Baba says this quote while having a private conversation with Rahim Khan, which exposes important traits of Baba and Amir. The irony of Baba ranting to Rahim Khan about Amir to never be able to stand up for himself; Hassan always saves him. The irony takes its place when Amir watches Assef rape Hassan without interfering. These words shows Amir’s character flaw, cowardice, and Baba shows how significant it is to stand up for what is right. We all know that Baba is hesitant to seize recognition of Amir because Amir’s decrease of courage to stand up for himself, which leaves Amir deeply wanting Baba’s praise and approval. Hassan was the best kite runner because he always knew where the kite would land. He says these words as a response to Amir …show more content…
The disappointment in Baba, as he heard those words from Amir, made him feel as if he had failed to be a father. Baba had been tough on Amir for a reason because he didn't want to have to worry about his son. Amir could never stand up for himself, nor could he have stood up for his friend, which heavies the disappointment. I would feel the same way as Baba if my child were to ask me that question, especially at the stage adulthood. Amir's blunt rejection to Rahim Khan’s request to bring Sohrab is an act of betrayal to Hassan. He betrays Hassan one more time, even when Hassan dies as a loyal friend. Through the book, Amir’s ongoing troubles haunt him as the years go by, but I believe he would take any opportunity to redeem himself. At the end of chapter seventeen, Rahim Khan told Amir the truth about how Hassan and Amir are half-brothers. As you can see, this quote is where we see how selfish Amir is and his lacking sense of loyalty. When Amir is confronted by Assef, he denies any relationship with Hassan because of his feelings. I predict Amir will go to Kabul and bring back Hassan's son. Amir will find it in himself, cast aside his cowardice, and do the right
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...
Amir’s redemption is a large part of the novel and is carried out almost entirely until the end of the story. He travels to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from the orphanage he was placed in after the death of his parents. He promises to find him a safe home with someone but after time passes he feels like this is not enough. He then speaks to his wife and decides to take Sohrab back to the United States with him and take care of his as if he was one of his own. Earlier in the novel when Baba is speaking Amir over hears his conversation as he is referring to him stating, “A boy who won 't stand up for himself becomes a man who can 't stand up to anything” (Hosseini, 22). Thus meaning that if he is able to stand up for himself as a young boy, when he is grown he will not be able to stand up for anything that is in his future. This is true throughout the story until he stands up for himself and Sorhab when he is arguing with his life long bully, Assef. Amir lacked the courage to defend himself in the novel until he finally took charge and went against
Baba, is what Amir called his father. Amir always looked up to Baba. He never wanted to disappoint him. Amir always wanted to be the only boy in the eyes of his father. He was jealous and would do anything for Baba to look up to him or respect him, as his son. Hence, the kite and alley incident. Through all the lies and deception, Baba still viewed Amir as innocent in many ways. Though Baba always wanted Amir to be athletic, play soccer, and display a talent of kite running and flying like Hassan and himself, he still loved Amir and saw his talents as a
Amir begins to feel redemption when he goes to Pakistan and Rahim Khan has letters from Hassan to Amir. In the letters, Hassan begins talking about his wife and
Baba teaches Amir the ways to become a virtuous man, however Amir is not as courageous as his father and it is difficult for Amir to demonstrate his teachings. Baba teaches Amir how to be a strong good man, but Amir does not seem to grasp these values as much as he may want to. Thusly, Amir constantly seeks his father’s approval, yet he does not follow the one thing his father has taught him, being a decent man. This does not just include knowing the difference between right and wrong, it is being strong enough to stand up for what is just. Courage and bravery are two characteristics Amir needs to gain acceptance not only from his father but also from himself. Amir overhears his father talking to Rahim Khan about him and Hassan. He hears his father say, “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up for anything,” (Hosseini 22). This saddens Amir, because he re...
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
Baba saw that something was not right in Amir but never quite was able to tie his head around it. “ Sometimes I look out this window and I see him playing on the street with the neighborhood boys. I see how they push him around, take his toys from him, give him a shove 2here, a whack there. And you know, he never fights back. Never. He just . . . drops his head and . . . “ (22). As Baba see’s this in his own son in a way he has a bit of disappointment. Baba wanted Amir to be as tough as he was he wanted his son to fight back when he was supposed to fight back. To let be known that he was not
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
The Kite Runner is an exceptionally intriguing book. It is an extremely irritating book with the majority of the realistic points of interest. You know when you 're viewing a motion picture and somebody is getting tormented severely and there is blood all over the place and it is a truly realistic scene? Be that as it may, despite everything you observe despite the fact that it 's gross since you need to see what is going to happen to the individual? That is the manner by which Kite Runner is for me. Despite the fact that the book is exceptionally aggravating in numerous parts I can 't put it down in light of the fact that I need to continue pursuing to see what happens to the individual after the realistic and irritating scenes. Are the assault
Amir never stands up for himself in his youth. He always uses others to execute his dirty deeds for him. Consequently, Baba doesn’t recognize Amir as a man. Baba identifies a man as someone who can stand up for himself. Baba had stood up for his beliefs and proved critics wrong. He was told “running a business wasn’t in his blood and he should
This quotation represents a change in Amir. It represents him realizing what he had done to betray Hassan. It starts his life as an insomniac and his constant internal fight for
Trying to redeem himself for how he had betrayed Hassan, twice, when he was younger. He travelled to Pakistan, initially, to visit Rahim Khan, since Rahim was getting older and wanted to meet Amir for the last time. Then Rahim Khan asked Amir to bring Sohrab back, Amir had rejected bringing Sohrab back because he did not want to risk his life but he agreed once he knew Hassan was his half-brother. When he had fought with Assef, he was laughing while he was getting beat up by Assef, because he finally felt like he got redemption for what had happened with Hassan, "What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace"(Hosseini, 303). He did manage to bring Sohrab to the U.S, and when they were flying kites, Amir decided to run the last kite, and said the same thing Hassan had said to him when he ran the last kite during the kite tournament, "For you, a thousand times over,"(Hosseini, 391). That was the circularity of Amir
First, Baba’s looming shame of his affair prohibits him from being a proper father to Amir and Hassan. Baba fails to inform Amir that his best friend, Hassan, is actually his half-brother because of this affair. Years after Baba’s death, Rahim Khan tells Amir of Baba’s act of adultery. With this betrayal, Amir begins to question everything he values in his father, stating 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 [Hassan’s “father”] his honor. His nang. His namoos” (Hosseini 225). Despite his guilt, Baba makes a vow with Rahim Khan and Ali to keep the affair a secret from his own sons, causing a distortion
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,
..., Baba told him that a boy that doesn’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up for anything. As a boy, Amir fails to stand up for himself. But, Amir redeems himself as an adult by showing he has the courage to stand up for what is right. Amir travels back to Kabul so that he can right the wrongs of his childhood. In Kabul, Amir stands up to Assef and rescues Hassan’s son, Sohrab.