The Resolution

"It was only a smile, nothing more. It didn't make everything all right. It didn't make anything all right. Only a smile. A tiny thing. A leaf in the woods, shaking in the wake of a startled bird's flight...but I'll take it. With open arms. Because when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the first flake melting" (pg 371).


In my opinion, the conclusion of the novel was perfect considering the circumstances that had occurred previously in the novel. The novel was a roller coaster ride of tragedy and mourning, and to make the ending either happy or disastrous would leave the novel feeling unbalanced. Seeing Amir change his ways, and become a selfless person who put Sohrab's life before his own, displayed the importance of the novel: dedication and forgiveness. Although there was heartbreak and betrayal, amends were made in the end. Comparing the ice Sohrab had possessed in his personality since his attempted suicide to the snow of the first winter, shows the potential change that may become of Sohrab. It leaves the audience with a positive outlook, and hope for Sohrab to have a better life in San Francisco. Not only does Amir gain a child, but he gains the child of a half-brother whose story had haunted him his entire life. Now, both Sohrab and Amir can live at peace with themselves, and they can forget their tragic pasts. The story provides hope.