Amir is full of regret after everything that happened to Hassan. However, Baba was very proud of Amir for winning the kite tournament. Unfortunately, Amir's guilt over Hassan made it impossible to enjoy his father’s pride over him. The event was haunting him and preventing him from enjoying his win to the fullest. On page 86, when everyone is sleeping Amir said, “I watched Hassan get raped,' to no one and hoped that someone would wake up and hear, so he would not have to live with the lie anymore. (kilde). His desire to be punished for what he did was quite distinct in the scene where Hassan and Amir meet beside the pomegranate tree as usual. He looked for physical pain to lessen his regrets, and he did this by hitting Hassan with rotten pomegranates hoping Hassan would hit him back. Instead, Hassan hit himself and left Amir more burdened than ever. This ended up being the most important incident in the novel, which left Amir with internal self-hatred and regret for the next 20 years of his life. The pomegranate tree was originally a happy place for the both of them and symbolized how strong their friendship was. However, after the incident, it got a new meaning.
After Afghanistan was invaded by the Soviet army the readers witness the destruction of what was once a beautiful country. Amir and Baba flee to America, and for Amir, this is his chance to put his past 7000 miles behind him, but it all comes back as he gets an unexpected call from Rahim Khan. He told him he had to come back home and make up for his wrongdoings. “There is a way to be good again”, he said to Amir at the start of the novel (page 2) This means that there is a way for Amir to finally atone for his past wrongdoings and redeem himself. Rahim Khan wants to tell Amir that Hassan was his half-brother, and then inform him about Sohrab's, Hassan’s son, situation with the Taliban. Amir agreed to save him and later traveled to Kabul, which was occupied by the Taliban. However, the one who took Sohrab happened to be Assef, Amir and Hassan's childhood bully. Assef agreed to give up Sohrab on one condition; he had to fight with Assef. Amir agreed, and Assef beat him up using his brass knuckles. However, instead of panicking, running, or crying he started laughing while Assef was beating him. This is an important symbol. On page 303 Amir thought, 'What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975 I felt at peace. I laughed because I saw that, in some nook in the corner of my mind, I had been looking forward to this.'(kilde). During the fight, Amir felt as if he finally got what he deserved after hurting Hassan and for the first time in over twenty years, he felt at peace with himself. By finally standing up for himself and someone he cared about, he could finally redeem himself and make up for his past wrongdoings.
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After all those years spent being jealous of Hassan, regretting hurting his best friend, bearing the burden of his mother’s death, and trying to win his father's approval, he finally managed to redeem himself. His first step to redemption, was when he agreed to travel to Afghanistan to save Sohrab. He stood up as a way of apologizing and seeking forgiveness from Hassan. Later, Amir finally fulfills his desire to be punished, which results in him laughing. For the first time, all his burdens were removed, and he finally was at peace with himself. In addition, the fight resulted in many injuries, including a cleft lip. This cleft lip was a symbol for Hassan. In a sense, Hassan's identity merged with Amir as he got the cleft lip. For the first time in his life, he stood up for himself and fought to protect Sohrab, instead of fleeing or backing down in moments of danger. Furthermore, Amir became a great father figure for Sohrab, when Hassan did not get the chance to. Near the end, Amir participated in a kite running for the first time since the day Hassan got raped. Amir put himself in the “servant position” and ran the kite himself, instead of making a Hazara do it for him. The kite no longer symbolized Amir's guilt, instead, it acted as a reminder of his childhood. It became a way for him to connect with Sohrab, mirroring the kite’s role in Amir’s relationship with Baba. “For you, a thousand times over”, he said as he ran the kite for Sohrab, also mirroring Hassan and Amir's relationship. (page 340)
In conclusion, Amir made many mistakes throughout his life. Some of them are letting his jealousy take over, not helping his best friend in need, not standing up for himself and the people he cares about, and running away from his problems. However, running away from his past only made it worse and everything finally caught up with him. To redeem and make up for his mistakes, he went to Afghanistan to save Hassan's son. From that moment on, he learned to finally stand up for himself and to face his fears and problems, something he was not able to do earlier.
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