American Literature

This paper is based on Arthur Millers Death of the Salesman and will examine whether the play adheres to the edicts of Aristotle on characteristics that define a tragedy. My thesis is that the play does not fully ascribe to the requirements of a tragic play though it borrows some of the qualities of the type. Through this paper, the differences between the play and a classical tragedy will be examined and the effects on the audience will be looked at.            
Is Death of the Salesman a Tragedy as Defined by Aristotle
    Aristotle has been a major influence on Western thought and his views profoundly shaped the thinking of later scholars. In his Poetics, which is his most influential work and one of the first works to examine literary theory philosophically, Aristotle discusses his views on tragedy in literature. He details his view of the perfect tragedy, which he bases on Sophocles Oedipus the King, and gives several sections that bring about a tragedy. The characteristics that define a tragedy according to Aristotle include the plot, the character, and the feelings they inspire in the audience (Corrigan, 1990). The main feature, therefore, is that a tragedy must arouse pity and fear in the audience.
    The play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, which examines the downfall of Willy Loman who is a salesman, deviates from the Aristotelian tragedy in that some of its characteristics do not fit into his theory on tragedies. Some of its components, however, fulfill the Aristotles view and thus the play is only Aristotelian in part. In the play, Loman is infatuated by greatness and he spends most of his time fantasizing about the meaning of the American dream rather than taking action to make his life better. He slowly loses his mind whereby he attempts suicide by inhaling poisonous gas and he finally succeeds in his endeavor by crashing his car. His suicide attempt is geared towards improving his familys lifestyle when they collect his life insurance money.
    A tragedy as outlined by Aristotle should have a plot that comprises the play and should be complete, be united, have magnitude, and be imitative of its subject in the real world so that the audience can relate to it. From these qualities, Aristotle posits that the play will achieve universality in that the actions in the play rhyme with those in real life at any particular moment rather being descriptive of the particular event in the play. The plot of the tragedy, according to Aristotle, should be such that the beginning of the story produces the incentive to draw the audience into the play while the middle part is the climax- a part where the incentives put at the beginning start to resolve or are enhanced by further action. The climax, which contains the greatest tension, is built from previous events in the play and is finally brought to an end by the resolution. The resolution brings about catharsis in the audience, which is a quality that defines the fact that at the end of the play, the audience should gain something from the whole.
    The plot is especially important in that the story is told through it and thus its quality, and the way in which it is related to the audience, should aim at bringing about a resolution that will educate the audience rather than inspire indifference. The plot could be simple or complex with the simple one only having a change of fortune for the main character. The complex resolution is one in which the change of fortune is accompanied by recognition, reversal, or both. Recognition is a situation in which the character discovers something which arouses either love or hate in another character or object. On the other hand, reversal is a change of action from its intended direction into another. The predictions of the audience are therefore turned around by the play and the surprise that arises enhances the resolution of the play (Corrigan, 1990).    
     In the play Death of the Salesman, the plot follows the edicts of Aristotle for a tragedy. The beginning introduces the audience to the characters with the Loman family being shown to be dysfunctional in that the ideals instilled in the sons Biff and Hap do not seem to induce happiness in their father. Willy Loman tells his sons that a business career and being liked, both of which he boasts to have, are the ingredients of success even though he does not seem happy with them. This is especially shown in Biff who enjoys working at a ranch but does not feel he has achieved anything great. Willys view that looking good and being liked constitute success is best personified by his remark that he constantly thanks god for his sons who are built like Adonises. This introduction also brings about the main theme in the play that includes illusion and reality. In addition, success and its causes and the relationships between the characters are introduced.
    The play then proceeds the middle stage where characters are further resolved. However, the telling of the story is not linear since the main character, Willy Loman, does not seem sane and his reflections and reminisces provide the other portions of the story. These explain the relationships between the characters while at the same time increasing the tension between them as more activities take place. The plays continuation is the same as Sophocles Antigone that starts with the establishment of the conflict between the characters. Polyneices is not to be buried for his acts of rebellion while his Eteocles is to be buried honorably. The conflict originates from the fact that their sister Antigone wishes to bury Polyneices against the king Creons decree. The play then proceeds to a situation where the king judges over the issue and the gods respond negatively further increasing the tension.
    The resolution stage of both the plays contains both a change of fortune and a reversal or recognition. In Antigone, though King Creon seeks to reverse his actions by releasing Antigone and burying Polyneices to avert punishment, the action cannot be carried out since both have taken their lives. Both his son Haemon, who is also Antigones fianc, and his wife also take their lives and the king comes to understand this as punishment from the gods. In death of a Salesman, The resolution comes as a change of fortune for Billy who will get the insurance money as well as the realization by Willys family that he was not liked and that being liked cannot constitute success. The plot therefore resolves itself according to the principles of Aristotle for a tragedy.
    However, Willy is not a great man in the beginning of the play though his greatness as a character could lie in the fact that he is a representative of a certain class of people in society. Therefore, the characterization of the play answers to the call for universality by Aristotle. The play fulfills this call since a situation in which an individual obeys the rules of the society does not achieve success in the society could be replicated in another setting. Willy is reduced from a sane man who receives a commission and salary and who is reduced to taking a commission only and is finally sacked. This drives him to his reactions that sink him more and more into his hallucinations (Martin, 1982).           
    Aristotle also described a tragedy as one that could trigger a reaction of pity or fear in the audience. Both Antigone and Death of the Salesman trigger these emotions in the audience in that the main characters Antigone and Willy Loman respectively meet tragic ends. Antigone, despite her noble intentions, kills herself in despair despite the fact that Creon had relented and wished to avoid being punished by the gods by fleeing her. Her death causes others including her fianc and his mother. This brings about pity for Creon who only sought to have his edict followed but whose mistakes costs him his wife and son (Corrigan, 1990).
    On the other hand, Willy Loman cuts a sorry figure in that he has not been successful all his life. He lacks knowledge in that he does not realize that looking good cannot bring success. This self-deception is aided by his wife who rationalizes some of his irrational observations and actions. The inevitable ruin of Willy elicits pity since it seems like he is doomed from the very beginning to a hard life. His delusions also serve to make him a figure to be pitied though most of the results he gets are cultivated by his own doing. In addition, in the plays conclusion, he does not gain knowledge as Creon does and is, therefore, only a partial tragic hero. Willy seems to deserve his fate if it were to be determined purely on his actions. Creon, on the other hand, does not seem to deserve his punishment since he relents and seeks to right his wrongs. Therefore, the audience is likely to feel sorry for Creon more than it does Willy whose life seems controllable if only he were to wake up from his daydreaming and take up responsibility.
    In the ideal classical tragedy, the audience feels fear or terror for the character in question. The character is involved in a scene that has a painful action or one that could destroy the character. Willy seems to invite disaster by his actions and thus his character does not elicit much pity since his repercussions are self-invited. However, in Sophocles Antigone, the character Antigone may inspire fear in the audience since she acts nobly by burying her brother. In addition, she also takes the blame and does not wish for her sisters death even though she does not support her in burying their brother. These actions endear her to the audience who take her side when she is condemned to be buried alive. Willy does not face danger that he cannot manage as opposed to Antigone who faces the wrath of the king for acting honorably against him. Therefore, the unraveling of the fate of Antigone produces fear in the audience while Willys fate seems directed towards destruction and is therefore to be expected. The fear that could be felt is also reduced by the non-linear style adopted for telling the story.
    Catharsis is the final reaction of the audience towards the play and the message it seeks to deliver (Martin, 1996). Willy in Death of the Salesman fails to bring about catharsis since he does not inspire the audience to love or hate him but rather he inspires indifference. This is because he does not get to a resolution where he would know what is responsible for his problem. His problems are only solved partially since he does not get to change his success but he succeeds in giving Biff a chance to become successful himself. His suffering, therefore, only partially fulfills the demand that the hero should purge the feelings of pity or fear. This is through justification for the actions in the play since they should equal the resolutions the hero takes. This can be contrasted to Antigone where the hero gets to die for a certain cause therefore making the cause attractive to the audience that is likely to admire her sense of resolution.    
     Therefore, the play Death of the Salesman is not really a classic tragedy as enumerated by Aristotle since it falls short on several accounts. The play does not trigger a reaction of pity or fear from the audience since Willy Loman is not a noble character like Creon or Oedipus whose intentions are good but whom fate deals a cruel hand (Driver, 1960). Though some of these characters have flaws, they do not come to the level reached by Willy since he only shows a lot of self-absorption. His only redeemable quality is his resolve to commit suicide for his familys benefit. However, this is tempered by the fact that the action could be taken as a cowardly one through which he would escape his troubles. On the other hand, the death of Antigone serves to drive the point being made home. Death of the Salesman is, therefore, not a classical tragedy but a play that borrows some of the qualities of the genre.   

Benjamin Franklin, the tenth son of Josiah Franklin and Abiah Folger was born on January 17th 1706 in Boston. His father wanted Benjamin to become a clergyman but he was not in a position of paying him school fees. Franklin liked reading so much but lack of fees made him not go to school.  Benjamin Franklin opted to help his brother James does set typing work and by the age of twelve years he could sell the products in the streets. Benjamin was one of the common prominent people who were taken as founders of United States of America. He was a well known printer, civil activist, satirist, scientist, politician, soldier, inventor, diplomat and statesman (Seavey, 124). Franklin was an icon in his many inventions and theories particularly in Physics. One of the major theories of Franklin was about electricity where by he invented lightening rod, carriage adometer and other electronic machines. He supported the idea of political system in America and he was the pioneer of public library in America and he established fire department in Pennsylvania. He used his diplomacy during a time of American Revolution where he secured French alliance that helped Americans get their independence.
The life of Benjamin Franklin
    As a young child, he had a dream of becoming a scholar in different fields and wanted to become an academician. Although his father wanted Benjamin to become a religious man, his dream never materialized because of the many year religious schools were taking. He went to school for a short period of time and at the age of twelve years he could help his brother in selling set type products. At the age of fifteen years, James his brother started printing newspapers in Boston and his first publication was New England Courant. James paper became the third in the city of Boston and it was all about opinions by his friends, advertisements and other news.  Benjamin wanted to write some articles in the paper but his brother could not allow him.
 He started writing letters during night and he could use Silence Dogood name to sign the letters. He used the name of this widow because she was a well known person and had a strong stand about how women were treated in the society. After writing the letters, Benjamin could sneak them in the printing room at night so that no person knew where the letters came from. The pieces of work were very smash and every person who read them wanted to know the real Silence Dogood. This went on for a long period of time until the sixteenth letter when Benjamin confessed that he was the author of the letters (Rider, 36). Readers praised him for his work but his brother down played the efforts of Benjamin Franklin. During this time, there was a movement formed by Protestants to fight catholic religion which they thought was not strong.
The movement was called puritan and James criticized their ideas. At the same time, an outbreak of smallpox spread in many cities and puritans did not support the idea of hospitalization but believed in inoculation. The Franklins did not support inoculation because they thought it was making people become sicker. A debate arose between people in Boston and the idea of James criticizing their views.  He was then put into jail leaving his business under the custody of his brother. When James was released from jail, he could not appreciate the work of his brother but instead he kept on harassing him. Benjamin felt so bad to be harassed by his brother for no apparent reason and opted to run away for safety. This happened in 1723 where he escaped to Philadelphia (Doren, 12).
     It was an illegal thing to run away in America but Benjamin regardless of this decided to take a boat and moved to New York. His plans were to find printing job but this was unfortunate to him. He opted to move to New Jersey but also failed to get job. His final destination was in Philadelphia where he used some amount of money he had saved to purchase some rolls for printing. He was so messy and wet when he met with Deborah Read who would become his future wife. She never thought of getting married to this odd looking man but this happened after seven years
 The governor revoked the offer making Benjamin to spend most of his time in England doing his printing job. Benjamin was living with family members of Deborah the girl who saw him arrive at Philadelphia until the time he left for London. Deborah wanted to get married to this young man but when he left for London Deborah got married to another man. He never took long time in London and when he returned to Philadelphia, he started a small shop but after a short period of time, he went back to his printing job but this time round as a helper (Franklin, Doren, 14). He was very outstanding in his job and many Philadephians noticed a difference between his work and those other printers.
He established himself in this job fully and the government could give him contracts. It was in 1728 when Benjamin fathered a baby boy named William but the mother of this child is not known. After two years, he met with his childhood friend Deborah Read and they got married. The former husband to Deborah had run away and she was now free to marry Benjamin Franklin. In addition to printing job, the couples owned a store and Deborah used to sell products ranging from minor products like soap to big items like fabrics (Goodman, Franklin, 16). They had also a bookshop that was run by Benjamin. This was the beginning of better life for Benjamin and his wife Deborah.
Work in Pennsylvania
    Benjamin Franklin was now a well known business man and he used to read newspapers. In 1729, Benjamin bought Pennsylvania Gazette which he had printed and had also contributed some articles. The paper was very popular because of its political cartoons that were produced by Benjamin himself. He became very prominent man in printing work and he organized groups that constituted young working men who were dedicated to serving the society. He also joined a movement of Masons and thus his social schedule was very tight.
     Benjamin Franklin was a dedicated man who served the civic in a good way. He came up with a project of cleaning, lighting and paving the city of Philadelphia between 1730s and 1740s. He was very sentimental when it came to protection of the environment. In 1731, he set up a public library that helped him become one of the most popular men in Philadelphia. At these times of American Revolution, books were very expensive and scarce and Benjamin thought that bringing together resources would make the books available in England at a cheap price. He learned that the people living in the city were getting sick more often and there was need of a health facility (Franklin, 19). In 1751, Franklin brought together a group of people who led to formation of Pennsylvania Hospital. The hospital, public library and society are still inexistence in America today. He further noticed that the spread of fire had become a threat to many lives of people in Philadelphia and in 1736, he formed a union to fight fire. He established Philadelphia Union Fire Company which was the first fire union in the city. Franklin saw many families were loosing a lot of property and life to fire and to compensate these individuals Benjamin fought for establishment of an insurance company to insure individuals against effects of fire. The Insurance policy is still in operation today in America (Franklin, 22).
     His business of printing was growing massively and he could afford to open branches in other cities. In 1749, he said enough was enough about printing and retired from the business. He started doing some science experiments and other inventions. This was not a new venture to Benjamin because earlier he had developed an electric stove that was used to warm houses. The stove was named after him and it was very efficient. He also invented swim fins, bifocals and musical instrument known as glass armonica. In early 1750s, Benjamin used his knowledge to study about electricity (Goodman, Franklin, 27). His first experiment was kite that he used to verify the relationship between electricity and lightening. This experiment made him to be a very popular man in the entire world.
     Benjamin Franklin was also interested in politics and in 1757, he went to England as a representative of Pennsylvania who fought over who should represent the colony. He remained in England until 1775 and all this time he was the colonial representative of Georgia, Massachusetts and New Jersey. All this time, Benjamin considered himself as one of the loyal Englishmen. He had gained interest in England and wanted to stay in England for the rest of his life with his family but Deborah could was afraid of traveling by ship. In 1765, he was caught up by Americas Stamp Act but he testified before parliament that there is need of members to repeal the law (Doren, 32). He had made a lot of friends in England but the rate of corruption was very high in political organizations and other royal organizations.
Franklin started to work on a united colony in1754 and was very serious about the colony. His stay in England was coming to an end due to collision with Thomas Hutchinson governor of Massachusetts. The governor pretended to support people in Massachusetts about complains against England but he was still working in collaboration with the King. The governor sent some letters to America about the issue of English Liberties. Population in America during this time was outranged and it was official that Franklin was behind the leakage of information about the letters (Seavey, 128). He was called at Whitehall that is foreign ministry in England where he was condemned in public.
Establishment of new nation by Benjamin
    Franklin traveled back home where he started working very hard towards achievement of independence. This time, his son William was the governor of New Jersey and Franklin thought that he will receive full support. This was never to happen because he remained a Loyal Englishman. A rift between father and son was established due to this conflict of power. Franklin however was elected as a member of five committee men who worked so hard on a draft about Declaration of Independence. Most of the contributions in the draft were from Franklin and in 1776 Benjamin Franklin signed the Declaration and after a few months, he traveled to France where he worked as an ambassador to Louis XVI court (Goodman, Franklin, 56). Franklin was loved very much by the French people. They understood him as a very prominent person who had tamed lightening and his dress code also distinguished him from other Americans. His wife passed away during this time and he could socialize with other women freely.
 Due to his popularity, the government of France signed Treaty of Alliance with Americans in 1778. He could secure loans with most of the French people that helped to develop his home country. When the Americans won during Revolution, Franklin signed Treaty of Paris in 1783. At his late seventies, Franklin returned to America where he became the president of Executive Council of Pennsylvania. He was appointed as a delegate in Constitutional Convention where he signed the Constitution. In 1789, he wrote an anti-slavery treatise which was his last performance in public (Rider, 40). He died on April 17, 1790 aged eight four years and his legacy is still present in America.

Oedipus the King is one of the most controversial and the most interesting Sophocles creations. The story of betrayal and love, fate and will, the story of prophecy and denial - Oedipus the King has turned into a source of numerous literary interpretations. Throughout centuries, this piece of Sophocles writing has been an interesting object of literary analysis, and whether Sophocles wanted to emphasize the relevance of supernatural elements in our lives or to stress the complexity of human relationships is still a matter of a hot literary debate. On the one hand, Sophocles shows the unpredictability of life changes. On the other hand, the author also implies that it is absolutely in our hands to find the truth and to use it for achieving different life objectives. Although Sophocles implies that people should be more attentive to what is happening in their lives, the theme of fate and prophecy in Oedipus the King is the dominant literary thread. As a result, and through the prism of prophecy, Sophocles confirms the overwhelming power of fate and the limits of the human free will, which show humans as inferior creatures compared to the omnipotence of life circumstances.
    The plague tragedy in Thebes becomes the beginning of Oedipuss end. A blight in on our harvest in the ear,  A blight upon the grazing flocks and herds,  A blight on wives in travail and withal  Armed with his blazing torch the God of Plague  Hath swooped upon our city emptying  The house of Cadmus (Sophocles 38). The plague is the starting point in the analysis of how the fate and the circumstances of life impact human wellbeing. It is the analysis of how prophecy and life changes limit the scope of the human free will and power in the desire to change these circumstances to the better. The plague itself is one of the preconditions and one of the life changes which predict Oedipuss failure  the precondition which he, as a human (although a King) is neither able to stop nor is able to control. Surrounded by the high walls of his palace, Oedipus naturally feels secured from his peoples problems. That is why it is not surprising that upon leaving his palace Oedipus is astonished at seeing a crowd of people waiting for him My children, latest born to Cadmus old,  Why sit ye here as suppliants, in your hands  Branches of olive filleted with wool (Sophocles 38). Although Oedipus respects his people and feels obliged to explore the true reasons of the plague, he is not prepared to accept the truth in its fullest. By sending his brother to investigate the matter and avoids being involved directly shows Oedipuss oppression to the truth about his nation. However, even here, in this desire to hide from the rest of the world, the power of prophecy and the rule of fate become the driving forces in Oedipuss slow movement to the end.
    That Oedipus does not want to know the truth and that he inherently opposes to the forces of nature is obvious in his reluctance to believe the prophet and to look deeper into the truth about the plague. However, this very oppression reveals the weakening power of the human will and the growing power of the fate. The fact that the prophet comes to Oedipuss palace to speak about the plague is nothing else but the expression of the fate, which sends this man to open the Kings eyes on his life and his behaviors. Yea, I am wroth, and will not stint my words,  But speak my whole mind. Thou methinks thou art he,  Who planned the crime, aye, and performed it too,  All save the assassination and if thou  Hadst not been blind, I had been sworn to boot  That thou alone didst do the bloody deed (Sophocles 54). Even trying to escape the tragic truth and trying not to listen to what the prophet is saying, the King, nevertheless, cannot withstand the growing sense of curiosity and is willing to know more. However, this quest for knowledge is rather misleading Oedipus wants to know the part of the truth which satisfies him and wants to leave the part, which turns him into a murderer I say thou art the murderer of the man  Whose murderer thou pursuest.- Thou shal true it  Twice to repeat so gross a calumny.  Must I say more to aggravate thy rage  Say all thou wilt it will be but a waste of breath (Sophocles 49). Once again, the fate redirects Oedipus in a way which makes him accept the truth about his life his conversation with Jocasta opens his eyes on the reality of his position and confirms his inability to withstand the overwhelming power of prophecy.
    In his conversation with Jocasta, trying to rethink everything that was said by Teiresias, Oedipus gradually comes to realize that a human being cannot escape the power of the fate  prophecy. An oracle once came to Laius  declaring he was doomed  To perish by the hand of his own son,  A child that should be born to him by me (Sophocles 62). The memories of Oedipus and the story told by Jocasta turn fate into the determining element of human existence. That Oedipus was fated to murder his own father and to marry his own mother confirms the unpredictability of life changes. The fact of being the object of prophecy and the realization of being the murderer imply that human will is limited to the extent, which makes it impossible to flee the fate or to at least minimize its impact on human lives. It is not enough to say that Oedipus is blind to what the prophet is saying nor is it correct that Oedipus consciously chooses to reject the truth about his life. Rather, Oedipus finds himself in the situation when he has no other choice but to believe the oracles words and to accept the reality as it is. He was sent from Thebes as a child he was saved from inevitable death and he came back to Thebes to murder his father, to become a king, and to marry his mother  all these are the signs of the fate, which human will cannot govern and cannot change. Why should a mortal man, the sport of chance,  With no assured foreknowledge, be afraid  Best live a careless life from hand to mouth (Sophocles 71). However, even such a careless life without a word of prophecy cannot help people escape their fate. Even such a careless life leads people to the point, where prophecy turns into reality and makes people insane.
    The overwhelming power of fate confirms the limited nature of human will and does not leave people a chance to change their lives. Oedipus lives his life without trying to understand what is waiting for him ahead. However, the story of his life was created before him and he cannot do anything to escape it. This limitedness of human will and this impossibility to escape the punishment become the sources and the drivers of Oedipuss insanity, which is probably the best compensation for everything he had done. The giver of good gifts, shall not be shamed.  She is my mother and the changing moons  My brethren, and with them I wax and wane.  Thus sprung why should I fear to trace my birth  Nothing can make me other than I am (Sophocles 75). Human will is so limited that it cannot make people better or worse than they are in reality. More often than not, humans fail to withstand the pressure of life circumstances and the best they can do is to reconcile with them. Look ye, countrymen and Thebans, this is Oedipus the great, He who knew the Sphinxs riddle and was mightiest in our state. Who of all our townsmen gazed not on his fame with envious eyes Now, in what a sea of troubles sunk and overwhelmed he lies (Sophocles 90). Neither the title, nor the position of power can save a person from the troubled waters of life. Limited human will does not make it possible to overcome and escape what was fated to happen. In this situation, those who used to believe in their overwhelming power fall down to the point of insanity, instead of trying to accept the new life changes with humility and understanding.

Although Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird presents a number of themes, such as racism and social class in the American south, it is the coming of age of Jem and Scout that provides perhaps the most powerful theme in the entire novel.  The theme that arises from this coming of age of Jem and Scout relates to the essential nature of human beings more specifically, the novel explores in a very dramatic way whether people are essentially good and just or whether people are instead fundamentally evil and disinterested in objective notions of justice.  As children, under the guidance of their principled and very moral father, both Jem and Scout are compelled to endure events that test their existing beliefs, their faith in their fathers teachings, and their very perception and understanding of the nature of human behavior.  This essay will discuss how these characters reacted to events in ways that reinforced certain character traits and how they changed or developed in certain respects.
    More than any other character, in terms of viewing life and people in new ways, Scout functions in the novel as a sort of benchmark against which other characters can be analyzed.  This is because Scout is presented as a remarkably independent young girl who refuses to conform to any social standards except those which are espoused and taught to her by her father.  This independence manifests itself early on in the form of Scout forsaking feminine styles of dress or feminine interests and simply doing what makes her feel happy and comfortable.  She recognizes that she was different than other girls and notes in her narration that Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasnt supposed to be doing anything that required pants. (Lee 85)  This is an important quotation because Scout establishes her independence of mind and her confidence to behave in a manner that is consistent with her interests and personal beliefs.  She seems to have derived this independence from Atticus, her father, and it is a character trait which persists throughout the novel.  Although she is taunted and subjected to an extraordinary variety of bitter experiences as a result of her fathers decision to defend Tom Robinson, she manages to maintain her independent mind and her belief that people can do good things if they try to understand other people better.  Indeed, at the very end of the novel Scout supports this type of persistent independence when she recounts while standing on Boos porch that understanding demands stepping into another persons shoes and understanding life from a different point of view.  Scout stays the same to the extant that she continues to think independently, that she continues to adhere to her fathers ideals, and that she believes that people have the inner capacity to be good.  On the other hand, she learns that people are often petty and hypocritical and her younger notion that all people were good is shattered.  Her coming of age story is about the loss of innocence in this respect, life experiences that destroy nave views of people and the world, and yet she still manages to remain fairly hopeful that people can be good.
    Sadly, Jem does not develop quite as smoothly as Scout and this contrast represents how the loss of innocence can lead to cynicism and a loss of faith in people and the world rather than a renewed hope.  Jem functions in many respects as a weaker version of Atticus ideals and this manifests itself as a weaker version of Scout.  Jem, for instance, tends to conform more to expectations specifically, he dresses and behaves like a boy and he has more difficulty than both Atticus and Scout in dealing with social criticism and social ostracism.  He even teases and criticizes Scout at times for not conforming to expectations because she does not think or behave like a typical southern girl.  It is not that Jem does not admire his fathers ideals and principles, for the novel suggests that he does, but unlike Scout he seems more traumatized by the racial and social divisions.  He seems more constrained by social conventions even though he seems fairly proud of his own social class and peers.  Indeed, at the end of the novel Scout sadly notes that
The summer that had begun so long ago ended, another summer had taken its place, and a fall, and Boo Radley had come out.... I was to think of these days many times -- of Jem, and Dill and Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson ... and Atticus. He would be in Jems room all night. And he would be there when, Jem waked up in the morning.  HYPERLINK httpwww.questiaschool.comPM.qstaod5000461052(Lee quoted in Shackelford 110)

    The clear implication is that while Scout has decided to view the coming of a new summer as her figurative devotion to justice, Jem is less optimistic and more traumatized by their coming of age experiences.  Whether Jem will ever be able to transcend the racism and the social constraints is questionable Scout on the other hand, boldly declares her firm belief in the principles and ideals articulated by her admirable father.  They become her principles, too.

    In conclusion, both of these characters continue to wish that life could be simple.  They recognize through painful experiences, however, that ideals and realities can be very different.  Scout deals with social hypocrisy by dedicating herself to keeping an open mind and trying to understand people more comprehensively Jem, on the other hand, seems as if he may concede his fathers values in an effort to blend into society.  This is the main change in the story with Scout defiantly maintaining her independent mind and Jem seeming to become more dependent on social expectations even if they are hypocritical.

One of the rather consistent critical comments which has been made in reference to Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman is that the play is difficult to categorize.  Even the author mentioned in interviews that many of his themes and political points were implied rather than explicitly presented.  Indeed, As Miller himself has said,  Death of a Salesman is a slippery play to categorize because nobody in it stops to make a speech objectively stating the great issues which I believe it embodies. HYPERLINK httpwww.questiaschool.comPM.qstaod98104124(Bloom 47)  This statement by the author is illuminating.  It is illuminating because Miller admits that the play was intended to embody certain overarching issues and that the incorporation of these issues was not presented in terms of objective speeches by the plays characters.  The dominant theme must therefore depend on a more careful examination of the plays text.  This essay will argue that the plays dominant theme was the fallibility of the American Dream and that there are tragic consequences that attend the type of uncritical faith in such a romantic ideal that is too frequently unrealized in the lives of many Americans.  In support of this thesis, this essay will examine the allure of the American Dream as it was presented in Death of a Salesman, how Willy Loman took the existence of the American Dream for granted, and how this misplaced faith resulted in personal tragedy.
    As an initial matter, it is important to establish that Willy Loman believed in a certain notion of the American Dream and he further believed that he would be rewarded for his faith.  He essentially believed that a person would be financially rewarded if that person worked hard, was well-liked, and conformed very precisely to social expectations.  HYPERLINK httpwww.questiaschool.comPM.qstaod97369317(Otten 281)  Even though it would have been better for Willy and his family if he was transferred to New York, for example, Willy refuses to request a transfer, stating that Im the New England man. Im vital in New England. HYPERLINK httpwww.questiaschool.comPM.qstaod5935408(Bentley 636)  He is willing to travel for his company despite the fact that he is older and despite the fact that he has seniority.  His belief that he is vital to the New England sales team, which is patently false, reinforces the notion that Willy truly believes that his dedication and devotion to the company will be rewarded.  For Willy, in short, the allure of the mythical American Dream was a belief in financial security and secure employment.  This belief set him up for a tragic downfall.
This uncritical devotion to this notion of the American Dream, that anyone can be financially secure and successful if they conform and are well-liked, is further illustrated in the relationship between Willy and Biff.  Because Biff does not share his fathers convictions, for example, Willy criticizes his son.  At one point, talking to his wife and refusing to apologize to Biff for his criticism, Willy states with respect to Biff that Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace and that Biff is a lazy bum HYPERLINK httpwww.questiaschool.comPM.qstaod5935409(Bentley 637)   The real reason for the criticism is the fact that Biff does not believe in the American Dream in the same way as his father.  Willy therefore views anyone, even a beloved son, who views the American Dream with suspicion with contempt.  It was Willy, in effect, who most purely represented the foolishness of dedicating his life so completely and so uncritically to an illusory set of wishes.  Other characters, such as Biff and Willys brother, did not subscribe to this notion of the American Dream.  It was this total dependence, based on the aforementioned set of beliefs, which would lead to Willys downfall.
Rather then protecting himself in other ways, such as developing new skills or joining members of his family in a private business venture, Willy allowed himself to be deluded until the very end of the play.  Biff tried to warn him about the dangerous consequences at one point, stating to Willy You were never anything but a hard-working drummer who landed in the ash can like all the rest of them and shortly thereafter that Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens HYPERLINK httpwww.questiaschool.comPM.qstaod5935495(Bentley 723)   Something did happen, which was Millers main intention.  Willy cannot deal with the fact that his entire life had been dedicated to an American Dream that turned out to be more of an illusion than a real social bargain.  He killed himself, unable to deal with his own shame, and his own sparsely attended funeral testified to his fundamental insignificance in America. 
In the final analysis, the dominant theme in Death of a Salesman relates to the folly of believing in an American Dream that promises financial security and stable employment.  This is not meant to suggest that goals cannot be achieved, for they certainly can be achieved, but that whether one attains these goals is in no way guaranteed.  More, as the play illustrates, the meaning of life is about more than working to the beat of a drummer or being well-liked.  All Americans, particularly in the current historical circumstances, would be well-advised to read this play with rapt attention.

A critic has very rightly remarked about Williams, In his writing, in his eternal defense of those who think differently, who have different ways of being, Tennessee Williams represents a far higher morality, a far higher and more developed humanity, than do those who accuse him of immorality and lack of faith in humanity.
WILLIAMS BELIEFS -
Words are often what we want to express, what we want the world to know, what we ourselves want to realize about our own selves. This holds true for Williams. His plays, short stories, poems, all signify his beliefs, culture, faith and religion. That he was different is evident from his works. The tensions between sexuality, society, and Christianity were a part of Williams drama, signifying their presence in his life as well. He had spent most of his life as a wanderer, as an outcast. Nonetheless, his works give away the same.
THE THEME OF CRUELTY -
In James Njorneboes words, Williams fundamental theme is cruelty in three variants The cruelty of human beings (the masses cruelty to the individual), the cruelty of nature (in the animal-organic processes themselves), and the cruelty of God (as the one responsible for the whole cosmic-metaphysical system of cruelty, hunger, decay and death). That his plays to a rather high degree are full of overwrought, ruined and supersensitive people is a logical result of the fact that Tennessee Williams own meeting with reality, as seen through his writings, has been one big breakdown.
There are no good or bad people, Tennessee wrote. Some are a little better or a little worse, but all are activated more by misunderstanding than malice. Blindness to what is going on in each others hearts . . . nobody sees anybody truly but all through the flaws of their own egos. That is the way we all see each other in life. Vanity, fear, desire, competition--all such distortions within our own egos--conditions our vision of those in relation to us...
UNDERSTANDING Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
In a play like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof the theme is about morality, sexuality and how the society influences the same the protagonist of the play rejects his homosexual friend as the society influences him to think that their relationship might be an erotic one. This however forces the friend to commit suicide. This makes the protagonist rethink about himself as he gives in to the collective morality and the objections of people around him. As Sartre would have said, he gives in to the others and hence, becomes the murderer. His futility is well established in the following dialogue
 Look at Gooper. Look at what hes become. Is that what you wanted him to be And look at me. You put it very well indeed. Im a thirty-year-old kid, and pretty soon Im gonna be a fifty-year-old kid. I dont know what to believe in. Now whats the good of livin if youve got nothin to believe in Theres gotta be some, some purpose in life, some meanin. Look at me. For the sake of God, look at me before its too late. For once in your life, look at me as I really am. Look at me. Im a failure. Im a drunk. On my own in the open market, Im not worth the price of a decent burial.
The above words also depict Williams own feelings since it is known that Williams relationship with his own father was a sour one.
    Williams thoughts about institutionalized religion and public approach to churches and priests were very clear. They can be well traced in his plays. This he very clearly elucidates from the character of Revered Tooker in Cat in a Hot Tin Roof.
UNDERSTANDING SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER
Tennessee has been quoted I have had a life of required endurance, a life of clawing and scratching along a sheer surface and holding on tight with raw fingers to every inch of rock higher than the one caught hold of before. We see, Big Daddy as a preacher who is full of axioms and preaching. He says, Life is important. Theres nothing else to hold on onto.
Suddenly Last Summer continues the same, but in a different way in the form of a dazzlingly clear and cool analysis of our Western cultural crisis. The crowds murder of the individual is not lacking here either the protagonist, who does not appear in the play at all, is killed on the street by a flock of half-grown boys in a southern land. He was a poet, and his production consists in his writing one poem a year as he travels around the world with his millionaire mother, to squeeze all the refinement and pleasure out of life which they are both still capable of doing.
In its own way Suddenly Last Summer is Tennessee Williams most sinister play it too explores a character, good and healthy on the verge of encountering madness.
The image of the man who is killed by the flock of boys is enhanced by the fact that he himself collaborates in the murder, but also by another image which sets its stamp on the play the account of the birds who eat the newly-hatched turtles alive And the birds are naturally without guilt in their cruelty they are merely a part of nature, but part of a large nature, of an evil cosmos. These birds are in turn a vision of GodGod is evil. He has created this world of suffering and cruelty. Of course this is not Tennessee Williams conclusion That God is evil. It exists as a dread, as a possibility for an oversensitive person who in his writing is deeply engaged with the problem of evil in general. Williams pain is the pain of seeing, suffering at the sight of others sufferings.
It is sex without love that results in the catharsis of Sebastian in Suddenly Last Summer it is sex without love that drives Brick and Maggie apart. In fact, sex is a very big theme or motif in every play of Williams. In Suddenly Last Summer, Williams portrayal of the brother-sister incest has huge autobiographical overtones. Williams plays suggest that he strongly believes that the only way to get at each other is through sexual act. A stark difference to this thought is however shown in Shannon  Hanna Jelkes encounter in The Night of the Iguana.
UNDERSTANDING the Night of the Iguana -
In Hannahs words, Shanons problem, is the oldest one in the world  the need to believe in something or someone  almost anyone  almost anythingsomething..I have discovered something to believe inBroken gates between people so that they can reach each other, even if its just for the night only.
To quote a sentence from The Night of the IguanaWhen the Mexican painter Siqueiros did his portrait of the American poet Hart Crane he had to paint him with closed eyes because he couldnt paint his eyes openthere was too much suffering in them and he couldnt paint it. A critic very correctly notes, The problem is not just that the world is cruel, evil on an individual plane it is also this What is the person to do who feels not only his own pain, but also others How can one live in the world If one wants to quote the Gospels, one would have to say How can I overcome the world

Oranges Are the Not the Only Fruit is about the story of a middle class girl struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, creativity and passion versus her family or communitys inflexible formed or fixed opinions. Though the story of the persecution of a girl because of her sexual preference is not new but this novel also offers insights about the real meaning of spirituality, as the main protagonist struggles to break free from what she perceives pretentious lives of her religious loversher family and community. As a child Jeanette is proud of her eccentric and high achieving mother and her religious community with strict religious teachings, creative structure and strong opinions coming from all corners. But when she starts to struggle with her sexuality as she meets Katy, she begins to doubt the credibility of her upbringing. The oppressive confines of her strict Pentecostal society made her doubt whether they faith is open minded or fixated. In the novel when Jeanette falls for a female friend, she comes to realise that there is more to life than the church which she wants to explore to fully discover herself and to fully know the real meaning of faith.
Set in Northern England, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit is the tale of Jess, a young girl whose adopted mother forces her to follow the path that she has planned for her. It is a novel written by Jeanette Winterson about a lesbian girl who grows up in a religious splinter community. The main protagonist Jeanette, adapted by the working-class evangelists in the North England during 60s and who grows up believing that she is destined to become a religious missionary, experiences lesbian tendencies. She grows up with people who preach the gospel alongside such spiritual giants as the passionate Testifying Elsie and Pastor Spratt. She grows up believing that she is destined for the missionary work until her charismatic encounter with one girl in particular. At the age of 16, love and sexual relationship are not yet appropriate and not yet scheduled in her timetable but at that age she decided to leave the church and home to be with the woman she loves. 
Despite Jeanettes religious and affirmative surroundings, she is confused, inconclusive and in a constant source of pain. She believes that spirituality does not only revolves in the four corners of the church and what the Bible says but instead freedom and human experience makes one experience the fullness of faith. Jeanette in her early age already found herself struggling in the community and struggling with her gender identity. Her relationship between her and her mother is constantly strained, filled with denial towards her Lesbianism. Instead of supporting her and help her overcome this peculiar struggle, her mother and her religious friends subject her and her partner to exorcisms. Jeanette also feels betrayal towards her parents as they hide her about her biological mother and adoption papers, and also feels desperation to be loved. Her idea of love especially towards God is very serious and intense as she says I want someone who is fierce and will love me to death and know that love is as strong as death (Winterson, 164). In the book it appears that the only one she trusts is God. Though Jeanette refers to her mother as a servant of God but the servants of God, by their very nature betray (Winterson 165). Apparently Jeanette in the novel is struggling to get out from her suffocating prison and parents. Staying with them, she believes will hinder her to see the real world. The real world is replaced with a world of routines, obsession, self sacrifice and human selfishness.
In the novel, horror seems to be everywhere and exorcism is a perfect illustration of this. Jeanettes mother seems to escape the reality as she can not completely accept that her adopted daughter is a lesbian. She believes that she provided everything that she needs to become a good person and so how can her daughter be a lesbian She then resorts to exorcism hoping that this will cure her daughter. Her illusions escaping reality not retrospecting her possible mistakes in bringing up her child apparently manipulated her actions. Jesss desire to learn and discover her true self in this world appears blocked at her every attempt since her lovers, the church and her mother, appear to find some sort of happiness and fulfilment in the world that Jeanettes perceived to be limited and pretentious. In this circumstance, the horror revealed while implying how power relations exist, that is, the manipulation and deceit by those who have the power (older people) and desire to control those less powerful (children who are still dependent with their parents) than themselves. The novel is filled with ironic use of humour illustrated in Jeanettes sense of humour in relation to her mother. Her comments are witty that subtly mock, especially about her mothers capability to justify and come with an explanation for every problem that seems out of the ordinary. Such wittiness from Jeanette is maybe her way to overcome issues of domination and control, by appealing to the comical in order to cope and overcome the present reality. Jesss teacher having a problem of vision (Winterson, 44) is symbolic representation of how some people in the novel, especially those religious ones, choose to ignore that which is obvious to some and not to others. Jeanettes mother can only see the world as good or evil, black or white and friend or enemy, She had never heard of mixed feelings. There were friends and there were enemies (Winterson, 33). Yet, Jeanettes homosexuality places her outside of the two extremes by showing that she is neither wholly good nor wholly evil. Apparently Jeanettes homosexuality places her into moderation. Individuals even those spiritual are not simply black and white, but also line the many shades of gray in between. Apparently this novel will make the readers realize that the world should not be led through binary systems, because this apparently limits and excludes those individuals and circumstances that fall outside of the definition. 
The idea that Jeanette is on a mythic quest frames her initial narrative. Jeanettes birth and adoption is described with images and representations from the story of Christ. At an early age, her parents and her community make her believe that she has a greater purpose by which she will live like as a Christlike figure that will help save the world. As she ages however, it becomes clear to her true purpose is to simply find and accept herself. This task is not easy as it seems however especially that her homosexual desires contradict the standards and regulations that she has believed to be true all her life. To accept her real self however, Jeanette should embark on a spiritual adventure. She must both leave her home, her comfort zones and leave her assumptions of how the world and her self are defined. From her birth Jeanette was destined for a missionary life and by the end of the novel it becomes apparent that even though she has become a lesbian, her spiritual quest still continues. She can still fulfill her initial plans even though she is a lesbian. Even if shes an adventurous writer and a lesbian, Jeanette can still help to fight against the evil in the world as her mother originally and initially intended. Although the church rejects her out of hand due to her struggles towards her sexual identity, Jeanettes behavior never comes reactionary or angry. Since Jeanette is such a compassionate and thoughtful character, it is easy to take her side and believe that her lesbianism is not wrong. Jeanettes relative fearlessness in embracing her true self shows her to be a heroine of considerable bravery.

While at first glance the Kite Runner might give the impression of a tale of friendship, closer introspection reveals that it is the voice of the author conveying the complex socio-political, economic and religious upheaval in Afghanistan and its gradual decay into an obscurantist country. It gives a voice to the unique, yet tragic reality of Afghanistan. While our perspectives of Afghanistan have largely been shaped by the media, The Kite Runner tells us what the actual ideals of the Afghan society were honor, friendship and unflinching loyalty. The story has a global appeal because of the universal phenomenon of immigration. We understand what it means to have a split identity, what it means to have your beliefs and values instilled on the basis of one culture and having to live in a country with a completely different culture. Its universal appeal is very well summarized in the quote The themes are universal familial relationships, particularly father and son the price of disloyalty the inhumanity of a rigid class system and the horrific realities of war.(Gaines 2003)
Hassan who is incapable of hurting anyone(Hosseini 5) has always stood up for Amir, while Amir on the contrary has proved to be a coward in testing times. In the initial chapters of the book the writer talks about the country, people and their way of living. In the book Baba has always been expecting more form his son, Baba states, A boy who wont stand up for himself becomes a man who cant stand up to anything. (Hosseini 11). This statement by the writer basically tells us why Amir felt more relaxed with the thought of moving to America. The complexities that arose between the relationship of Hassan and Amir can be attributed to the complex dynamics of traditional Afghan society.
The impression that I got from the book tells me that Afghans were traditionally conservative people but Amirs family was an exception as they lived life as liberal elites. This is evident from the bar in Babas room where Baba was pouring himself a whiskey (Hosseini 8). For Baba
 There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of     theft.When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wifes right to a husband, rob     his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someones right to the truth. When     you cheat, you steal the right to fairness (Hosseini 9).
This tells me that at that time, there     was at least one segment of the population that was fairly liberal. However, in the general populace, beards were not uncommon and Afghan women were not given their due place in the society. It was a close knit society and thus everyone knew each other. Amirs father was a peoples man and this is evident from his keen interest in building and maintaining the orphanage as evidenced by the following quote I heard the story through Rahim Khan. He told me Baba had drawn the blue prints himself despite the fact that hed had no architectural experience at all. Skeptics had urged him to stop his foolishness and hire an architect. Of course, Baba refused and every one shook their heads in dismay at his obstinate ways (Hosseini 7)
Having examined the complex ethnic fabric of Afghan society, I got to know that there used to live two majority communities in Afghanistan Pashtuns were Sunni Muslims (a sect in Islam) who belonged to upper society, while the Hazaras were Shia Muslims. These groups always had rivalry between them due to religious differences. I believe that the Hazara people had faced a very cruel life in the past as reflected throughout the course of the book. For the Pashtuns majority, it was very easy to differentiate between themselves and the Hazaras, because the Hazaras looked differently too. The author employs excellent symbolism to highlight this difference between the appearances of the two ethnicities. This deformity in Hassan is described by Amir And the cleft lip, just left of midline, where the Chinese doll makers instrument may have slipped or perhaps he had simply grown tired and careless (Hosseini 2). This statement serves to highlight the difference between the appearance of Hazaras and Pushtuns under the guise of the description of a simple deformity.
With the onset of the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, Baba saw his fortunes take a turn for the worse and he started losing his dominant position in the changing political dynamics of Kabul. With the war about to break out at any moment, an Afghan resistance force called Taliban was formed with the stated aim of kicking out the Russians and establishing Islamic rule. Afghans had only two options, either join the Taliban resistance movement or accede to Russian rule. The Russians were involved in senseless butchery of the Afghans to establish their rule and Taliban were only interested in nurturing fighters. Baba was fond of neither and hence they moved to America. This was the turning point in the lives of all the characters in the book. While Amir and Baba left for USA, Hassan and Ali had to stay back to look after their house. Because of the unique twist of events, Amir was feeling very insecure his childish wish was to somehow justify his actions. He justified them by using his ethnicity In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shia, and nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing (Hosseini 12).
    Marriage, Babas death and a child-less marriage all these events contributed towards the loneliness that Amir felt. I believe this was also a factor that contributed to Amirs eventual decision to visit Afghanistan. During all this time, Amir didnt know what was happening in Afghanistan, he didnt know anything about Hassan. He hadnt bothered to know which suggests that he was keen on forgetting his past. But the phone call from Rahim Khan and the sudden urge to go back to his roots reflects Amirs changing intentions he was suddenly jolted back to childhood. Amir goes back to Peshawar Pakistan, and upon learning all about Hassan, he realizes that he has a debt to pay a debt he owes to Hassan for his unflinching loyalty even under the direst circumstances. Rahim Khan tells Amir that there is a way to be good again(Hosseini 98) and Amir realizes it is time to seek redemption. He feels a sudden urge of affection for Hassans son and he decides to undertake the journey to Afghanistan. Being a man who had never faced his fears, Amir felt scared that he had led himself to his death by visiting Assef. This is expressed in the following words
    You are gutless. Its how you were made. And thats not such a bad thing because     youre saving grace is that youve never lied to yourself about it. Not about that. Nothing     wrong with cowardice as long as it comes with prudence. But when a coward stops     remembering who he isGod help him (Hosseini 139).
Assef has been casted not just as an evil character, but I think he is also an embodiment of the true face of the Taliban, who under the guise of religious fundamentalism perpetrated their reign of terror which wasnt very different from that of the Russians. When Taliban gained control of most of Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal, the Taliban set out to purge their beloved homeland of all evil. This cleansing of the evils also included the ethnic cleansing of the Hazara population and in a major demonstration of power the Taliban conducted a massacre of Hazaras at Mazar-e-Sharif. Thus the political landscape of Afghanistan wasnt much different from what Amir had left.
The social landscape and gender relations now had an extremist edge. Talibans moral code was an extreme and myopic interpretation of Islam and this moral code was strictly implemented by their moral police. Everyone feared the moral police as they could execute anyone at will just by declaring himher immoral. Women likewise were subjugated beyond imagination and their movement was restricted in many ways. Growing beards was a compulsion and its violation carried a horrendous punishment. Thus Babas opinion that God help us all if Afghanistan ever falls into their hands (Hosseini 136) with reference to the Taliban proved to be true. I believe that the ban on the traditional kite flying event and the picture of the fruitless tree is an attempt to show the sea of change that Afghanistan had undergone. It was no longer a society heading towards prosperity rather it was a hostile society. This hostile environment resulted in the killing of Hassan and his wife. The statement that Like so much else in Kabul, my fathers house was the picture of fallen splendor (Hosseini 132) symbolizes the condition of Afghanistan Whatever was beautiful and was to be valued had been destroyed.
Thus The Kite Runner is a unique story in which the changing life story of several characters tells a greater tale the tale of the demise of Afghanistan and the distortion of the values that had defined Afghan society. It also gives a historical account of how this gradual break-down took place and what factors were behind it. If Afghanistan has to progress it must remove the insecurities of the Hazara minority. While most of Afghanistan rejoiced when the Taliban took over initially, the Hazara community was scared of the consequences. Rahim Khan testifies that their concern was legitimate in the following words A couple of weeks after they seize power, the Taliban ban kite fighting. And two years later, in 1998, they massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif (Hosseini 107).
The hard journey of redemption is a major theme in the book. Amir wasnt the only one who had held grave secrets his father also kept the dark secret of Hassan being his son from Amir. However Rahim Khan tells Amir how in his opinion his father redeemed himself in the following wordsI think that everything he did, feeding the poor, giving money to friends in need, it was all a way of redeeming himself. And that, I believe is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good(Hosseini 153). The grace of acceptance heals the wounds of brutality, for with forgiveness, anything is possible, even the wild joy of soaring Kites against a winter sky(Gaines, 2003)