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Baylee Hayes
Mrs. Rutan
AP Literature and Composition
10 December 2013

Atoning Kite Runner
Have you ever made a really BIG mistake, a huge oopsie? And no matter what you do it seems
like you cant fix it or even stop thinking about it? Mistakes happen. People are human they forgive, but
if you dont find a way to ever repay for your sinsthey never forget. Fortunately, most of the time, no
matter how immense your slip-up is; you can ask for forgiveness but other times you cant. Author
Khaled Hosseini and director Joe Wright both show us attempts of redemption it their pieces The Kite
Runner and Atonement. While the obvious differences being that Hosseini wrote a novel and Wright
directed a movie, both works complement each other with similar characters, reoccurring themes, and
plot ideas. Both creators make their audiences think twice about their actions due to the fact they might
not realize the entire outcome, which creates an excellent parallel for the book and movie.
The Kite Runner and Atonement have obvious comparisons, the clearest being the connections
between each protagonist. We see these resemblances in the beginning of the movie when Briony
immediately seeks her mother after completing her play, being infatuated with her mothers likeliness
of her work. We can easily compare this to how Amir seeks approval from Baba, his father, in everything
he doesespecially when he wins his kite fight in chapter seven. Both Briony and Amir are aspiring
writers; however, despite obvious physical connection, their emotional aspects are similar too.
Theyre both selfish.
Theyre both immature.
Theyre both inconsiderate
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We see this at the end of chapter seven in Hosseninis piece when Amir says, In his arms, I
forgot what Id done [watch Hassan get sexually assaulted]. And that was good (Hosseini, 79). He
doesnt care that he just let his only friend get sexually assaulted; he only cares about his feelings at the
time. Amir is completely oblivious at how thoughtless his actions were, and he will only realize them
when he is older. These same traits can be viewed in Wrights movie when Briony deliberately lies,
saying Robbie was the one to rape Lola, opposed to the actual criminalPaul Marshall. You really are
exposed to her immaturity because she doesnt see the severity of her actions, nor does she realize the
consequences that are going to bring later on.
Along with similar characters, The Kite Runner and Atonement both carry very similar themes
that are reoccurring: jealousy and redemption.
Jealousy is the very first thing you are introduced to in the movie when you see Briony acting
very sultry in front of Robbie by leaning against the wall and showing off her legs. She gets so upset
when he gives Ceciliaher older sistermore attention than her. She is so envious of her older sister
that ultimately it leads her to lie to keep Robbie away from her. These similar ideas of jealousy causing
ruthless behavior can also be found in The Kite Runner. When Baba gives Hassan surgery for his cleft lip,
Amir is furious that his fatherwho he desperately wants affection fromis giving any sort of attention
to a Hazara (servant boy). Amir tries to bury his feelings; however, they resurface when he asks, Baba,
have you ever thought about getting new servants? (Hosseini, 89). When Baba refuses Amir takes
actions into his own hands and stuffs his birthday money and watch in Hassans mattress forcing them
to move away. Both of these actions from Briony and Amir are very rash and you can clearly see the lack
of thought behind them by the way the try to make up for it for the rest of their lives.
Redemption. Amir and Briony have done terrible things and they realize it later in life, so they
try to make up for it. They try atoning their sins. Briony, out of repentance to her sister for throwing
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he lover Robbie into jail, becomes a nurse just like Cecelia. She then writes a novel telling the absolute
truth about what had happened that night when Lola was rapedexcept its not enough. Robbie and
Cecilia both die before Briony can ever actually apologize and ask for their forgiveness. Death creates
the same issue for Amir. Amir is unable to ever actually repay for his sins, because Hassan dies before
Amir can apologize. You see his attempts at redemption by the way he saves SohrabHassans son
from Assef and the way he takes Sohrab into his family as if he were his own son. The attempts were
there, however Amirs redemption was never fully achieved because he could never face Hassan.
I could go on for days about the differences between Joe Wrights movie and Khaled Hosseinis
novel but its the similarities that are striking. After viewing the two pieces, you would think that Wright
and Hosseini worked together in achieving parallels for each other. Even though this is not the case,
both are excellent in achieving another point of view. Khaled Hosseini and Joe Wright make their
audiences think twice about their actions due to the fact they might not realize the entire outcome,
which creates an excellent parallel for the book and movie.