Irony

I noticed a lot of irony while reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.  Although it was evident in the whole novel, I noticed it most when Amir confronts Assef for Sohrab.  First, it was ironic that Amir ended up being the one who needed rescuing.  Sohrab had to injure Assef to save Amir.  It was ironic that Sohrab felt guilty for hurting his captor.  At one point, he said "I'm so dirty and full of sin (page 319)."  Sohrab, although he was rescued and saved Amir's life, feels guilty.  Again, there is irony when Amir finds out that his lip was split in half by Assef so that it resembled Hassan's harelip.  This irony continues for much of the novel.  Ultimately, it goes to show that things never happen as expected.  Things never went well for Amir; however, as he learns to fight for love and redemption, his life begins to change for the better.  This helps to show the themes of the novel and also proves that the past, no matter how terrible, never eliminates all hope for a better future.