One of Hassan's defining physical features is his cleft lip that Baba pays to have surgically repaired. The scar from the surgical procedure remains and corresponds to the scar on Amir's upper lip that develops following his violent altercation with Assef. After Amir narrowly defeats Assef and escapes with serious injuries, he is left with a scar on his upper lip, which symbolically represents his sacrifice and atonement for his past sins. Hassan had always sacrificed and protected Amir as a child, but Amir did not return the favor. Later in life, Amir finds redemption by saving Hassan's son, Sohrab, from Assef, who is a maniacal Taliban official. In order for Amir to atone for his sins, he has to physically suffer and sacrifice his own life to save Sohrab. The scar symbolically represents Amir's sacrifice and serves as a reminder of all the times Hassan protects him during their childhoods.
After recovering from the beating he endures in order to rescue Hassan's son Sohrab, Amir develops a scar on his lip which resembles the scar Hassan had born since childhood, also on his lip. This is both ironic and symbolic. Amir's new scar makes him more like Hassan, just as his rescue of Sohrab makes him more like Hassan: Amir rescued Sohrab from Assef, just as Hassan once had rescued Amir from Assef. To further the irony, it is with his slingshot that Sohrab saves Amir from being beaten to death by Assef, just as his father also had used his slingshot to save Amir from Assef many years before. Amir's scar becomes a badge of honor and courage. He is no longer isolated by the shame and guilt he had carried with him since he and Hassan had been children together.
What's the significance of the scar that Amir develops as a result of the confrontation in The Kite Runner?
The physical scar that Amir gets in his fight with Assef is significant for a couple of reasons. The first is that it shows sacrifice. Amir is finally sacrificing for his friendship, the way he should have when he saw Ali being violated in the alley after the kite festival. The sacrifice he has to make now is the result of years of repression and denial. His scar is also significant because it moves him closer to Ali, as his hare lip before the surgery defined him and Amir's scar now will help to define him. Amir's physicality cannot be removed, as it has become a part of him, representation of the commitment both he denied and eventually embraced. In the notion of "becoming good again," the scar goes a long way to that point. I would also say that the scar is representative of the physical notion of taking action. Part of Amir's guilt and shame resides the fact that he did nothing when he saw Ali being violated. The physicality of action is something that is represented by the scar. This is beyond words, beyond thought, but rather pure action, representing a commitment towards that which is good.
In The Kite Runner,what is the meaning or significance of Hassan's scar?
Hassan's scar from having his cleft lip...
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surgically corrected is significant for a couple of reasons.
1. A "cleft" is a division, and Hassan's cleft lip is no different in that it represents the divisions that existed in Afghanistan while he was growing up and that still exist today. Because of his Hazara ethnicity, Hassan will never be equal to or truly unifiied with other Afghans (mainly the Pashtuns like Amir). When Baba pays to have Hassan's cleft lip corrected, Hassan still has a slight scar which illustrates that even if Afghanistan seems to have "corrected" itself on the surface, there will always be scars or reminders of its divisions.
2. Near the novel's end after his encounter with Assef, Amir recovers in the hospital with many injuries, but one that is significant is the scar that he now has on his upper lip from Assef hitting him. The scar represents not only the literal brotherhood between Amir and Hassan, but it like Hassan's scar will always be a reminder to Amir of what his redemption cost him and what that redemption was for--his betrayal of the physically and emotionally scarred Hassan.
The Kite RunnerDuring the confrontation with Assef in Wazir Akar Khan ,Amir develops a scar what is the significances of that scar and why is it important in Amirs journey towards forgiveness and acceptance?
The previous responder is correct. However, I think there is just a bit more to the scar that Amir will bear on his mouth. The doctor tells Amir,
The impact had cut your upper lip in two, clean down the middle (297).
What you may or may not recall is that Hassan was born with a harelip. Baba paid for its repair on Hassan's birthday, but I would imagine that he was left with at least a slight scar.
The significance of this particular injury and the resulting scar for Amir means that Baba now has two sons who had split lips and scars after their repair. The symmetry of this is an important part of Amir's satisfaction in having fought with Assef. Now Amir has experienced what his brother had suffered, too. This is just one of the wonderful touches in this novel, a detail with great significance.
Why is Amir's scar important in his journey toward forgiveness in The Kite Runner?
On a symbolic level, the scar is important for a couple of reasons. After the fight and the surgery, Amir's scar resembles Hassan's hair lip before his surgery. In this light, it moves Amir closer to Hassan on the road to forgiveness, almost as if he is physically resembling the form he wishes to embrace. It becomes important that Amir move as close to Hassan as possible. Since he is seeking a way "to become good again," to move closer to Hassan, who is now dead, is vitally important. The scar is one such move. Another way is how the scar was obtained. Amir was taking action against Assef's cruelty, something he failed to do as a child. It is not lost that Amir failed to take action with Hassan, but is not missing the chance to take action for Hassan's son. When Amir laughs, it is a moment of clarity present, as he feels peace, while being beaten to a pulp. It for this reason that that scar is critical on Amir's path to forgiveness and "to become good again."
In The Kite Runner, what is the significance of the scar that Amir develops as a result of the confrontation?
A scar in literature, much like life, is an indication of a past injury. Amir spends his life knowing he must, one day, atone for his past sin against Hassan. The scar is a constant reminder to Amir of injustice and weakness; his external scar becomes a metaphor for his internal hurt.