...In “The Kite Runner,” Khaled Hosseini adds that the guilt is enduring and can only get rid of by redemption. To emphasize his message, Khaled Hosseini relies on the concepts of quest, violence, and politics, which are also the motifs of the novel and interrelated to each other and the theme of redemption. Khaled Hosseini introduce the concept of the quest by having the main character going on the quest to redeem himself, which is the true goal of his quest. In the novel, Amir learns of Sohrab from Baba’s letter, the quester, and travels back to his hometown, place to go, to save him, which is the stated reason, with the taliban being obstacles, but the true reason of accepting the quest is hopes of redemption to rid of the guilt. Khaled Hosseini...
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...Mariana Jimenez Period 1 The Kite Runner Final Essay It is normal for human beings to make mistakes that cause oneself to feel guilt, but what matters the most is how one fixes their mistakes that dictates what kind of person they truly are. In the book, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, it shows that the quest for redemption is the way to atone for guilt. The author uses the literary technique of symbolism to enhance the theme of feeling guilt and its quest for redemption throughout the book. Amir has done many things that cause him to feel guilt that cause him to go on a quest for redemption. For example, in the beginning of the book, Amir says, “That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.”(Khaled Hosseini, 1) This shows not only how Amir has been feeling guilt for the last twenty-six years but also how one as a reader can see how Amir finds redemption later in the book. Amir has clearly stated that he has tried to bury his past, his mistakes, but they eventually “claw” back out, forcing Amir to face his guilt and redeem himself. Also, later in the book Amir says “I flinched, like I’d been slapped… Then I understood: This was Hassan’s final sacrifice for me… And that led to another understanding: Hassan knew. He knew I’d seen everything in that alley, that I’d...
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...An audacious meek man was known to do anything to repay what he owned. This man flew into burning builds and crossed dangerous roads. Is this man truly brave? In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, several characters demonstrate profound bravery. In their course to redemption, the characters find that to obtain their redemption, they will need to overcome challenges. In these situations, the characters profess instantly actions of bravery. Amir, the protagonist,travels on a long, painful journey to find atonement for his childhood sins which lead to his acts of bravery. Baba, Amir’s father, works on redeeming his preceding sins by giving a helping hand to people in his life. These actions develop his character of bravery. In The Kite...
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...Through a comparative analysis of Edson’s W;t and Donne’s Holy sonnets, the metaphysical questions of life are illuminated, with the paradigms associated with the Jacobean period, as expressed in the sonnets, effectively appropriated to address a 20th century audience in W;t. These explicit and implicit links allow for an intensified understanding of the acceptance of death and the human quest to come to terms with salvation/redemption, further conveying the relationship between text and context. Thus the reciprocal values of these texts’ transcend their contextual limitations. Their meaning immortalised, they remain forever relevant to the human attempt to derive meaning. Through a comparative study of the texts, the eternal paradox of the complex journey (and process of suffering) required to realise the importance of accepting embracing values of faith, simplicity and, human mortality, in the process of achieving redemption (and forming a new identity )has been exemplified. “And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die”. This use of personification encapsulates the beginning of a journey both Vivian and Donne undertake upon reaching a state of “salvation anxiety”. Immersed in the death of his four still born children, and the plague ridden society that was in the process of forming the first cracks in what would be a paradigm shift away from blind faith, Donne initially struggled to accept his mortality, using “verbal swordplay” as a means in which to “run and hide”...
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...misdeeds; the only way to free themselves is redemption. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, guilt consistently plagues Amir, as he betrays his closest friend, Hassan, when they were teenagers. Now a grown man living in America, Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan, his father’s business partner, telling him to return to war-torn Afghanistan for a final chance of redemption by saving his innocent nephew’s life. Through examining Amir’s tumultuous life, Hosseini suggests that in order to be free of guilt, one must suffer the consequences of their actions, admit their mistakes, and redeem themselves. By suffering the consequences of his misdeeds, Amir takes a crucial step to absolving himself of guilt. After abandoning Hassan and allowing Assef to rape Hassan, Amir begins to...
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...Name Tutor Institution Date Christianity is the main theme in the short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery. From the story, it is impossible to understand and interpret the short story without keeping O’Connor’s Christian background in your focus. Her primary subjects, in regard to Frederick J. Hoffman, was the struggle to get redemption, searching for Jesus and get meaning of "prophesy”. From the three subjects, the search for Jesus and struggle for redemption are the major aspects of a spiritual life. O’Connor’s stories explain of people who are in need of salvation, and the kinds of violence makes them have this need. All these interpretations describe the kind of journey the grandmother is going through in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” It is very critical to read and understand this story in accordance with O'Connor's Christianity focus and to get the faith the faith message portrayed by the characters and their experiences from the story, the grandmother symbolizes Christian’s journey in quest for salvation. In this paper, I will discuss the theme and setting of the story. And hope this theme and setting fits within the overall discussion of the story. From the story, we have noted that that the grandmother is nameless. The story starts by telling us that grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida (405). She is among the three main characters in the story whose names is not given. In the first four opening paragraphs, the grandmother is referred to severally...
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...well-being of the economy as a whole is what seems to be the vocal point in Apple’s promotion of its products. It is easy to love products that are at the forefront of style and innovation. The Hero’s Quest and Creation Stories were two themes that were apparent when listening to six different stories described to me. “ Apple dropped out of college and pursued his career by making products out of his friend's garage.” While this quote was derived from one story, the others were right inline with what was stated. This theme of overcoming hardships and the courageous act of putting one’s future at risk for a new innovative idea is the very definition of the Hero’s Quest theme. Words like “innovative” and “original” were constantly used when describing how Apple went about creating its products. References towards the “taking a bite of the forbidden fruit” as a creative boost for Apple was in two of the six stories mentioned above. Two other stories described how Apple initially was unsuccessful in appealing to potential investors. However, with persistence and new creative approaches towards marketing Apple's necessity towards consumers, the brand redeemed itself quickly. More than one theme was derived from these two stories: The Hero’s Quest, Myths about a Fall and then Redemption, and Creation Stories. The theme of Transformation came from the final two stories that I will discuss. There was an emphasis on how Apple completely changed the way it was positioned in the market. In...
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...Biblical Worldview Essay As I have learned in this course, and the last five months of rebirth and renewal in my Christian faith, we all are created in the image of God. He desires a personal relationship with every one of us, and He seeks each of us out to have that relationship. Yet many of us turn away from Him and his love for a multitude of reasons. Inspired by my own life experiences, my future career plans are to become a peer mentor, or crisis counselor helping other fellow veterans with their life challenges. That is if I ever go back to work, as my accident in September has left me unable to work, in which case I would then use my knowledge and life experiences to do the same but in a volunteer capacity. I feel that this is what I am destined to do, and on the day of my wreck, God gave me that message. By using a foundation based on my Christian worldviews, and personal experiences I feel that I can greatly help to inspire, motivate, and encourage my patients to not give up, to know that they are not alone in their struggles, and that everyone has a life plan, they just need guidance finding it. One example I could use without evangelizing to my patients is the power of renewal. A lot of veterans with PTSD usually do not have a strong Christian faith as I once didn’t, and sometimes totally discount God and religion, (as I had done). Renewal is the process of restoring spiritual strength coming from new birth. The experience of coming home from a combat zone after...
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...Connor Wallis The novel The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hossieni tells the story of Amir, who betrays his half-brother Hassan at the age of twelve. Twenty-six years later his father’s old friend, Rahim Khan, phones him and sends him on a quest for redemption, in which he has to rescue Hassan’s son Sohrab; who was taken to an orphanage after Hassan was killed by the Taliban. I think that the main theme of the book is redemption, and that Hossieni believes that we can become better people in our lifetimes. I will investigate this statement by looking closely at and analysing the actions of the characters Amir, Baba, and Assef. Hosseini believes that we can become better people in our lifetimes. At the age of 12, Amir watches a boy, Hassan, who would give his life for him, get raped by the neighbourhood bully Assef. “I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost. The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn’t. I just watched” This observation is entirely true; the rest of his life would have turned out differently. He spent the next 26 years dwelling on this incident, and he wanted to forgive himself for what he had done. Hossieni’s purpose behind this event is to convey the theme of redemption and forgiveness by essentially recreating the same incident 26 years later, where Amir fights Assef so he can take Sohrab, back to America with him. He ends up taking a beating from Assef, which causes him to forgive himself, “I don’t know at what point...
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...‘The Kite Runner’, written by Khaled Hosseini, is a novel based on the life journey of a man named Amir. Although very dark, through the use of important themes the book is made strongly relatable to young people. Three of these include: degradation, the fragile relationship between a father and his son and the pursuit for redemption. The fragility of a father and his son’s relationship is shown through the strong characterisation of both males and the constant use of proleptic irony embedded throughout their relationship. The symbols of rape express the theme of degradation and class discrimination, whereas the pursuit for redemption is conveyed through the dramatic sequences of events that occur during the course of the novel. Hosseini heavily emphasises the Afghani class discrimination, with the ‘pure’ Pashtuns being the dominate race over the low class, minority group of Hazaras. This degradation makes it very difficult for anyone to marry into another class and the Hazaras are often victims of physical, emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of Pashtuns. Hosseini uses the act of rape since it carries a great deal of significance as it demonstrates a symbolic violation of the powerless by those who have power. In each instance of rape we see that the rapist is always in a position of greater power both socially and physically. For instance, Assef, a well-known bully, is rich and has a politically powerful father, while, Amir’s friend and later, found to be half-brother...
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...In Anne McWhir’s essay titled “Pollution and Redemption in Dracula” she examines the theme of the stark contrasts between pure and unclean. Pollution in the sense the writer was going for does not mean landfills and gas guzzlers, but when the unclean taints the pure. Going beyond the surface definition, the book Dracula has many instances of contrasting values surrounding the thoughts of purity. The ideas of good and evil, life and death, new and old, and civilization and savagery are examined throughout the novel. Dracula as a whole is a story of the characters quest to purify the world of the evil and uncleanliness that is Count Dracula. The novelty of Dracula is that often these lines can and have to be blurred in order for the characters to succeed. The book portrays the main three men of the novel as heroic hunters going out to find and kill Dracula. Is this heroism, or have they reverted back to an animalistic blood thirst, not unlike the animal they are hunting. The ideas of science and superstitious ritual also come into conflict throughout the novel. The further and further you read into the novel the more muddled these lines become, and the more the characters of the book must cross them in order to defeat Dracula. One big blurry area in the novel is the notion of blood. Blood in Dracula has multiple powers. It has the power to heal, or it can cause great pollution. It can be used to show undying love, or it can be used as the most violent attack. The removal...
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...Hamlet Final Essay What do you think makes Shakespeare’s Hamlet such a powerful and enduring play? Thesis William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1603) explores the intrinsic aspects of humanity creating a powerful and enduring play by subverting the audiences’ expectation of a revenge tragedy play. Shakespeare enables universal anthropological appreciation through the emphasis on the thematic concerns of: the mystery and transcendental nature of death, clouded grey areas in between the dichotomy of good and evil morals, and the twisted manipulative nature of human behaviour. Therefore, through critical study of the play, Shakespeare augments and connects to the audience’s perspective and interpretations. Body Topic sentence 1. Overarching idea i. Point ii. Quote iii. Technique iv. Elaboration Sample Sentence Linking sentence (concluding sentence) Body 1 – Death Death is the inescapable reality of human life as explored in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the fact that the living world is made of death and decay is visible anywhere there is life. 1. Hamlet’s bereavement over his father i. Bereavement is an inescapable reality in which all humans must endure. ii. “But I have more within which passes show – These but the trappings and the suits of woe” iii. Rhyming couplet iv. To reinforce Hamlet’s underlying argument to his grief over the finality of his father’s death. Bereavement is an inescapable reality, exemplified when Hamlet says...
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...With this in mind, let us take a moment to carefully look at the fundamental contrasts between Native American and Euro-American Religion: Creation and Redemption. As we do that, it is important to reflect upon George E. Tinker a Native American and a professor at Iliff Seminary delineate in which Native American theology differs from Euro-American theology. He gives an example of the Old Testament narrative by saying: covenant are more compatible with Native traditions than is the New Testament. In his pursuit he was joined with Clara Kidwell and Homer Noley to contrasts Native American thinking about creation with Christian theology in the Euro-American tradition. This is what they wrote: (1). Native Americans do not place human beings at the pinnacle of creation. (2). Native Americans do not see creation as fallen. In their understanding, what human beings need to live good lives and experience...
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...For instance, in The Kite Runner, the letter of Hassan re-establishes the lost link of Amir with his homeland. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, it is Jalil’s letter to Mariam which is received by Laila; and in the last novel And The Mountains Echoed, the sketches made by Mr. Wahdati, the phone call by Markos to Pari informing her of the existence of a brother, and Nabi’s letter to Markos, are some of the instances where recorded messages helps the characters in their quest to discover the past. Thus they create an imaginary home which is a mythic place of desire for the diasporic subject because a real home can never be created by the exiled community, it is forever lost. What remains is only a fragment of memory and imagination juxtaposed. Nayar, while describing the concept of home for the exiled communities, brings up Rushdie’s statement that: “this reconstructed home as reflections made ‘in broken mirrors, some of whose fragments have been irretrievably lost’.” (Nayar...
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...of the film. The film is an excellent depiction of real-life Indian lifestyle, cultural and belief systems that came into conflict with the white man’s religion and way of life. An analytical view of Europeans’ foray into the American continent reveals that religion was used as a decoy for colonization. This is a technique that worked well and successfully because even the Christian priests and missionaries were not aware of the role they were playing (Canby n.p). This is depicted by Father LaForgue, who holds firm convictions about his purpose and role of spreading the Christian faith to the Native Indians in order to offer them salvation and redemption. Father LaForgue approaches his quest without acknowledging that his target converts possess an established cultural and belief system that will pose as a challenge to his quest. This can be construed to be a weakness for the missionaries, and it can be attributed to their numerous failures at converting Native Americans to Christianity. Conversion of Native Americans to Christianity is seen in a negative light in the film because of the consequences it bestows upon the converts. Converts were ridiculed, especially in the hinterland as witnessed by the...
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