will loose people and things that are most important to him. I belief that the theme of The Kite Runner is guilt and Kabul is a place that held all of Amir guilt, a place where he does not want to return to. He had found peace in America and bury his memories there, but somewhere deep down, Kabul was always a part of him that he can never forget. Even in America, he still think about his childhood with Hassan and about the day he betray Hassan. Amir had cut himself away from Hassan, move to America and live almost everyday with memories of his guilt and regrets. However, a trip back to Kabul was just what he needed, because he was able to face all of his guilt that he had put behind and move on.
The definition of redemption is “the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil”. In The Kite Runner though, our protagonist doesn't seek redemption till the near end when he returns to Kabul; the homeland of Amirs sins. Before looking for redemption Amir uses America as an excuse to run away from his sins. He tries to use this new setting as a new start at life and to bury his past; he says, “America was a river...unmindful of the past….let my sins drown to the bottom”. Except our protagonist learns that “...the past claws its way out”. Amir thought he could gain redemption by trying to forget his sins in America. In the end though Amir goes back to Kabul, to save Sohrab out of guilt. It is there, the homeland of his sins, that he finally tells someone about his sins, and that he gains some redemption when trying to save Sohrab. If anything, from these two settings it’s helped me understand that redemption isn't something you gain by running away from your misdoings. It’s something you gain by facing your sins.
Kabul, Afghanistan to Amir is a place of hardships despite the great memories he made growing up. Kabul is a place of regret and strain. Amir never wanted to return because he never wanted to face the things he had done and more importantly not done. Afghanistan itself was in a terrible state, with all the bombings, shootings, and the ethnic cleansing. America, more specifically San Fransisco, has become a place where Amir had escaped to. It provided him with the escape from him past regrets, his homeland terrors, and it even bettered his relationship with Baba, something he's always wanted. Amir's biggest conflict was with himself and his cowardice. He never ever forgot what he saw happen to Hassan and also how he was too scared to help Hassan. Not only did Amir pretend to be oblivious of Hassan's rape but he shut Hassan out when he needed him the most. Those were Amir's biggest mistakes and regrets. When Rahim Khan asked Amir to return to Kabul to find Sohrab (Hassan's orphan son), they both knew it was for Amir's redemption. Sohrab was in Afghanistan, he grew up as a child who knew of the terror Afghanistan. Amir though also owes his debt to Sohrab, saved Sohrab from the hardships and life in Afghanistan and brought him to the dream of America. Amir also adopts Sohrab and raises him as him own. That's how Amir redeemed himself. These settings contribute to the world truth of redemption because it shows how people cam save others and save themselves, like how Amir had saved himself of his sins and Sohrab from the torture that was going to be brought upon him.
Kabul is the place where Amir grew up with Hassan. Not only where there good memories, there were also bad memories. There were lots of guilt and terror of not being able to help Hassan when he needed help. There was never a chance to redeem himself in Kabul. As Amir was in America he mention, "For me, America was a place to bury my memories"(129). He escaped from all this guilt and terror and never wanted to be involved with it again, but hiding from it wouldn't help solve the problem. As Rahim Khan called Amir to go back to Kabul to find and save Sohrab, Amir got a chance to redeem himself. Therefore, going back to Kabul there would be a chance to redeem himself and Amir would get a second chance to fix the sins he committed.
The settings between Kabul to America to Kabul again, contribute to the theme redemption in a way that when Amir left to America he didn't think of it as just leaving his home, he thought about it as leaving his past and his mistakes. Amir wanted to start a new life, erase everything and start all over. But when Amir traveled back to Kabul his past came back. His memories were more emotional and Amir felt a need to redeem himself. Amir realized he had ran away for far too long, and live up to his mistakes in Kabul before going back to his life in America.
In the Kite Runner, the setting took place in Kabul. It was at war and it shows that Amir was brave enough to leave America and finish his unfinished business in Kabul. The setting contributes to our understanding of the major theme redemption by allowing us to picture the horror of the place a person is willing to go through to try to fix his/her mistakes in the past.
Settings from Amir living to Kabul, Afghanistan, then moving to America, later returning to Kabul for a wish from Rahim Khan. It contributes to the understanding of the theme of redemption because Kabul is a sentimental place at which he grew up and he had many memories being both good and bad, especially with a lot of regrets and guilt from his childhood, one that haunts him his whole life time and made him who he was, is when Hassan had gotten raped and Amir didn’t help him, but just stayed and watched him helplessly because he didn’t want to lose the pride he had after winning the kite competition. Amir had self conflict within himself internally, which ate him up. After coming to America for Amir, it was a place of escape for what he had done, a clean slate for him to start a new life, looking for reclamation, to be someone who he couldn’t back in Kabul and to build a healthier relationship with Baba. Returning back to Kabul (the place of his guilt, regrets, his sins) because Rahim Khan wanted to ask Amir of a wish to go find Sohrab (Hassan’s son) knowing so for redemption for what had happen to Hassan and how he disregarded him after the incident. Amir finally found ease when he had gotten beaten from Assef for trying to save and take Sohrab with him. “My body was broken—just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later—but I felt healed. Healed at last. I laughed.” (p. 289). And after that, Amir ends up adopting Sohrab, bringing him back to America, and flying the kite with Sohrab, while saying, “For you, a thousand times over.” (371), which eventually he redeems himself reflecting back upon Hassan.
In the beginning Kabul, the birthplace of Amir, is depicted as a proud and peaceful country. Amir describes his home country with pride, showing off the different cultural features. When Amir and Baba finally leave Afghanistan, the setting is quickly switched to turmoil. Amir runs from away from his guilt, his sin. The redemption comes to play when Amir returns to Afghanistan. He goes back to confront the things he left behind. Through this journey, Afghanistan may not had had the redemtion, but Amir did. In a war torn country, Amir is able to bring back something important, Hassan's child. Through the setting, we are able to see the struggles of the Afghan people and in Amir's case, the different ways they achieve their redemption.
Kabul was his home. The place he grew up. It was the only place he called home before moving to America. He visits his dad's orphanage only seeing that it is in pieces. He goes back to try to make things right again. It helps us better understand the theme of redemption because he goes back to see it destroyed and wants to save Hassan's child, Sorhab. He brings him home and treats him with love and kindness. Through his journey it teaches us about his struggles to finding Sorhab and finding a little bit of closure.
The settings of this book are really important. They display a huge change within the characters.He wishes to start his life all over again, hoping to get something to replace what has been done back at his homeland. America and Afghanistan are really far from each other, yet Amir's guilty remains the same and deeply inside his mind and heart. To redeem himself, he goes back to Afghanistan and do what he should have done a very long time ago. No matter how far he is from his nightmare, the only way to fix things is to go back to it.
The major changes of setting are from Amir's homeland, Kabul, to his later home America. Redemption means "the action of being saved from sin, error, or evil". In order for this to happen, Amir had to return to where he had committed his error, in Kabul, where he had betrayed Hassan of his friendship. This was also where Baba had committed his error of dishonoring Ali. Amir thought that by going back to Kabul and adopting Sohrab, he would be healed from his painful past. The symbol setting changes (of Amir going back to his homeland) to fix his mistakes (by lightening his load of guilt) helps contribute to our understanding of redemption. We must go back to the core of our disasters and brokeness in order to be fixed up again. We understand that the theme of redemption is a journey, such as Amir's journey to Kabul.
Kabul & America contributes to the theme of redemption because when Amir left to America, he thought that his mistakes & guilt would stay in Kabul but little did he know he was wrong. The setting is very important because it defines the characters & their memories. For Amir, America is a place to forget about his past. "America was different. America was a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past. I could wade into this river, let my sins drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far. It for nothing else, for that, I embraced America." (136). But before Amir got to America, his life & journey was a roller coaster. In Kabul, Amir had good & bad memories. One of the bad & worse memories he had was when he witnessed Hassan getting bullied & raped. He probably still feels ashamed because he didn't step in to help. One of the good memories he had was winning the kite fighting competition. Kabul is also very important because that's where Amir is from, that was his home, where he grew up, & his childhood. Overall the settings & themes are very important because they all have a connection to one another.
Kabul is where the place where Amir had done actions that generated regret. Afghanistan was also a dangerous place throughout The Kite Runner. Amir ended running to America to escape both the dangers of Afghanistan and to forget his shameful past. America is known to be the place of fresh starts but Amir's past comes clawing back to him and he can't ignore it any longer. He goes back to Kabul when the dangers intensifies to fix his past, even though if he dies, he would leave his life in America. Under these circumstances Amir still choose to save Sorhab, the closest thing to straightening up his past with Hassan. In the end Amir takes Sorhab to America to have a new life together.
The setting was taken place in Kabul where Amir has made a lot of mistakes and regrets everything that he have done. Kabul was full of war. The Talib killing people and people were homeless with no food, water and electricity. When Amir and Baba came to America, everything changed. Amir was still guilty of what he did. Even his Baba wishes Hassan was in America with them. When Rahim Khan asked Amir to return to Kabul and do him a favor by saving Hassan son (Sohrab). We learn that Amir have found his mistakes and the brawl when he went to save Sohrab from Assef.
The settings of this book is Kabul and America. Both of these settings has shown a great importance in our understanding of the theme; redemption. America has an importance in our understanding of redemption because America is the place where Amir thought he could run and hide away from all his sins. Kabul has also shown a great importance to understanding redemption because that was where all his sins were created and where he redeemed his sin, which is by finding Sohrab and adopting him. In page 129, he stated, "For me, America was a place to bury my memories". Also, he stated on page 136 that, "America was a river,...let my sins drown to the bottom,... no ghosts, no memories, and no sins. If for nothing else, for that, I embraced America". These two quotes show us as the readers that America was only the place for him to restart everything; come to a new world, become a new person and start a new future with no sin. As a conclusion, both settings, Kabul and America contributes in our understanding of the theme "redemption" because Kabul is where he redeemed his sin and thanks to America for being his alarm clock; reminding him of his sins as he has stated something similar about his past haunting him on page 1, "Because the past claws its way out".
The setting where the kite tournament happened, Amir was unable to please Baba, so Amir tried to redeem himself by bringing back the blue kite, which was successful, "Then a smiled played from my father's lips. I put the kite down and walked into his thick hairy arms" (79). Because Amir chose the kite instead of saving Hassan, he redeems himself by getting convinced by Rahim to go back to his homeland to save Sohrab like how he couldn't save Hassan back then, "A way to end the cycle. With a little boy. An orphan. Hassan's son. Somewhere in Kabul" (227).
In the Kite Runner, the setting took place in Kabul. It shows Amir had so much courage and was brave. He made so many mistakes and he had so many regrets. But America is was free and it was like a entirely new fresh start and beginning for him. At Kabul he knew he did wrong and he knew that he should have stepped up and stood up for others. That guilt carried when he got to America but it was completely new because it was like he was starting a fresh page in his life. So the two settings represent redemption but in two entirely different views.
The setting of the book was very important. The story took place during WWI in the Kabul, Afghanistan and in California. In Kabul, Amir had faced many difficulties and hardship: it was a place where he never wanted to return to. Kabul was were he had left many regrets but when he fled to America, he became a more joyful person who found happiness there. He was able to fall in love and get married, graduate from high school and become a writer. In America, he was able to start his life over as he buried his past in Kabul, Afghanistan. In the book, The Kite Runner, there was part where it explains that Baba made the decision to immigrate to America because it would be good transition for Amir, and it was. America represented as redemption for Amir, as he was able to run away from his past.
A majority of the novel takes place in Kabul where Amir's childhood was spent. He enjoyed roaming the markets and his adventures with Hassan despite having a rocky relationship with his dad. After witnessing Hassan getting raped by Assef and not confronting him or telling anyone the guilt consumes him. America provides an escape from his sins, a distraction. "America was different. America was a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past. I could wade into this river, let my sins drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far." (pg. 136) When being called back by Rahim Khan, Amir knows that it is the only place to confront his past actions. He sees Kabul with new eyes. Not as a place with regret but with a chance to be saved. The setting helps to understand the theme of redemption by having the protagonist face his problems where they all started.
Amir grew up in Kabul. His whole past of being a child and all the fond memories he had. He also had his downs in Kabul. Leaving to America the difference in the two had so much to compare that it was just a new world to him. In America he felt free and also he felt he could get closer to Baba. But after all those years of freedom and peace he had to return to his home Kabul , his first part of redemption. As he is on his quest to get Sohrab , he really takes a moment and notices all the little things he had in his childhood he should've cherished more. His home, the people, and his old lifestyle. Upon reflecting on all these things and succeeding in his quest, he met his redemption. He had paid off his debts and also discovered the true meanings of life behind the roots of his hometown history and how much it has changed.
Kabul for Amir is a place full of regrets and the place where he made his worse mistake. America however is a place where he can start over and not have to worry about what he did. Having to return to Kabul makes him remember all of the bad memories he had of Hassan and what he didn't do to help him come back again. This makes him want to redeem himself and make up for what he did.
Kabul, Afghanistan was home for Amir. Throughout his life in Kabul, he was already trying to please/redeem himself to Baba. Since he was little, he knew Baba resented him because he kind of blames him for the death of his beloved wife. After winning the Kite Tournament, Baba finally shows that he's gain his love. When they moved to the US and when his father past, Amir found out that Hassan was his half-brother and if he wanted to redeem himself, he still had a chance. Knowing that, Amir had felt guilty and wanted to do something to help his dead brother. He went back to Afghanistan, trying to help bring Hassan's son back with him to America because he wanted to redeem himself to Hassan for all the things he'd done to him back when they were young in Kabul. Therefore, redemption ties very well to the setting.
For the setting, Kabul was a place where Amir made many mistakes and when he looked back on it, he felt very guilty for his faults. It was also a place where he wanted to redeem himself for his father. On page 56, "I was going to win and I was going to run that last kite. Then I'd bring it home and show it to Baba. Show him once and for all that his son was worthy." When Hassan died and he left his son behind, Amir felt responsible and flew to Kabul to get him. By taking Hassan's son to America he gave Hassan's son a better life and in that action Amir felt redeemed. He also felt like he made it up to Hassan for the past.
The setting of being in Kabul represented all of his guilt, sins, and regrets that he didn't have the courage to tell anyone. Leaving Kabul for America really gave him the time for him to reflect his actions and it also gave him the chance to change. And so, moving to America and starting over sort of saved him from really accepting what he had done and that's where there's redemption.
The setting of “The Kite Runner” takes place in Kabul, Afghanistan, where later it settles in America, in Fremont, California, then back to Kabul, due to a task that was asked upon Amir from Rahin Khan. Kabul was home of the sins for Amir; he had many regrets upon his decisions in his childhood which haunted him; the biggest is seeing Hassan get raped by Assef, but not doing anything about it and acting like he didn’t witness anything. When Amir left to America, he felt like it was a place to stay, a place to start fresh, and a place to forget about everything from his childhood, his sins. “America was different. America was a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past. I could wade into this river, let my sins drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far" (136). When Rahin Khan calls Amir to come back to Kabul to go find Sohrab because Hossan and his wife were killed and Sohrab was sent to an orphanage, Amir sees this task as an option to overcome his sins. Amir then goes to Kabul to try to find Sohrab to redeem himself, and when he saves Sohrab, he also gets beaten up badly by Assef. Amir says, “I hadn’t been happy and I hadn’t felt better, not at all. But I did now. My body was broken—just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later—but I felt healed. Healed at last” (289). After Amir saves Sohrab and brings him to America, where they love together, Amir has finally redeemed himself at last, after all the guilt that he had. These two settings help contribute to the readers understanding to the major theme of redemption because the reader learns that the Afghan people have many struggles, and these two settings represents redemption but in two different ways. America is a place to start fresh and a place to forget about their sins, whereas Kabul is a place where the sins begins, and is the place to face their problems; a journey.
The settings are a huge show of redemption because in Kabul where the book first starts its where Amir is born and also where he is placed with heavy burdens of guilt. While in America, Amir wants to start new and forget the guilt hes carried all his life. But the guilt is only lifted once he returns back in Kabul to seek the thing that will give Amir redemption and finally let his and his fathers burden behind for good.
For Amir Kabul was a place that reminded him of his guilt, regrets and it's also a nostalgic place for him too. The setting of Kabul relates to the theme of redemption because it's the place that caused him to have guilt in the first place and Amir feels as if he has to redeem himself but helping Hassan's son Sohrab.
Kabul, Afghanistan were Amir's childhood memories that was filled with fear and regret. These fears were not being "loved" or "noticed" by his father, being too weak, and not winning the kite competition. Soon he witnessed Hassan getting raped and didn't do anything about which soon leaded to regret but that regret leaded him to selfishness and fear. When Amir and Baba left to America it was a fresh start for them, a way for Amir to forget about the memories he had in Kabul because when Amir was still living in Kabul no matter how much he tried to ignore Hassan he still thought of what happened in the alley. Coming back to Kabul was a way of redeeming himself to what he did to Hassan such as framing him for stealing money by helping Sohrab and soon he realizes the similarities between Hassan and Baba.
Amir resented himself and the actions that took place in Kabul. Kabul seemed to bring the weak side of him out and he will always know what happened there. Rescuing Sohrab was a redemptive act and that was in Kabul. It stands out in the theme. He goes back to Kabul for one very reason; Redemption. It was the sole course of action by Amir in Kabul. Hassan's redemption for Amir was also a very reoccurring thing when they were young and growing up. Hassan constantly was saving and helping Amir with Assef and his friends. Even when Baba safely relieved Amir of being stuck in Kabul when the Soviet-Union invaded. The theme of redemption is reoccurs through the enrire book. Amir is aware of it and will always be in the back of his mind how cowardly he acted and how he was determined to make up for it. And it all took place in Kabul
Kabul showed the bad side of Amir, his mistakes and regrets. But in later in America it show his new start, how much wiser he has become and the courage that he has gained. It show this by Amir going back for Sohrab.
