The Kite Runner ~ redemption

"It was only a smile, nothing more. It didn't make everything all right. It didn't make anything all right. Only a smile. A tiny thing. A leaf in the woods, shaking in the wake of a startled bird's flight. But I'll take it. With open arms. Because when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the first flake melting" (page 371).

This ending passage of the book presents a sense of hope. Hope is something that has often been missing throughout the story. It shows a moment of redemption when Amir finally seems to have achieved inner peace again. He has spent the whole book trying to redeem himself after letting down Hassan all those years ago. Just a simple smile from Sohrab has given Amir new hope for a happy future. The obvious theme of the book is redemption. Being able to care for and to make Hassan's son happy is Amir's way of making up for his lack of loyalty to Hassan in their childhood. The ending of the book is not necessarily happy, but it is redeeming. A book filled with so much sadness is finally brought to a close with new hope.