There is a symbol that enters at the end of the thirteenth chapter and that is the symbol of a child. A child symbolizes the potential possibilities of the future. Also, it symbolizes innocence and transformation of the individual. When a male has his first child it is said that he become a "new man."
After marrying Soraya, Amir and her try for four years to have a child. They try many in-vitro fertilization processes along with anything they can think of because they want to have a child so bad. In the end they get a report from the doctor who informs them that they are infertile and an unexplained case. Therefore, the "absence" of a child in the lives of Soraya and Amir is the absence of everything that a child symbolizes. Relating to the book of Job, God is the ultimate judge and he rewards and punishes but he also forgives. Amir sees the "infertility" of his marriage as a punishment from God due to what he had failed to do in the past. Amir held this secret so deep within him that he never told his wife nor his father before he died.Therefore, God inflicted a punishment upon Amir to teach him a lesson and send a message that Amir still has a duty to fulfill.
This is very true. Perhaps Amir is punished for not fixing his sins back home in Afghanistan. But, later on in the novel, Amir goes back home and fixes the problems. He suffers pain, is in the hospital, loses his 2nd father, struggles to find his nephew and even loses his homeland. Through all of this, Amir was given Sohrab. He brings this child home to his wife Soraya. Although at first he isn't the ideal child, things will eventually work out.
ReplyDeleteThe moral of the story is, although God may punish you, he will always reward you in some form or another. This also reminds us that there is always an opportunity to repent our sins.