Alienation Amidst Dissimilarity: The Kite Runner

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It is natural for the human mind to feel rejected when it does not receive the attention it deems appropriate. This concept can otherwise be defined as alienation. “Alienation occurs when a person withdraws or becomes isolated from other people in his or her environment. People who are alienated will often reject loved ones or society, and feel distant and estranged from their own emotions” (Alienation 1). Multiple times in the novel The Kite Runner, the protagonist, Amir, lives through an alienation that causes him to search for alternative routes in order to feel accepted. Amir struggles to stand up for himself which concerns his father, Baba, about his future well-being as an adult. The values that Amir possesses that make him so unique from ordinary children his age aggravate Baba. He endeavors to please his father who ignores him; but what Amir perceives to be attention worthy, is unappreciated by Baba. Despite being is raised in a privileged-society, Amir has interests and talents that are atypical of a boy throughout his childhood. He seeks to change the world by putting words onto paper in order to create a deeper meaning to life. Amir’s flourishing gift of writing and storytelling is not understood by his father. The author of The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini, implements the concept of alienation in the novel in order to demonstrate the importance of a father-like figure that Amir never acquires. However, the estrangement Baba creates causes Amir to commit actions that result in heavy consequences. Amir does not have Baba to guide his ambitions, uncharacteristic or not, because they seem so irrelevant to his own. The famous expression, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”, is denied validity by the various occurren...

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... empathetic fatherly figure, by showing how a child struggles for a father-son bond, and the consequences that can arise due to the actions taken to achieve this relationship” (The Relationship 4).

Works Cited
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"The Importance of Father Figures." Everyday Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2014. .
"The Relationship Between Father and Son in "The Kite Runner"" HubPages. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2014. .

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