Spark Notes – The Search for Redemption

Another popular site that has a study guide to The Kite Runner is Spark Notes. Here’s an extract from the guide on redemption:

The Search For Redemption

Amir’s quest to redeem himself makes up the heart of the novel. Early on, Amir strives to redeem himself in Baba’s eyes, primarily because his mother died giving birth to him, and he feels responsible. To redeem himself to Baba, Amir thinks he must win the kite-tournament and bring Baba the losing kite, both of which are inciting incidents that set the rest of the novel in motion. The more substantial part of Amir’s search for redemption, however, stems from his guilt regarding Hassan. That guilt drives the climactic events of the story, including Amir’s journey to Kabul to find Sohrab and his confrontation with Assef. The moral standard Amir must meet to earn his redemption is set early in the book, when Baba says that a boy who doesn’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything. As a boy, Amir fails to stand up for himself. As an adult, he can only redeem himself by proving he has the courage to stand up for what is right.

 

Cliffs Notes – The Hunger Games

Looking for some extra notes on The Hunger Games? Try CliffsNotes – they have pages of chapter summaries and character notes. Here’s what they say about Cinna:

Cinna, Katniss’ stylist, is a young man, and this is his first Hunger Games. Katniss believes he was assigned to District 12 because of his lack of experience; Cinna, however, informs Katniss that he requested District 12. Unlike most of the other stylists, he dresses simply and chooses to highlight his looks with only a bit of makeup. He connects with Katniss almost immediately, understanding that the wasteful and luxurious ways in which the people of the Capitol live must sicken her. He has a sharp eye and knows how to style Katniss to help her win the crowd over. His first dress, the one that he sets afire with fake flames, earns Katniss her title of “girl on fire.” In stressful times, Cinna maintains a calm and level head. Before Katniss’s pre-Games interview, he tells her to pretend that she’s talking directly to him, to a friend. He is also the one who returns Katniss’ mockingjay pin to her before entering the Games. He is a true friend to Katniss and is highly skilled at presenting Katniss in just the right look, whether it’s to win an audience over, or, later, to convince the Capitol that she is a naïve and innocent young girl who acted out of the blindness of love.

Study Guide #1 – Sin and Redemption

Hopefully, some of you are revising on this wet and windy day. If you want a revision site that has a study guide to The Kite Runner try Gradesaver. Lots of notes on characters, chapters and themes. Here’s a little from the notes on theme – sin and redemption:

In The Kite Runner, redemption is so important because sin is so enduring. Amir opens the story by telling us not about how exactly he sinned, but about sin’s endurance: “… It’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out.” Hosseini uses structure to emphasize the themes of sin and redemption. Because Amir tells the story in retrospect, every memory, even the blissful ones of his childhood before the rape, are tainted with it. If the timeline of the novel was strictly chronological, we would not have the power of hindsight. Hosseini uses the first chapter almost like a thesis for the novel. As Amir retells the story of his life, he weighs each event against his sin, his betrayal of Hassan. As we learn towards the novel’s end, Amir is not the only character who needs redemption, Assef notwithstanding. Until Rahim Khan reveals Baba’s secret, Amir thinks he is the only sinner among his family and friends. Even before Amir betrays him, Hassan makes him feel guilty simply by being such a righteous person. Amir is constantly trying to measure up to Baba, because he does not realize that Baba is so hard on him because of his guilt over his own sin.

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