Amir and Atonement

I think that at this point in the book Amir wants atonement for what he let happen to Hassan. He does not see how they can be friends again, because he can not forgive himself. They used to go together and play or read under the trees, but now Amir avoids Hassan like the plague. I think that Hassan knows that Amir saw the whole thing and yet he still wants to be friends. If Amir would have asked for forgiveness and changed, he would have received atonement, in a way, because Hassan was willing to forgive him. He was a loyal friend, but Amir was a coward.

When Amir and Hassan go to the pomegranate tree one last time, Amir tries to get rid of his guilt by provoking Hassan to hit him back with the fruit. Hassan, however, just makes him feel worse by taking his hits.

Amir wants to tell someone what happened, but he doesn't have the courage and so he hides his guilt inside. I don't think he can "receive atonement" for what he did, until it is out in the open.

Atonement

ATONEMENT-

Atonement is sort of like paying for or making up for a past mistake/sin. Like for example Jesus was the atonement for our sins. There are things that we cannot take back, we made the mistake and we have to live for the consequences, but because of his atonement we ultimately still have forgiveness. You can do something wrong and not be able to change it, but you can always get the forgiveness. And in getting forgiveness from God, you do not need to atone for it, because he made the ultimate sacrifice. I think that in the book it is possible for Amir to gain forgiveness and atonement for his sins. He can never take back what he did, but I think that if he asked for forgiveness, he could make things right between him and Hassan.
Amir waits too long and never tells anyone. He can no longer hear words from Hassan that he is forgiven, but it is obvious that Hassan did forgive him because he tells his son that Amir was the best friend that he ever had. I think that when Amir takes in Hassan’s son as his own that he is atoning for his sins. He made a mistake and ruined his friendship between Hassan and himself, but now he is helping H’s son and having a relationship with him, like he wished he could have with Hassan, in a way.

The beginning

The Unwanted, by Kien Nguyen.

Ok, so the main character is the author and he is writing a memoir of his childhood. His name is Kien Nguyen. His mother is from Vietnam, but his father is American. The father lived with her when he was over fighting the Viet Cong. When the U.S. troops left, he left also. He left behind his son, Kien, only a few months old. He also left the mother with a lot of money. His younger brother was also born this way. She married the second man, though later she would deny it for their safety, and had another son, Jimmy. When this man left for America, he also left their mother a decent amount of money. She bought a mansion when she was pregnant with Kien and named it the Nguyen mansion. She also started a partnership of a bank, where she spent a lot of time and made a lot of money. Kien spent a lot of time, talking about his mother in the beginning. Her hands were her prized possession and at one time she had been a hand model. She was also a beautiful woman, but she was very self centered and treated her servants like dirt. They had lots of money and the children were happy, until the Viet Cong got closer to their town. He mentions that there will be a problem with him being a "half-breed" in the new society. I assume that they will lose their money and that he will have a hard time growing up because he will be constantly teased for being part American. That is what his mother was trying to hide when she built a wall around their mansion, her shame.

Nhatrang is located on the northeastern cost of Vietnam. Not there are many resorts ect. because it is a beautiful place. The people living there, however, live in poverty.

what's in the picture???

Exhausted, I sat down on a huge rock resting by the stream. I had gotten lost from the rest of my men, fallen behind in this jungle of rocks and trees. I wasn't sure exactly what to do. I couldn't cry out for help because that would ruin the secret operation. I was afraid that if i looked for them I might run into the enemy first, but if I stayed still...would the enemy find me? That seemed the best way to go. If a few soldiers went looking for me they would have better luck if I stayed in one place. I could hide and watch for them, jumping out when I heard them coming. Then I would be safe from anyone else in the forest. Lost in thought, I stared at the water rushing over the rocks and mud of the stream. Foam formed on the edges of the waves and splashed up near my seat.
Suddenly a loud noise brought me back to reality. I jumped up. Frightened I ran for cover. Was it my troops or was it the enemy?

His way or mine?

There can be many different things that affect the decisions that people make. They have to think about costs, what choice will be the most beneficial, if it is possible for them to do a certain thing, if money is involved they need to decide how much they can afford.

What factors influence your decisions and how you make them?

I have found, in making decisions, that I don't always make the best choices, but Jesus sees the bigger picture. Because of this I try to look to Him first when I am making decisions because when I get His "advice" I am definitely a lot better off.
With making college decisions I have to think about what I can afford and if paying the bigger price is worth it or not. I also needed to decide what I want to major in and do with my life. This is a hard choice and I don't think that I could make the right one without Jesus because I am finding that He uses my weaknesses for his glory and is showing me that He made me to do things that I never thought I could do. It's also funny because when He shows me pieces of His plan, I have this burning desire and passion for them. I think that this is neat because it would take me a lot longer to find out what I was made to do, on my own. It is so amazing that God makes possible the things that I thought were impossible!!
So as I make my decisions I continue to look to Him. I don't see the big picture now, but I know that no matter what happens He has a plan for my life and I am excited to see what He is going to do inside of me.

My decisions will affect my family and friends because where I decide to go to college and what I decide to do with my life will impact how much I see them. I guess it will affect the society because what I decide to do will determine my impact on others
around me.

After College I will have to decide what job I am going to pursue. This, along with college, will help decide how I will impact the world.

The Cause =)

For Easter weekend I went to Hershey for a youth retreat. I had a really amazing time. The speaker was amazing. He was extremely funny and interesting and had many fun stories to relate his topics to our lives. They also had a great worship band, "Worth Dying For". It was very refreshing to spend time with Jesus. I love feeling his presence. On Friday morning we had the candle light service and it was beautiful seeing the whole Giant Stadium full of candle light. It was also fun to spend time with the girls in my youth group and pray for each other. The theme for the year was The Cause. They talked about having a cause for Jesus and being consumed with him, not just having his presence pored on the outside where it would quickly dry up. On the first day Robert Madu (speaker) talked about taking the I out and living for Jesus. He had this shirt that on the front said "I have Issues" and if you take out the I's and rearrange the letters it says "He Saves Us". There is also a U in the middle of Cause, so stop thinking about "I/Me" and live for "U, Jesus". He was very powerful and Jesus really spoke to me through him.
For Easter I went over families and then Sunday after church had people over for dinner. It was fun celebrating Jesus with others. Something that he has been putting on my heart is to pray more. It is so amazing, the power of prayer. I love seeing Jesus move and am falling more in love with Him, my savior, king, and very best friend.