Analyse how specific events reinforced your understanding of one or more ideas.
“Ideas” may refer to character, theme, or setting.

Set in Afghanistan the novel The kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini follows Amir who struggles to find his place, and with his guilt from his traumatic childhood. His past is what has shaped his life and made him into who he is. The opening scence where Amir recives a Phone call and, refects oh his past reinforces that guilt is powerful, and you cannot excape it. When Amir is in the alley way his guilt is what…. the scene where Amir then plants the money to frame Hassan renifored that guilt drives you to…….. Hosseini shows us that guilt has the powerful and can shape a persons life, and actions . It cripples you makes you relive something that you cant take back.

The novel opens with a flash forward with Amir reflecting on his past, and the choices he has made. His mind has been taken over by guilt which has festered over the years. Reminding his of his past, which he still carries on his shoulders. He struggles because he still hasn’t fixed his mistake. “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 it’s way out. Looking back now, I realise I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.” This event happened years ago yet amir still dwells on it. The past is painful a wound which hasn’t healed because every-time he tries to close it is forced open by the reemerging memory, which is filled with regret and guilt. He can’t forget what happened, his guilt wont let him. He doesn’t think he deserves to forget, so he wont. He hasn’t redeemed his actions or made an effort to reconcile. Amir only peeks into his past. This is a timid action. He is afraid of what he will see, he is frightened. He has had this memory on his head for years. It plays over and over again. His mind wracked with guilt. It has no mercy on him because he doesn’t think he deserves it. All he has done is show cowardice, so why should he live in peace. When Hassan is scared from what happened, and will carry it for the rest of his life. Amir know that he doesn’t deserve to come away from the alley way unscathed, when he did nothing. He also choses to continue to do nothing. He hasn’t atoned for his sins, or reached out. All he has done is try to out run his past. So his guilt destroys him. Everyone in the alley way has left, and moved on including Assef. Assef felt no guilt for what he had done, so there was need for him to face what he had done. He is a physcopath, he feels nothing for Hassan. His mind came away unscathed, and he could live his life because he carries no guilt. Guilt is personal to you it is yours and, so you need to fix it.. Amir feels guilt. He is plagued by it. After twenty- six years it is still burnt into his mind. Amir is not free of it because he hasn’t made it right. He still needs to balance it out; receive his punishment. Redeem himself. “It wasn’t Rahim Khan on the line. It was my past of unatoned sins.” Amir speaks of a phone call, which was not a call from his old friend but his guilt and his past. He still hast atoned for his sins and is reminded of this daily. This is his chance to end his suffering. To be free from prison of thoughts his mind is trapped in. Amir has been tormented by his thoughts and feeling from what happened for the last twenty six years. The memory has not faded it is still painful and fresh in his mind, and no matter deep he tries to push it. This shows that guilt cannot be silence and forgotten. Hiding from your past is foolish because it you past is you, and you can’t hide from yourself. You are stuck with what you have done forever. The actions and choices you make are yours and you have responsibility for them. You need to face your guilt and past head on to have a chance at redeeming yourself. Only once you have redeemed yourself you can forgive your self. Letting go of the guilt. Then you might be able to find peace, but you wont find it by banishing your guilt. No matter how far you run it will still be there to remind you of what you are.Only when you face your guilt, and purposely seek redemption will you be free.

In the alley way Amir faces a choice, and he know what he will decide will shape the rest of his life. He is hiding in the alley way watching his fried being assaulted for him. Then and there Amir has a choice to either stick up for Hassan who was in this mess for Amir or run. “I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan – the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past – and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran.” This is the point where Amir choose who he was going to be.Amir had a choice and he knew it. He knew what he was doing was wrong. Even though he was young he wasn’t oblivious to what was happening. Amir left Hassan to fight the wolves alone, knowing he would be eaten. The person who has stood up for him, and has been a loyal friend. He put his dream of his father above Hassan.”I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt. That’s what I told myself as I turned my back to the alley, to Hassan. That’s what I made myself believe. I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba.” He ran for idea of a realtionship with Baba. He left the person who has put himself on the firing line for Amir repedtivly. But Amir saw this as a chance to redeem himself in Babas eyes. He hoped that winning the Kite torment would ease the guilt that Baba placed on Amirs from his mother passing in childbirth. Yet, the kite failed to fix their relationship. Materialistic objects don’t fix problems, where as Amir standing up for Hassan would of. Showing his father that he is not a coward, and he can do what is right. Amir ran for that alley with weights of guilt. This short moment left Amir with inescapable guilt. The one choice he made in his youth still haunts him for the last twenty-six years. It took only one descion, one moment for his life to change forever. From then one he will carry that choice with him and the guilt that comes with it. This just shows how quickly your life can change. it took a matter of second for Amirs life to be turned upside down by his guilt. It was one decision, one moment.

Amir guil thas beeen following him since the alley way. He is now unable to be in the same room without the fear of a panick attack. He can’t sleep or eat. His guilt has consumed his life. The guilt and seeing Hassan becaomes to much to bare, so he tries to run from it. Planting the money and watch under his matterice, was a choice drivin by his guilt. “I lifted Hassan’s mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it. I waited another thirty minutes. Then I knocked on Baba’s door and told what I hoped would be the last in a long line of shameful lies.” He again made the selfish descion. He wanbted to keep the faced which Amir and Baba shared. He didn’t demolish what him and Baba had. Eventhough their realtion ship was crubling he ddint want to swing the wrecking ball. he still longs for his father. “There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft. When you kill a man, you steal a life… you steal his wife’s right to a husband, rob his children of a ather. When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness… there is no act more wretched than stealing.” Amir is contiues to take things from Hassan, his home, the truth and . Amir is drowning and guilt and only sees two ways to live. Amir could come clean and face the concquences. he can either get rid of hassan, run from his guilt. Amir choose the last one because he is afraid if Baba knew what he had done, he would never forgive him. He need to either tell the truth which and face the concequences, or he can put another nail into Hassan coffin. Amir hurts Hassan again.This guilt has shaped his actions and his self worth. Guilt moldes him actions. Amir is so overwhelmed by his emotions that all he want to do is exacpe. He can’t because his guilt is apart of him. It is crippling him. It drives Amir to makes the same mistake again. Guilt can force you hand. when it becaomes to strong and overwhelms you. You can fix it by either seeking out redemtion and making it right. Or you can hide, and run from it. Destroying all that is good around you. You have a choice and even if you try to hide your guilt will still be stuck with you. It can either cripple you or create you.