I'm not so sure that Rahim Khan is able to help his old friend
Baba find redemption, but he certainly supplies the secret that helps Amir redeem himself in
The Kite Runner. Amir's guilt over the betrayal of his servant/friend Hassan
continues to haunt him even after Baba's death. But when Rahim Khan summons Amir to Pakistan for
a visit, he provides Amir with the information that can ease his conscience. Rahim reveals Baba's
greatest secret: Hassan is not Ali's son, but Baba's; Hassan is Amir's half-brother.
Additionally, Hassan's son, Sohrab, is still alive and living somewhere in Afghanistan. Although
Hassan is now dead, Amir knows that finding Sohrab and providing him with a safe passage through
war-torn Afghanistan will make things right again. Amir accomplishes his mission, returning with
the troubled Sohrab back to America where he welcomes him as part of his family: Sohrab, Amir's
nephew, becomes the son that he and wife Soraya were unable to produce
themselves.
Rahim had long tried to help Baba see the positive side
of Amir's nature, but the stubborn Baba was not easy to convince. Rahim continued to live in
Baba's house in the hope that he could one day return it to his friend, but Baba's death
prevented this from happening. So, with Rahim's own death looming, he made the conscious decision
to reveal Baba's secrets to the young friend he had always encouraged. Though Baba took his
secret to the grave, Rahim knew that revealing Hassan's true heritage--and the knowledge about
Sohrab--would create a motive to free Amir from his personal
demons.
During his phone call to Amir in California, Rahim tells him
to
Come. There is a way to be
good again.
Another
important quote occurs while Amir is taking a beating from Assef as Sohrab looks on (Chapter 22).
Amir cannot stop laughing.
"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?" Assef bellowed... What was so funny was
for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace... My body was broken... but I felt
healed. Healed at
last.
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