“It is easier for a father to have a child than for a child to have a real father”; a quote from Pope John XXIII that sums up the relationship between Baba and Amir. Fathers are important in children’s lives, however occasionally a father is not emotionally connected to their child. Relationships are important for learning, especially those with parents. In “Kite Runner”, Amir’s character is shaped and colored by many people. Baba is most responsible for how Amir was shaped. One of the many parts of Amir’s relationship with Baba, one that makes it difficult for both Baba and Amir in America, is Baba’s wealth and then lack thereof. “Baba paid for the construction of the two-story orphanage, just off Jadeh Maywand south of the Kabul River, with his own money.”; this quotes shows how wealthy Baba is. Despite the amount of money Baba spends, he and Amir do not seem to suffer the loss of money. Baba was incredibly wealthy. His house was a mansion and he owned his own business. He had very little time for Amir because of this business. Amir grew up having everything he ever needed and wanted, except Baba’s approval. Before Baba and Amir immigrated to America, Baba never had to work very hard. He was always well put together and clean. “I glanced at him across the table, his nails chipped and black with engine oil, his knuckles scraped, the smells of the gas station –dust, sweat, and gasoline- on his clothes.” Amir realizes that his father is working hard for him. The differences between past and present Baba are astonishing. The wealth Baba had in Afghanistan made Amir selfish, and the shortage of money in America made Amir selfless. Baba and Amir were very different people, people who had interests that lay in vastly different areas... ... middle of paper ... ...a’s affection was be born, seeing as how Hassan was Baba’s son. Amir and Hassan’s relationship at the beginning of the novel is almost that of two brothers; one older, one younger. Hassan is the more athletic of the two boys, and Baba felt more of a connection with Hassan than Amir because of that in Kabul. Hassan and Amir were constantly in a competition; one the socially accepted child, and the other the bastard half-Hazara boy. Baba’s wealth, lack of emotional connection, and inner conflict between his two vastly different sons shaped Amir in the novel “Kite Runner”. Baba, of all the characters in the book, shaped Amir the most, despite other influential relationships. “Man’s main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is. The most important product of his effort is his own personality.” Works Cited Kite Runner, Brainy Quotes
This quote, an excerpt from the letter Rahim Khan wrote to Amir, reveals the inner torment Baba faced regarding his two sons, whom he didn’t know how to love fairly, and the guilt he carried for fathering an illegitimate son, guilt that is reminiscent of Amir’s guilt for betraying Hassan. All his life, Baba had been hard on Amir, withholding the fatherly affection Amir longed for, but, as Rahim reveals, this was also hard on Baba. Baba wanted to be able to show affection to both of his sons, but didn’t know how when one of his sons was illegitimate and the other represented everything that made him feel guilty. In this quote, it is also apparent that Baba is much more like Amir than either of them thought. Baba harbored guilt for betraying Ali, just as Amir suffered guilt for betraying Hassan.
Baba is a very high standing man in Kabul, but seems to be extremely harsh to Amir when he was a child. He is a very large, tough man who was very well known in the town and as Amir stated in the novel, “Lore has it my father once wrestled a black bear in Baluchistan with his bare hands” (Hosseini 12). This small detail of Baba makes it known to the reader that Baba is a man of great courage and strength. Some may think that an honorable man is one with no flaws, but many disagree. Every human being makes mistakes, including Baba. When Amir grows up and goes back to visit Rahim Khan in Afghanistan, he finds out that his father lied to him his entire life about Hassan being his half-brother. He also finds out from Rahim Khan that all Baba had back then “was his honor, his name” (Hosseini 223). He did not tell Amir and Hassan that they were brothers because they had a different mother and that would have made their entire family be looked down upon in the town. He did it for their own good, and wanted for them both to grow up as honorable men, like himself. There is a difference in making mistakes and trying to do what’s best to fix them, rather than making the same mistakes over and over again, which is what Amir seemed to do in the novel. Amir was the exact opposite of his father, which made it very hard for them to have a
Fathers have a remarkable influence on their children. Every son looks up to their dad, and dreams of becoming a man just like them. In the novel Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Ali and Baba play a tremendous role in their sons lives: Hassan and Amir. Both boys strive to become the man their father is, and would go to any measures to mirror their fathers. All children need a father figure in their lives, and even though Ali and Baba raised their children differently, they were both loved unconditionally.
What 's more, that is intriguing on the grounds that it was the same with their fathers. At the point when Amir is discussing his dad he says, "yet in none of his stories did Baba ever allude to Ali as his companion. The inquisitive thing was, I never considered Hassan and me as companions either". The expression "like father like child" splendidly portrays this circumstance. Some other time is when Baba takes Amir to the lake the day the halfway house opens, Baba advises his child to welcome Hassan to run with them. In any case, he doesn 't and concedes that "He requesting that I get Haasan as well, however I lied and let him know Hassan had the runs. I needed Baba all to myself". That was an exceptionally egotistical move since Amir was just considering himself and not about others. Amir and Baba are additionally both extremely egotistical. Amir is conceited in light of the fact that he couldn 't have cared less that Hassan was getting assaulted just with the goal that Amir could get Hassan 's kite. At the point when Rahim Khan is conversing with Baba he says, "you know, once in a while you are the most narcissistic man I
In the Kite Runner Amir is fighting for his Baba’s approval. There were many times where Amir had felt he had done really well and baba just brushed it off. When Amir was growing up he loved to write stories and he believe he had done really well, his baba though didn’t think much of it. It seemed Amir was really frustrated being treated the same as his servant Hassan, which may have made the struggle a little bit harder for Amir, but that much more worth it if he could just get his baba to approve of him. When Amir was older he had written books, and went to school. If Amir would have known his entire life that Hassan was also his half brother, it probably wouldn’t have been such a difficulty, or such a misunderstanding on trying to get his baba’s
In the novel, The Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini creates a sincere narrative following the disturbing life of a young Afghan body, Amir, as he transitions from adolescence into adulthood. Amir must face various challenges as he journeys through life, including his difficult relationships with those closest to him and the implications of the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. It is on account of his difficult relationship with Baba, that Amir is constantly seeking ways to gain his attention and gratification, no matter the cost. Due to his rigid demeanor and unjust expectations of Amir, countless readers perceive Baba to be a flawed father; however, once information of Hassan’s relation to the two of them is revealed, the reader can understand that Baba was simply a man
Khaled Hosseini introduced the reader to Amir as a shy, young boy who loves to read and as seen from his father Baba’s eyes he is an outcast. Baba believes so much so that Amir is an outcast of the family that he stated on the phone with Rahim Khan that “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” which means that he would have disowned Amir if he wasn’t present at his birth.
LIAM: The dynamic relationships in The Kite Runner are greatly affected by the different interpretations of Islam. Throughout the novel we learn that Amir and Baba were both Muslim although they were not practicing; Unlike Hassan and Ali who were devoted Shi’a Muslims. The difference in religion alters their mindsets, behavior and encourages them to take different courses of action. In Baba and Ali’s complicated relationship, it becomes obvious that Baba is not a practicing muslim due to his drinking habits, smoking addiction and lack of prayer. Alternatively, Ali is dedicated to practicing Muslim beliefs and is determined to live life through religion. Baba’s non-religious method is evident throughout the novel, predominantly when Amir finds out the truth about his Father.
Rahim Khan, Baba’s childhood best friend tells Amir “He was once married to Hazara women from the Jaghori area.” Baba kept a huge secret from Amir that changed his entire life. After Amir’s biological mother passed away Baba got with a Hazara women. Which was Ali’s wife and ended up getting her pregnant, Later turning out to be Hassan. Baba implemented into Amir and Hassan that lying and theft were the biggest sins. Not telling Hassan and Amir that they were brothers and treating them as if they were caused Amir to live a confused childhood and not knowing if they were brothers, his servant, or his best friend because of who he was as a person. When Amir finds out Hassan was his actual brother he doesn’t know how to feel when he finds
The characters of Kite Runner are all craving power in their own individual way, and all express it in different ways. The most delicate power balance is between our narrator, Amir, and his complex relationship with father. Baba takes advantage over his power over Amir. He remains aloof, showing Amir that he is not to Baba’s standards. This act fills Amir with indignation. There is nothing Amir wants more than his father’s approval. Baba realizes that he is wreaking havoc on his impressionable son’s life. This fuels him. This adds to the unscrupulous Baba’s already large ego by making him feel even more powerful. Amir reacts vehemently again and again to try to obtain Baba’s love, but fails each time.
“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.
Over the course of the novel, Baba implies that he is not proud of Amir and the only reason he knows Amir is his son, is because he witnessed Amir 's birth. He states to Rahim Khan that he thinks Amir needs to stand up for himself more often. Countless times during the novel, Amir feels like he has to fight for his affection, that he has to earn Baba’s love. In order to prove himself worthy of affection and to redeem himself for not being a son Baba could be proud of, Amir yearns to win the kite runner competition. He reminisces on a memory, when all “I saw was the blue kite. All I smelled was victory. Salvation. Redemption” (65). In the aftermath of Hassan’s rape, Amir got rid of Hassan so he would not have to face the cause of his guilt on a daily basis. Amir buries the secret of the rape deep within him, where he hopes that it will not come back to haunt him, which is not the case. “We had both sinned and betrayed. But Baba had found a way to create good out of his remorse. What had I done, other than take my guilt out on the very same people I had betrayed, and then try to forget it all? What had I done, other than become an insomniac? What had I ever done to right things?” (303). As mentioned earlier, Amir is not one who stands up for himself. In order for Amir to redeem himself for betraying Hassan, and not standing up for him earlier,
Escaping his father’s aloofness in his mother’s books was the only thing keeping some connection with his father. His father was distant towards Amir. Amir thought that his father hated him because his mother died while giving birth to him. Amir feels responsible for his mother’s death. “Without me as the glaring exception, my father molded the world around him to his liking. The problem, of course, was that Baba saw the world in black and white. And he got to decide what was black and what was white. You can’t love a person who lives that way without fearing him too. Maybe even hating him a little” (Hosseini 15). This tells the reader that they did not have a close relationship, but there was a lot of respect. Baba was a powerful man and got whatever he wanted. Amir was intimidated by this. It shows that Amir and his father weren’t close in Amir’s early childhood.
Khaled Hosseini on his novel The Kite Runner illustrates that how the hero of this novel “Amir” affected by his father. Amir thought that his father does not love him because Amir admits
Throughout the book, Amir idolises and admires his father, almost to the point of obsession. What he was not aware of was the fact that Baba is only human, and no human is perfect. When the Russians take over Afghanistan, Baba and Amir emigrate to United States. Years later, Amir receives a call from a dying old friend, Rahim Khan, who requests Amir to visit him in Pakistan. Amir fulfils the request and makes his way to Pakistan, where Rahim Khan tells him the truth of Hassan’s parentage. In actuality, Hassan is the illegitimate son of Baba, making the two half-brothers. Baba once told Amir, “When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth.” (Hosseini, 18) The greatly revered Baba committed theft–he stole Amir and Hassan’s right to the truth. To redeem himself for his crime, Baba decided to do charitable acts. He put much effort into constructing his redemption–an orphanage–even to the point of drawing the blueprints by himself. Baba faced his past and sought redemption by being a truly good-natured man to make up for the wrongdoing that defined him as a