When Amir finds out that Baba has been concealing that Hassan is his brother and he becomes angry and disappointed. Amir says “It's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out.” on page 1. He says this because he knows how they effect life and people and since in the first chapter he is looking back on life, then Baba's secret is related into this quote as well. This qoute shows how Amir feels about his fathers secret. Amir describes the secret as clawing and that shows his distaste and hatred. Later Amir refers back to when his father taught him that theft was the most vile crime any man can commit and realises that his father had stole Amir's right to know he had a brother as well as Hassan's identity. …show more content…
This is a positive reveal because Baba was taken down from the very tall pedestal Amir had him placed on. Amir can see now that Baba wanted to be a father to Hassan, Amir didn't understand why he paid for Hassan's surgery or refused to even speak of hiring other workers. Amir saw that Baba wasn't just forgetting Amir or favoring Hassan. Also through the guilt Baba had he became a better person and contributed to his community. Building the orphanage and standing up for others were a result of his change in character. Though the news was positive there are always two sides to a coin and this is no different. The negative effects are Amir sees that he had treated , his brother, Hassan terribly as a child especially since they are family. On the of hand Amir blames his father for lying to him for his whole
It is not often that Amir’s love for Baba is returned. Baba feels guilty treating Amir well when he can’t acknowledge Hassan as his son. Baba discriminates against his son Amir by constantly making him feel weak and unworthy of his father. Baba once said to Rahim Kahn, “If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son” (Hosseini 23). Amir doesn’t feel like a son towards Baba since he seems like such a weakling. This neglect towards Amir causes him to feel a need to be accepted by Baba to end the constant discrimination from his father and he will do anything for it. “I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (Hosseini 77). Amir did not stop the rape of his good friend for one sole purpose. Amir felt that he had to betray his own half-brother to gain th...
Page 225 - “I was learning that Baba had been a thief. And a thief of the worst kind, because the things he’d stolen had been sacred: from me the right to know I had a brother, from Hassan his identity, and from Ali his honor.”
We see a innocent boy who is struggling to be himself. His father that goes by the name of Baba continuously makes Amir feel unworthy and shameful. In a scene Amir eavesdrop and Baba unapologetically proclaims, “If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son” (Hosseini 23). Baba bluntly insinuates that he doesn’t understand Amir. He doesn’t understand why he spends so much time reading books and why every time there’s an opportunity to fight with the local boys he doesn’t. From the genesis, the audience can tell that the protagonist will have an issue with his identity. By not being accepted by Baba, Amir selfishly watches his dear friend Hassan get raped because he knew if he stood up for him that there will be a chance that the kite would be tarnished and as a result he wouldn’t receive the affection that he always craved from Baba. As soon as this occurred, Hassan and Amir’s relationship drastically alters. Hassan later tells Rahim Khan what happened. His unforgettable scar haunts him and this scar is later passed on to his offspring. Amir’s identity issue is what forced Hassan and Ali to depart. This could’ve been changed if Amir didn’t doubt himself from doing what is moral because at the end he ends up doing just that. If he knew that his identity truly lied in the decision that he makes the regret he suffered wouldn’t have exist.
In Kite Runner there are many lesson that could be learned and many things are shown to the reader that the author is trying to point out. “It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime, Amir” he said” (Hosseini 142). One thing you do can change your whole life and make things either more difficult or easier. The scene in which Baba tells Amir about Soraya past in Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, is important because Hosseini uses it to establish one thing you do can change your whole life and make things either more difficult or easier through Soraya running off with a guy, Amir watching Hassan get raped, and Baba lies.
Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner tells the haunting story of a young boy named Amir who grows up in Afghanistan in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The books later advances into the early 2000s and was published in 2003. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde tells the story of troubled young man, Dorian Gray, who is far too caught up in his own beauty and the damage his troubling behavior does too his appearance. The book takes place in London during the 1890s. Although the books take place almost one hundred years apart, they have striking similarities in how they were written and the stories that take place within the books. Both authors use similar literary devices to create their books. Khaled Hosseini and Oscar Wilde use a combination
Amir spends most of his adult life trying to forget about his cowardice during Hassan’s rape, yet he is awarded with a physical reminder of Hassan. After recuperating from Assef’s attack he endures to rescue Sohrab, Amir has a scar that resembles the one Hassan had during childhood. This is both ironic and symbolic. His new scar makes him like Hassan, similar to how his rescue of Sohrab (bravery) made him like Hassan. Amir rescued Sohrab from the same perpetrator, Assef, that Hassan did for him. The event is further ironic because both Sohrab and Hassan use a slingshot to save Amir. The slingshot represents two generations and symbolizes standing up for what is morally right. Amir’s scar can be viewed as a --- of courage and dignity. He is
Amir's actions showed how much of a coward he was. Amir suffered his whole life living with the guilt of knowing that Hassan was raped, much like Baba lived his whole life in guilt knowing that he stole the truth from Ali by committing adultery. Baba ran from the truth, and so did Amir to protect the family name, even if that meant betraying the people closest to him. Baba was a man more worried about his image than anything, and that is what he taught his son as well. Slowly that is all Amir knew how to do: protect his family and himself, leading him into a life of guilt, and running from people when situations were challenging, instead of making the admirable decision and help a
Throughout the childhood that Hassan and Amir shared, they both experience similar hardships, yet Hassan always has it more difficult. Amir has more than one father figure: Baba, his biological father and Rahim Kahn, his father's best friend. The relationship he has with both men eventually has a positive effect on him. Amir spends most of his childhood fighting for the approval of his father. Amir mentions “Then I saw Baba on our roof. He was standing on the edge, pumping both of his fists. Hollering and clapping. And that right there was the single greatest moment of my twelve years of life, ...
Baba is displayed as an immoral man while at home because he is not loving to his son and he cheated with his friends’ wife and had a child. Even some of Baba’s good qualities such as his care for Hassan and Ali, his father, seem to have a selfish motive behind them because he wants to keep his son close to him. While Baba is never the fatherly figure in the first part of the book, once they leave their home, Baba seems to care a lot more about Amir. This may happen because he does not always have Hassan around to remind him of the terrible mistakes that he made in the past. However, even when Hassan is leaving, Baba still cares about him. Even though Hassan may be a symbol of past mistakes, he is still Baba’s son in the end and family always has a strong bond. Therefore, Baba’s character shows his moral side because instead of hating his illegitimate son, he cares for him as much as he can given the cultural standards of the two opposing religions. By healing his cleft lip and remembering Hassan’s birthday every year, Baba is able to show his caring side that is seldom seen with his relationship with
Baba struggles to adapt to America, while Amir flourishes. Amir stands up for Baba is when Baba is accused of stealing at the store. Baba was quite childish in the way that when he was blamed for stealing,-the only true sin in his mind- he threw a tantrum. This provides an opportunity for Amir to strengthen his fortitude. In this reversed role Amir takes care of the damage, asking the store owners for forgiveness and promising that he will pay the bill for any expenses, just as any responsible adult would do. The tables continue to turn as Amir brings Sohrab into his life. When he first stands up to Assef he fights back and doesn’t let Assef take care of his unfinished business. “ In the end he’d get us both. He’s kept that promise with Hassan. Now it was my turn (pg. 286). Instead of letting him take him down, Amir fights back, to the point of almost killing himself. By standing up for Sohrab, he makes up for not standing up for Hassan in the alleyway. He continues to stand up for Sohrab when he travels back to America. “You will never refer again to him as ‘Hazara boy’ in my presence.” (pg. 361), he tells the general. He ends up becoming not only a man, but a father in the way that he takes care of
Throughout Amir’s journey to absolve himself from the internal and distressing pain he has felt ever since witnessing the devastating altercation in the alley, trying to reach a standard his father, Baba, would approve of also took a toll on his childhood. Baba often speaks of how he cannot fathom the fact that Amir is a part of his bloodline. (quotes quotes quotes) Trying to achieve the perfect son status that Baba wanted Amir to be clouded his mind so greatly that, during the moment, Amir did not show compassion towards Hassan’s troubling moment of need. What matter most was retrieving the last fallen kite to his father to prove he was not a mistake that Baba made Amir believe he was. Even after Baba’s death, his actions brought more despair and uncertainty to Amir’s complicated life. The secrets and lies that were kept from Amir and even Hassan could have altered the fate of both men. (quote quote quote) Throughout the novel, Amir could arguably be considered as selfish, rude and mean toward his half-brother Hassan. However, since Baba never told the two about their true relationship Amir grew up disliking Hassan because he did not know that they shared blood. Knowing their true identities possibly could
“It's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out” (Hosseini). In The Kite Runner, Hosseini shares Amir’s journey to atonement. As Amir states, he was unable to bury his past, similar to his father, Baba, who spent the majority of his life haunted by his sins. While both father and son are consumed by guilt, the way in which they atone for their iniquities is dissimilar. While Baba attempts to live his life according to the Afghan saying, “ Life goes on, unmindful of beginning, end...crisis or catharsis, moving forward like a slow, dusty caravan of kochis [nomads]” (Hosseini 356), Amir strays from this traditional perspective. Baba chose to continue his life unmindful of his past, while Amir, eventually decides to confront his. Although both Baba and Amir have acted immorally, the choices they make find redemption affect the success of their individual attempts. In the novel, Amir’s quest for atonement is more effective than Baba’s because he acts virtuously, while his father, acts selfishly. Ultimately, Amir is the more successful of the two because, in opposition to Baba, he seeks holistic atonement and is willing to make sacrifices to achieve redemption.
When Amir takes Baba to the doctors, the doctor suggests chemotherapy for Baba to prolong the cancer but Baba did not want any medication. Amir tells the reader, “He had the same resolved look on his face as the day he’d dropped the stack of food stamps on Mrs. Dobbins’s desk” (156). Baba did not want help even if his life was on the line. Baba also starts to take pride in Amir when he tells General Taheri, “Amir is going to ne a great writer,” Baba said. I did a double take at this” (139). Amir is starting to realize that his father who was untouchable and was a legend in Kabul was truly human. When Amir tells Baba that he wants to marry Soraya, Baba calls General Taheri to set up a meeting between the two men. As Amir dropped off Baba at the Taheri’s for the meeting, he says, “Baba was hobbling up the Taheri’s driveway for one last fatherly duty” (163). In this instance, Amir sees Baba as a true father. Amir feels Baba’s acceptance when Baba tells Amir on lafz, “It’s the happiest day of my life Amir” (166). Baba is telling Amir that through everything in his life from him marrying Sophia, to Amir winning the kite tournament, all the way to Amir graduating high school, Baba has never been prouder. After Baba’s death, Amir says, “As words from the Koran reverberated through the room, I thought of the old story of Baba wrestling a black bear in Baluchistan. Baba had
As we get to know Amir’s characteristics at the beginning of the novel, we see his drive to become like his father: a respectable and wealthy man. But as he grows more knowledgeable about his frailty and vulnerability, he becomes obsessed with the idea of being perfect—just like his “Baba”. For instance, as Amir witnesses Hassan’s assault, he does nothing in his power to aid him, but instead ignores him in order to erase the default, blemish, flaw in him. Thus leading to his Father’s acceptance along the way as he becomes a respectable man in is father’s eyes. Until Amir comes to realize that his father failed to tell him Hassan was his half-brother. His idea of his perfect father becaume neutralized and his mere troubles became an aching reminder of his wrongdoings— resulting in the acknowledgement of his father’s
Baba is first depicted as an unreachable man who was well respected in the community. Amir recalls his birthday party where he was “scanning over the invitation list a week before my birthday party and not recognizing at least three-quarters of the four hundred [. . .] Then I realized they weren’t really coming for me. It was my birthday, but I knew who the real star of the show was” (94). Amir did not know it at the time, but Baba had sins he was trying to absolve. Through his actions toward redemption, Baba touched the lives of many. Regardless of their social status, Baba would lend a he Amir recalls how Baba “always carried an extra handful of Afghani bills in his pocket just for them; I’d never seen him deny a peddler” (245). Baba would offer his wealth to every beggar he came across. Along with this, he also built an orphanage with his own money, planning, and time. Baba did everything in his power to redeem himself and eradicate himself of the guilt in his heart. Some say he was redeemed; others disagree. Rahim Khan tells Amir of Baba’s dilemma: