Relationships In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

Relationships are something that every person experiences throughout their lifetime. Whether it’s the comforting relationship of a friend, a swoon-worthy relationship of a lover, or a heart-melting relationship with your parents - every person has stumbled across at least one type of relationship. Sadly, not all relationships are made of fairytales and dreams. Negative and dysfunctional relationships sound both hurtful and heartbreaking, but are also very real. Wounded relationships lead people to perform harmful actions that permanently scar others mentally, and result in distrust and the feeling of neglect. However, these types of relationships are not irreversible. In fact, many of these seemingly hopeless relationships can be patched up

Baba feels that he has no need to have any bond with his son other than simply being bonded by blood, and is extremely irritated that Amir is not a perfect copy of himself. He says, “He’s always buried in those books or shuffling around the house like he’s lost in some dream[…]I wasn’t like that.’”(23). And Amir notices that “ Baba sounded frustrated, almost angry” (23). Baba wants a son to carry on his name, his legacy, and his business. He believes that Amir does not meet his requirements. Rather harshly he states, “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” (25). The emotional detachment Baba is so insistent on prevents him from becoming the father figure that Amir desperately needs in his life. With Amir losing his mother during his own birth, and the constant blaming of himself for his mother’s death, Amir essentially grows up in a broken household without a proper role model to follow or a healthy relationship to rely on. Hosseini portrays the harm that non-functioning relationships can bring into life through the lives of the characters in this

Hope that anything can make a change for the better, even dysfunctional relationships. After winning the kite tournament, Baba and Amir’s relationship steadily begins to improve. Amir realizes that the attention and approval Baba showers him with is the type of relationship that Amir has been constantly seeking throughout his life. As the book progresses, both Amir and Baba flee to America. It is here where Amir and Baba both begin to discover themselves; Amir discovers that he misses Afghanistan while Baba begins to see that his son does live up to expectations. Baba undergoes a complete change of attitude when he finally realises that Amir should not be an outsider and cast away in his life. The change and development of these characters is most prominent after Amir’s high school graduation when Baba remarks “‘I am moftakhir, Amir [...] Proud’”(139), along with "‘Tonight I am too much happy […] I am drinking with my son”(139). Another meaningful example is evident through Baba buying Amir his first car “‘I wanted to say more […] how touched was by his act of kindness, how much I appreciated all that he had done for me, all that he was still doing”(17), thus portraying the growing positive relationship Baba and Amir have in America, as well as the drastic change in