The Theme Of Redemption In The Reluctant Fundamentalist And The Kite Runner
Rahim Khan’s statement “there is a way to be good again”, signals the beginning of Amir’s journey for redemption in The Kite Runner. It can be argued that The Reluctant Fundamentalist is also a novel about redemption with Changez seeking redemption for pursuing the American dream whilst the U.S was treating the people of his country with disrespect. The complexity behind their motivations for redemption partially results from their childhood experiences: early self-esteem issues in Amir, stem from the rejection of his father and self-imposed guilt about the death of his mother at childbirth. He projects his feelings of insecurity onto Hassan, involving feelings of envy and jealousy towards his best friend also his half-brother, whereas Changez’s childhood was caring, compassionate loving and literary. As a child, Amir’s cowardice disappointed Baba who believes “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything”. He believes Baba hates him because he killed his wife and should have “the decency to have turned out a little more like him” whereas Baba was a confident, courageous and successful man. Amir grew up fearful and insecure as a child but was able to overcome these drawbacks. He battles with the idea of betrayal further into the novel and as a way of 'redeeming' himself, aims to make Baba proud, yet is constantly faced with the fact that his personality and behaviour shares no similarity to Baba’s. His strengths lie in the areas that Baba doesn’t find important or worthy. Amir’s motivation for his search for redemption goes back to his abandoning of Hassan; the rape by Aseef and his subsequent handling of the incident - “I ran because I was a coward”. He also decides in this moment that he is willing to sacrifice his relationship with Hassan in return for Baba's love. Similarly Changez exchanges Pakistan and his heritage in return for the American dream, attempting “to act and speak [...] more like an American”, in order to fit in and feel confident about his identity. It could be argued that Changez was oblivious of his betrayal as he only comes to the realisation of his actions and their consequences later in the novel in contrast to Amir who made a conscious decision to betray Hassan - “the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba;”. The metaphor has a culturally violent reference as the idea of slaying a lamb as a form of sacrifice is a part of Islamic culture. He is hesitant about making the sacrifice but will go through with it if he has to because of actions based on his underlying jealousy and envy. His justification was “He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?”.
As they were treated as inferior and alienated by Pashtuns, Hazaras are considered outsiders in their own country and have been an ongoing object of persecution throughout history. In the late 1900s Shias in central Afghanistan were ordered to be killed, leaving tens of thousands of Hazaras dead and the survivors sold as slaves. They were systematically discriminated against by Pashtuns and others during the Afghan pre-war periods, making Hassan a victim. The fact that he is also illiterate, again socially places him below Amir, resulting in this prejudiced view. Amir is unable to cope with the guilt and tension and therefore premeditatedly frames Hassan. As a result, for most of the novel, Amir attempts to “deal with his guilt by avoiding it” It is not until Rahim Khan calls Amir for him to return to Kabul and finally deal with his guilt that Amir comes to the realisation that Rahim Khan is also aware of the incident and its implications. The Soviet Union intervening in support of the Afghan communist government in its conflict with anti-communist Muslim guerrillas caused terror and violence in Kabul. Driven away from their home, Amir and Baba’s cultural roots are ripped up and replaced with freer western values. Amir described America as “a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past.” He claimed he could wade into this metaphorical river letting his “sins drown to the bottom and let the waters carry [him] someplace with no ghosts, no memories, and no sins”. The river symbolises a boundary between civilization, America and those outside of it, Afghanistan. Rivers are also often associated with fertility and passage of time, resembling the start of what may be a fresh new life away from war, “ghosts”, “memories” and “sin”. While Baba is distraught at having to leave his beloved home, Amir feels almost relieved to be away from the place full of his past betrayals. Hassan is associated with his cleft lip, a symbol of a lost, happier past while Amir is still battling his guilt and self-hatred, therefore aching to adapt to the western culture of America and its fast-paced society. Coming to terms with Baba’s death, Amir realises “ how much of who I was, what I was, had been defined by Baba and the marks he had left on people’s lives”. Baba was his only guide in life but when Baba passed, he “couldn’t show [Amir] the way anymore” and he would now need to find redemption on his own. Amir has spent his life trying to 'redeem' himself to Baba, and now that goal is no longer achievable, he must become as his own moral compass and guide, redeeming himself alone. Amir’s need for redemption is referred to frequently throughout the second half of the novel, as he tries to take action of his own. One critic argues that “When Amir finds out about Baba's betrayal of Ali (and subsequent betrayal of Hassan), he realizes that everything he thought he knew and understood about his father was false. And Amir himself feels betrayed”. He realises that his “loyal friend” was actually his brother. Throughout his childhood he felt insecure yet now that Baba’s great sin and betrayal in sleeping with Ali’s wife has come to light, maybe the two are very similar, adding a new layer of complexity. How could he now forgive his father? It's also suggested that all of Baba's generosity and charity work was done as his own form of redemption for his betrayal of Ali.
When returning to Kabul, we can see Amir’s coming of age as, both Amir and Changez return to their homeland in Afghanistan and Pakistan in order to find their redemption during two different dangerous periods of war. To do so, Changez lectures on anti-americanism and reclaims his true Pakistani identity and culture. Amir saves Hassan’s son, Sohrab which now has more of a significance as he now recognises the similarities between his own life and his father's. In the events of the novel, time seems almost repetitive; as the past is always returning to the present, and the present seems to imitate the past. Changez’s quest for redemption starts in Chapter Ten, after releasing his “last gasp” of loyalty to the United States. This allows the reader to understand the full depth of Changez’s adoption into his new country and culture and to apprehend the profundity of his hardship and rejection by America and its people. Similarly Amir’s quest for redemption starts halfway through the novel with Amir taking a plane to Kabul, risking his life to bring Sohrab back with him to the U.S. Hamid and Hosseini share the same intention of creating a backstory for the characters’ redemptions. Hosseini aims for the reader to truly understand the character relationships along with the feelings and emotions tied into them. He also allows the reader to understand the entanglement of Amir’s betrayal and guilt and later on his heroic actions on his journey towards redemption. For the majority of the novel Changez is oblivious to America’s patriotism. It is not until he reflects back on his early life in the U.S that he realises patriotism is a hidden subject in his education at Princeton. Students across the United States and around the world are taught to love America, live in America after they graduate and to be of service to American companies. After 9/11 he witnesses an increase in patriotic obsession in the U.S which has an impact on Changez directly as they share a malevolence towards non-Americans like Changez himself. Amir’s memories of his past wrongdoings are repeated during his time in San Francisco through the symbolism of kites and dreams. America’s way of putting things right was by going to war and by expressing malevolence to non-americans like Changez himself. In contrast Changez’s response to violence after returning to Pakistan, is by giving non-violent anti-America lectures. In The Kite Runner prejudice is seen through the treatment of Hazaras while In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, prejudice and racism are shown through stereotyping Middle Eastern and Pakistani people as dangerous and terrorists. The attack meant that those stereotypes were heavily generalised whereas before the attack, early in the novel when Changez’s friends at Princeton were making jokes about 'world domination' around the table. He then attempts to joke about being a brutal dictator saying he’d “hoped one day to be the dictator of an Islamic republic with nuclear capability” His peers appeared to be “shocked” and Changez was “forced” to explain that he had been joking. The fact that his peers don't laugh, suggests that his joke hits a little too close to home, as in they really do think of Middle Easterners in those stereotypical terms and therefore, find the joke alarming. Changez’s aim had been to make fun of himself, alluding to the American stereotypes. “Erica alone smiled” unlike his other peers, as she seemed to understand his sense of humour which seems to suggest, in Changez's mind, that she 'understands' him. Racism and fundamentalism plays a big part in the novel. Changez himself even becomes confused about his own identity. In his new life in New York City, he is proud of his Pakistani heritage and yet deeply ashamed of it. He is aware that he is 'different' from the people around him: his skin is darker, his accent is uncommon. He feels inferior, since his country is poor and underdeveloped. He has been forced to think of himself as a representative and spokesperson for his culture, educating the Americans that Pakistan had a great history with “cities that were laid out on grids and boasted underground sewers”.
As a part of his mission to justify his own country as a form of redemption, he acts as if he is almost an ambassador for Pakistan, striving to succeed in New York City in order to prove that Pakistan isn't as backwards or a 'barbaric' nation that Americans consider it to be. The collapse of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001 is a turning point in the novel. Changez “smiled” after watching footage of the twin towers collapsing. He admits his reaction may come across as “despicable” as he describes himself to be “remarkably pleased.” He has built up a lot of hatred for the United States; a critic commented that 'Changez never seeks a fixed identity based on his ethnicity or culture” which I don’t agree with as throughout his life in the U.S we can see he's tried hard to fit in with his American peers, even attempting to imitate their obnoxious western privilege, yet he always secretly resented them as well as himself for trying to be like them. When returning to Pakistan, he seeks a new identity based on his Pakistani culture and anti-americanism. With the collapse of the Twin Towers, Changez realizes how much he's come to resent his adopted country, in all its arrogant, pompous supremacy. For Changez, 9/11 seems to solve the injustice that the U.S. has brought by regularly bombing foreign countries, murdering women and children, excusing the trauma and violence as 'necessary evils.' He is not pleased to see women and children die because of the attack, but are pleased to witness poetic justice, punishing America for its war crimes. He also shows the irony of America constantly murdering foreigners at war with little or no remorse and now America is suddenly faced with 3,000 of its own citizens being murdered by foreigners. Changez manipulates his audience by making the Stranger as uncomfortable as possible through his description of his reaction to 9/11. To shock and enrage the Stranger as well as the novel’s readers may also act as a way to confirm that the Stranger is an American. Hamid reminds the reader that the story is a flashback by constantly returning the setting back to the cafe in Lahore. “The purpose of the structural choice: is to show the need for reflection, tolerance and understanding between “strangers”. Both must show a willingness to drop their defences and fears”. It shows his tolerance of Americanism in the present, being represented by the American stranger. During his time working in South America, Changez realises how 'blind' he's been to the realities of his new life in America. When striving to satisfy his financial ambitions for the future, “no thought was given to the critical personal and political issues that affect one’s emotional present”. At this point in the novel, Changez’s “blinders were coming off” as he experienced a “sudden broadening arc of vision.” Working for the firm, Changez is told to 'focus on the fundamentals.' He’s interpreted the statement to mean he should concentrate on the pay of his assignments, rather than how he may affect people and their lives when he puts them out of business. 'Focus on the fundamentals' is a phrase said to subdue employees' empathy towards others, which is presented as a distraction of good business. The emphasis on fundamentals resembles Changez trying to let go of his Pakistani heritage and dedicating himself to his work and his career ambitions, he’d hoped to have moved beyond his race and heritage and prove himself a 'true American'. Changez realises how foolish and narrow-minded Underwood Samson and the U.S (who by no consequence share the same initials) can be. Instead of concealing his heritage and looking down on other people less fortunate than himself, he decides to embrace his Pakistani roots and express his sympathy for the poor and suffering.
Changez is now reluctant to focus on the fundamentals, hence the title of the book. His epiphany represents a key step in his coming of age: the moment when he stops obeying a master and begins to make his own choices in life. Violence is a significant theme throughout both texts, Assef raping Hassan and then in his adult life joining the Taliban, terrorising masses of innocent people, constantly practising his cruel sadistic behaviour during the the soviet invasion. “The novel puts a human face to the painful history of cultural and political conflict between the Pashtun and Hazara ethnic groups, along with the Taliban's rise to power”. Personally I don't believe that Hassan is the physical representation of the 'painful history' or 'cultural and political conflict' because Hassan alone can not represent an entire ethnic group of people who share different experiences and emotions towards these subjects. Hassan does not allow racist comments to affect him, which is not a typical reaction towards racism. Hassan cannot resemble an entire ethnic group as he is only a child. It would be hard for him to fully comprehend any racist remarks or understand why people envy the Hazaras and understand their 'painful history'. The terrorist attack of 9/11 presents the effects of violence on both Americans and non-Americans. The relationship between Changez and Erica is ironic as any possibility of a serious relationship between them no longer exists as she experiences a deterioration in her mental health and gains an obsession over her nostalgia for Chris. Given that Hamid has symbolised Erica as America throughout his novel, his love for Erica suggests that he still has love for America, even after the character-building experiences he has experienced. It could be argued that although he shows bitterness toward the American stranger, he may still have some respect and admiration for him. In the final paragraph of the novel, Hamid forces the reader to judge and stereotype Changez and the Stranger. Changez acknowledges that the Stranger is reaching into his jacket, and pulling out an unknown object reflecting a glint of metal and then suggests it’s the stranger’s business card holder. However, the reader may interpret the object to be a gun. In the same moment a dangerous-looking man is running toward the Stranger, who may or not be about to murder the stranger.
Hamid makes it impossible for the reader to be certain whether the Stranger is holding a gun, or whether Changez is about to murder the stranger. His explanation of the situation is suspicious as his sudden change in behaviour allows the reader to interpret that Changez must be hiding something. Yet the dark undertones of his speech do not imply that he's planning to hurt anyone. It could be interpreted he's willing to sacrifice himself for the Pakistani cause, or perhaps his aim is to humiliate the stranger. The end of Hamid's novel forces the reader to pick sides based on whether or not Changez and the Stranger can be trusted, imposing their own prejudice views and personal perception on South-East Asians and Americans. Both novels differ in terms of how successful each character is in finding their redemption. Full redemption is impossible in both their circumstances. Amir could be said to be more successful as he did not allow the fact that Hassan had passed away, come between him and his redemption. He managed to save Hassan’s son, Sohrab, in the dangerous conditions that Kabul was in at the time, risking his life in order to make up for his wrong doings. He takes in Sohrab as if he were his own son which fills the gap of Amir and Soraya not being able to have children. On the other hand Changez aimed to redeem himself by returning to Pakistan and becoming a lecturer of anti-American politics after chasing the American dream, which had been a betrayal to both his heritage and his country, considering how much the U.S exploited him and his people post 9/11.
