Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
English 1B
Kite Runner Essay
2/21/07
assume that sins of a society are based on their own theology. In essence, sins are not sins unless
your society believes they are. Because each culture or society in the world revolves around its
own theological structure, a universal definition of sin is difficult to formulate. In The Kite
Runner, Baba, the main character’s father introduces the idea that there is a universal definition
of sin when he warns his son, Amir, that “there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft, every
other sin is a variation of theft.” (Hosseini 17). To help display this concept, author Khaled
Hosseini utilizes three sins: murder, lust and greed to convey the correlation between all sins and
Considering that the definition of theft is the stealing of ones property, and you believe
killing someone is stealing their life; murder would then be characterized as a form theft. To
better understand the correlation, Baba explains to Amir “When you kill a man, you steal a life,
you steal his wife’s right to a husband, rob his children of a father.”(Hosseini 18). Here, Baba
makes his point clear that murder can be described as a derivative of theft. The effects of or the
outcome of a murder is what defines it as theft. Hosseini represents murder with the character
Assef, a violent predator the author introduces early in the book. Assef admits, through Amir’s
depiction, that his mission is “Stoning adulterers? Raping children? Flogging women for wearing
high heels? Massacring Hazaras? All in the name of Islam?”(Hosseini 284). Assef is admitting
that in his culture it is alright to murder if it is in the name of Islam. After all the incidents
between Amir and Assef we really understand that Assef is the most atrocious villain in the
novel; he has no problem committing the universal sin of theft, that of stealing a life. The
mindless killing of thousands that Assef commits represents the pure insanity of a person’s
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culture or society, because they believe it is okay to kill for a greater cause or theology. This
example proves that because something is thought to be acceptable in one culture,it is not at all
accepted universally. Assef’s ethnic cleansing attempts are direct attempts to steal an entire
To further understand the concept of theft we must understand what the concept of
property is. Property is defined as not only something owned, but the right of ownership. Baba
explains this when he says “When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth”(Hosseini
18). When Amir finds out that Hassan was his half brother, it is proven that Baba had stolen
Amir’s right to the truth throughout his entire youth. Baba’s lust for another man’s wife leads to a
lifetime of committing the universal sin of theft, because his shameful actions had to be hidden
from Afghan society. Lust may be considered a sin in Afghan culture; however in many cultures
and societies all around the world, lust is something considered to be normal and healthy. It is
not until Baba acted on his lust that his actions led to the sin of lying. Hiding the truth or denying
the right to know the truth is the universal sin of theft that is Baba commits. It can not be a sin to
think of something sinful, because a thought is not an action. Until thoughts become actions they
are still feelings and in no way can be considered sin. It is only after the act takes place that the
universal sin of theft is violated. This portrayal of the process in which Baba commits the
universal sin of theft, shows that throughout many cultures and societies thoughts considered to
be sins are not necessarily so bad, but the repercussions of those sins become a variation of theft
in some way.
The first time Amir commits the universal sin is after he makes a greedy decision because
he has become desperate for a relationship with his father. As he witnesses Hassan’s rape and
does nothing about it, he is in turn stealing Hassan’s innocence. Not directly, like Assef, but
indirectly the way someone owns the right to the truth. Amir’s greed is an example of a sin in his
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society. Amir’s greed is not the universal sin because it is not a theft for someone to desire a
relationship with their father. Amir commits the universal sin when he does nothing to stop
Assef. The correlation between greed and theft is met when one is willing to do anything to
obtain something even if they have to commit the universal sin of theft to get it. Stealing
someone’s innocence in that way is a variation of theft that is despicable in all societies and
cultures.
Hosseini depicts how greed leads to committing the universal sin by showing us how
Amir was entirely too wrapped up with having a relationship with his father to protect his friend.
Assef is portrayed as a person who has no problem killing and raping again and again. Taking
someone’s life, is a theft in all cultures. Baba represents how lust leads to withholding the truth
representing a variation of theft, because Amir never finds out he had a brother until Hassan is
dead. Hosseini is able to depict the direct correlation between all sins and theft with many
examples in his novel The Kite Runner. What the reader takes away from The Kite Runner is
that no matter what a sin is in any culture, that sin will ultimately lead to the universal sin of theft
if the person committing it does not keep their actions under control.