Loss Of Innocence In The Kite Runner

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Innocence in a person is often considered to be the purest form of love and acceptance. Many children growing up in today’s world are losing their innocence at an early age, through many of the interactions and experiences they encounter. In many works of literature, the theme of the loss of innocence can be used as a tool to portray a character's life journey to maturity. In the novel The Kite Runner, by the author Khaled Hosseini, the theme of loss of innocence is shown. This novel follows the life of a wealthy Pashtun child named Amir and his poor Hazara friend Hassan who is in fact his secret half brother. They are both robbed of their innocence by decisions and events that unfold as they grow up in the crumbling political, religious, and …show more content…
Amir’s loss of innocence can be seen to completely disappear when the circumstances and secrets about his life begin to unfold. The lies that surface about Amir’s past can be seen to affect him greatly. Even at 38 years old, Amir can be seen to discover secrets that have impacted his life without his knowledge. Amir returns to Kabul the city he grew up in after the war in Afghanistan to search for Hassan. His journey into Kabul and the surrounding areas can be seen to have brought back symptoms of his guilt that he has as a child. On his taxi ride to visit Rahim Khan, an old dying family friend, the devastating sights of the torn down streets that he and Hassan roam trigger his car sickness. As Rahim Khan begins speaking to Amir about his life Hassan's name is mentioned and, he tells him that Hassan came back to live with Rahim khan in Amir’s old house to help him take care of it. It can be seen that Amir is uncomfortable still carrying this guilt for many years: “Those thorny old babrs of guilt bore into me once more, as if speaking his name had broken a spell, set them free to torment me anew” (Hosseini 212). It is when secrets begin to surface about Amir’s life that he truly begins to lose the little innocence that he keeps. Amir finds out that even after all of these years, Hassan still chooses to move into the hut behind Amir’s mansion as a sign of respect for Amir. This of course breaks Amir’s heart showing him that Hassan's stubborn loyalty never faded. Hassan has even wore black for forty days when he hears the news about Amir’s father’s death. Amir is then handed a letter written by Hassan. This letter spoke about Hassan's life and how he grew up all those years without Amir. Hassan has married and has conceived a child named Sohrab. Amir’s loss of innocence can be seen to completely shatter when he finds out that Hassan is murder in his old home
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