Amir's Atonement

Amir should seek atonement for not saying anything about witnessing Hassan's rape. The key word there is "should." By not doing anything, Amir is currently not seeking atonement. He needs to actively do something in order to try and attain atonement. He needs to admit what he saw that day. By being silent, he has caused Hassan's life to spiral out of control. By remaining silent he set a series of events into place that he cannot undo. Besides the obvious need of atonement for his silence, he also needs to seek atonement for the events that followed. He acted selfishly, hiding some birthday gifts under Hassan's bed, an act which caused Hassan and Ali to move out. "The next morning...I took a couple of the envelopes of cash from the pile of gifts and my watch...lifted Hassan's mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it...Then I knocked on Baba's door and told what I hoped would be the last in a long line of shameful lies (104)." This quote states that Amir feels shameful, he knows that he is doing something wrong. I think for Amir to "be good again," he needs to speak up. He needs to admit to himself and the world that he can't hold it all inside. Even then, I don't know that it will be enough. He needs to really believe that he is sorry. He needs to genuinely show remorse in order to even hope to gain atonement. He really needs to face the consequences, however difficult they may be, of his actions. He needs to accept the punishment for being silent.