Rahim Khan’s comment, “There is a way to be good again,” hints at how Rahim knew, in some way, that Amir was suffering from the guilt of betraying Hassan. This is significant for us, the reader, as the only people who knew about the rape and the lie about the theft was Amir, Hassan, and Ali. It is a big revelation when Rahim Khan, a close figure to Baba, Amir, and Hassan, knew all along. This call to action can be taken in many different ways, the phrase, “There is a way to be good again,” can be viewed as Amir’s redemption for what he did to Hassan, but it can also be viewed as Baba’s debt to Hassan, which we learn in later chapters.
Amir is envious of Soraya and her ability to divulge secrets of her past as Amir desires to divulge secrets of his own past with someone else. This reveals that, despite the events happening over a decade ago, Amir is still harboring guilt for his actions.
Half a year ago, my siblings and I went to a park and climbed on top of the seesaw; my brother and I on either side of the seesaw and my sister right in the middle. As we began to play, my sister started to sway back and forth. At first, it was enjoyable. She laughed at the way the see saw hoisted her up and tilted her head in both directions, but as we went faster and faster, her head started to snap forwards and backwards in an almost violent manner. Her laughs turned into howls of terror and soon, she was balling. When my mother come over, she gazed into my eyes with a look of disappointment and frustration. Impulsively, I pointed to my brother and said that he was the one going fast and that he was the one who didn’t stop the see saw. My mother, unmoved, scolded me, a seventeen year old, in front of everyone else in the park. She looked right through my lie, and that taught me, rather unfortunately, about the immediate repercussions of lying.
Photo taken shortly before the incident
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