The Kite Runner
The overflow of mistakes in this world can only be soothed by one thing: forgiveness. In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini tells a raw and vivid story about a boy named Amir who wrongs a servant named Hassan by remaining a bystander while Hassan is raped. Because of his guilt, Amir goes through rough times and begins to develop psychological problems. Like other novels, The Kite Runner has a theme, a message from the author to the readers. By using Amir, his wife’s life story, and Hassan, Hosseini sends a message about the importance of forgiveness – not only forgiveness on the part of the wronged party, but the importance of forgiving oneself for past mistakes.
Hosseini shows his readers how painful it is to not be forgiven by oneself through Amir’s regret at not saving Hassan. The guilt and disgust Amir has for himself is seen when he says, "[a monster] had grabbed Hassan by the ankles, dragged him to the murky bottom. I was that monster” (Hosseini 86). With this quotation, we see that Amir feels that Hassan’s experience was Amir’s fault even though he wasn’t the offender. Rather than it being Hassan that isn't forgiving, it is Amir who can’t forgive himself. Hassan is willing to go through this circumstance for Amir and still be loyal to him after but Amir can't rest and goes through pain knowing that he did wrong as he says, “that was the night I became an insomniac.” (Hosseini 86) In this circumstance, we see how not being forgiven causes suffering and guilt and how much pain can be prevented by forgiving oneself.
The House on Mango Street
Authors may not consciously set out to convey a message to readers when they sit down to write their novels; however, readers and English teachers seem to want to figure out what a book actually means. What is the take away lesson? What is the point? In her novel, The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros never directly tells readers the point in relating Esperanza Cordero’s coming of age story. It is left to us to figure it out. Set in the barrio of Chicago, the book is written as a series of vignettes that begin when young Esperanza’s family first moves into their very own house on Mango Street, and the book ends when the teen-aged Esperanza makes up her mind to have “A House of [Her] Own.” Through Esperanza’s hardships – friendships broken, hearts disappointed, innocence shattered – one message becomes clear to readers. Cisneros suggests that no matter what a person’s race or ethnicity, gender or social class, he or she has the power to shape a life of meaning and importance. With determination and will power, almost anything is possible. We see this message conveyed in the chapter “A Smart Cookie” when Esperanza’s mother discusses why she dropped out of school, later we see it in “Minerva Writes Poems,” and finally, in the last vignette “Mango Street Says Goodbye Sometimes” when Esperanza makes the decision to chase her dream and leave Mango Street.
Becoming someone you’re proud to be takes courage. Late in the book, as Esperanza is growing into a young woman, her mother tells her, “I could’ve been somebody . . . Shame is a bad thing, you know. It keeps you down. You want to know why I quit school? Because I didn’t have nice clothes. No clothes, but I had brains” (91). In sharing her regrets about her past, Esperanza’s mother encourages her daughter to never let shame stand in the way of her daughter’s dreams. She knows Esperanza is like her – a smart cookie – but the embarrassment of being poor and coming from a “bad” neighborhood can make a person feel small and shameful. This, in turn, can thwart ambition. Cisneros suggests that what makes a person a success is not whether their shoes are new, or their clothes are worn, but what they have to offer the world. Cisneros shows us Esperanza putting shame and embarrassment aside to rise above tough circumstances. She will venture out into the world to follow her dream of being a writer and helping the people stuck on Mango Street.