Redemption is a definition of receiving forgiveness of others, and also associates with religion. Christians use the term redemption and salvation interchangeably. The primary theme Redemption features in the Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner. The protagonist Amir desires for redemption after betraying his servant and “best friend” Hasaan in the worst possible way. Amir refuses to step in when future Taliban operative Assef brutally rapes Hasaan. Amir is also responsible for the removal of Hasaan and Hasaan’s father Ali from his family’s home. Unlike Amir and Amir’s father Baba, Hasaan is unable to flee the destroyed Afghanistan. Amir eventually struggles with the burdens of his guilt and hopes he will be able to redeem himself so that his life can be salvaged. In the novel Great Expectation, the protagonist Pip goes through stages of moral maturity. Throughout the novel, Pip learns lifelong lessons that result from shame, pain, and guilt. Pip evolves from a selfish boy filled with shame and guilt, and finally into a man who truly concerns for others. Pip goes through three stages. Those are shame and guilt, self gratification, and his last stage of redemption.
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As an illustration, Redemption builds around the novel The Kite Runner and the main character Amir. Amir finds that pain and regret have a very close relationship of guilt and a painful past in his whole life. Living the life of a coward, his best friend Rahim Khan calls Amir to redeem himself. However, Amir realizes that no amount of redemption can fully erase his past. In The Kite Runner, the novel starts out with Amir receiving a call from Rahim Khan. Rahim says, “There is a way to be good again” (Hosseini 2). Rahim knows Amir’s shameful past, and he wants Amir to redeem himself. This quote comes from the beginning of the book, and audiences do not know what Amir did that is worthy of redemption. Later in that chapter, it reveals that something very dark event is lurking in Amir’s past. “I thought about Hasaan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul. I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today” (Hosseini 2). This is a quote where Amir thinks to himself on whether he should go back to Afghanistan or not, and his initial reaction is not to go back. Kabul is Amir’s home, but is also a place where Amir scares off. This can be the first reference of redemption. Amir cannot erase his past by attempting to redeem himself.
Amir repairs relationship with his father Baba and nurses him. He finds happiness after an arranged marriage to Soraya, and accepts Soraya even after she confesses her sexual past to him. However, Amir never confesses his past even not to his father, not to Soraya, and not to Hassan. Amir is ashamed, but still his faith confronts him that redemption is possible. Later in the novel, Amir turns to God and demonstrates that God will listen to offer his redemption. This is really important since Amir is not a Christian. Amir is a Muslim and the author is making it clear that redemption is a concept that applies to all religions, and the desire for forgiveness is absolutely universal.
Consequently, Hasaan hear the shocking news of Hasaan’s death by the hands of the Taliban. Amir realizes that if he can save Hasaan’s son Sohrab, then redemption for his life might be attainable. Amir’s old friend Rahim Khan provides wise advice saying, “In the end, God will forgive. He will forgive your father, me and you too. I hope you can do the same. Forgive your father if you can. Forgive me if you wish. But, most important, forgive yourself” (Hosseini 266-267). Later Rahim repeats, “There was a way to be good again. A way to be good again” (Hosseini 273). Amir finally succeeds in saving Sohrab out of Peshawar, and takes him to live in the United States with him and Soraya. Eventually, Amir transforms and achieves redemption. Redemption does not come from the act of bravery. Redemption came when Amir forgave himself at long last.
On the other hand, Pip’s stage of self gratification comes when he falls into debt, and when he learns that Magwitch is his secret benefactor. Pip shows concern for Herbert when he helps Herbert obtain his new and successful job. Pip feels ultimately happy for the first time when Herbert tells Pip how great his job is. Pip is blissful by the fact that he actually helps someone he cares about. “I did really cry in a good earnest when I went to bed, to think that my expectations had done some good to somebody” (Dickens 9). Pip’s state of redemption becomes clear when he starts to care Magwitch. Pip finds out that he should never judge others based on their appearance, but rather on who they are inside. At first, Pip feels disgust with Magwitch, but soon Pip goes through a stage of redemption and realizes how much Magwitch loves him. After all, Pip stays by his side until the end. Pip says, “I will never stir from your side…when I am suffered to be near you. Please god, I will be as true to you as you have been to me” (Dickens 10).
If only the soul can obtain redemption and cannot achieve until death, it will not serve much purpose for the living. When a person goes through the trials, there will be a sense that whatever regrettable sins committed along the way, a person can be forgiven if a serious effort is made to become a better person. A person must convince that redemption is possible or there will be no motivation to attempt a moral transformation. Acts of kindness can make everyone feel better than before. Especially seeing and experiencing the positive effects of such behaviors inspire individuals to continue to travel a more virtuous path.
Work Cited Page
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Ed. Steven Weisberg. London: Penguin, 1996. Print.
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 2003. Print.
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