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Relationships In The Kite Runner

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Like Father, Like Son In the novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. Amir and Hassan have a convoluted But a special relationship. Afghanistan is a country separated into two races of Pashtuns and Hazaras in which Hazaras are meant to be Pashtuns servants. There are significant Cultural allusions of pride and family's respect to an Afghani life. A culture that at times forces lies to keep a family's reputation that further on causes Amir's life dearly. Amir is Baba's son -Baba is a very well know and powerful man in Kabul- and their servants are Ali and his son Hassan. Amir is different from his father and is unable to pursue Baba's dreams for his son. 20 years later, after various events and a complicated relationship between Amir and …show more content…

His backfired attempt to establish an unbiased view towards both Amir and Hassan causes discrimination towards Amir. It enacts Amir's jealousy and compels him to betray Hassan as a kid. Amir and Hassan lived together as Hassan accompanying Amir as his “servant” while Hassan cared for and loved Amir as his friend. Due to the Afghan qualities and "the socially legitimate half, the half that represented the riches he had inherited and the sin-with-impunity privileges that came with them," Baba has no other choice other than acceptances to lie to Amir and Hassan (Hosseini page #301). Amir would thrive to have a loving father to support him. Due to his limited knowledge, he expects Baba to treat Hassan like his servant. Baba was forced to be "a man torn between two halves”(Hosseini page #301). A man to treat Hassan, one of his sons as his servant and Amir as his real son. The imagery in “a man torn between two halves” expands to the influence of the word torn, picturing the pain Baba endures to be able to treat them differently. The historical allusion of shame to a Pashtun sleeping and having a child with a Hazara took over the priority of a fatherly figure and required Baba to treat Amir and Hassan differently, but a father's love disabled him to follow up with his decision to treat them differently. Baba would "buy a fancier Kite for me [Amir], he'd buy it for Hassan too" and …show more content…

By saving a child in need and most importantly the child of the man he betrayed. He'd been guilty of the sins he had committed and found the way to redeem himself. To be able to for once and for all make Hassan's soul Happy and proud of his brother. Amir and Hassan lived in a world of lies. Lies that " I [Rahim Khan] am ashamed for after all those years" to be able to protect the reputation of their families (Hosseini Page #301). The lies caused by the cowardice and poor decisions by Baba and the closest person to him, Rahim Khan. Baba "was a tortured soul" and trapped between his family and his culture. The connection between Baba and Amir, the two dynamic characters of Khaled Hosseini's fantastic book signify the meaning of guilt and the force of love. Baba stole Amir and Hassan's right to the truth, and so did Amir. Amir stole Hassan's right to a happy life with his father by framing him into what he never did. All Amir was left with after 20 years was a Polaroid, and one mission to redeem himself. To get rid of the guilt that has been following him like "a pair of crows [that] sat off the low wall on the enclosed cemetery" (Hosseini Page #264). The pair of crows symbolizes Baba and Hassan following his tracks. Through this symbolization, the crows expand the idea of death presented by the connotation of crows and also Baba and

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653 Words | 3 Pages

We get to know a lot about Amir, a young boy, and his father, Baba Throughout the story we see Baba’s gradual change in character, turning from the cold distant father he was to the loving and caring father Amir wanted him to be. Baba fills the hole inside himself that was dug by guilt in Afghanistan by learning to move on from his sins and build a relationship with his son in America. The loss of his wife, Sofia Akrami, created the hole. After her death and Amir’s birth, he felt such despair that he had an affair with his best friend, Ali’s, wife. This only created more guilt, as he impregnated her with Hassan.

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559 Words | 3 Pages

Amir would even argue that Baba treats Hassan better and with more love than he treats his own blood in Amir. So, to Amir, Baba is treating him cruelly by not showing him the love and affection that a young boy needs and deserves growing up. What is interesting about this situation is the cruelty that Amir is describing and is upset with actually stems from cruelty in Baba’s past. The plot in The Kite Runner takes a turn when it is revealed that Hassan is actually Baba’s real son, and the only reason that Baba and Ali (Hassan’s “father” who raises him and also is a servant for the family) cover this up is due to the natural cruelty of the class system in Afghanistan. Hassan’s mother is a Hazara, and in this time period, Hazaras were looked down upon and seen as inferior.

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326 Words | 2 Pages

Amir retells the narrative of his life, he measures every occasion against his transgression, his double-crossing of Hassan. As we learn towards the novel's end, Amir is not by any means the only character who needs recovery, Assef regardless. Until Rahim Khan uncovers Baba's mystery, Amir supposes he is the main miscreant among his family and companions. Indeed, even before Amir sells out him, Hassan makes him feel remorseful just by being such an upright 5 individual. Amir is continually attempting to measure up to Baba, on the grounds that he doesn't understand that Baba is so difficult on him in light of his blame over his own wrongdoing.

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490 Words | 2 Pages

Baba’s guilt causes him to constantly act ashamed of Amir, when in all reality he was ashamed of himself. Baba claimed that there was always “something missing in [Amir]” (22) He wanted Amir to be the perfect son, so he did not have to feel remorse for giving Amir the luxurious life over his other son, Hassan. His guilt for not being able to be a father to Hassan led him to do everything he could for Hassan while still keeping up his own high class appearance with only one son. When Hassan was accused of stealing Amir’s birthday presents, even though he committed the only sin that mattered to Baba, Baba forgave

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72 Words | 1 Pages

Father to Amir and Hassan. Baba is a wealthy and highly respected Afghan merchant, and has never truly connected with his son Amir, thinking he should be more manly by playing soccer and running kites. Baba places a high value on doing what is right, and in principles such as honour and pride, this influences much of what he does in the novel (building an orphanage, refusing food stamps and cancer treatment)

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1537 Words | 7 Pages

Amir a boy with the desire to be accepted by his father and live up to someone of his father’s character. Amir was fragile and afraid unlike Baba who was strong. However as the novel progresses many similarities arise between the father and son. The similarities between Baba and Amir are shown through their acts of courage, in pursuing their passions and their choices to betray a loved one.

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Baba holds the secret that Hassan is his son to protect his social status in society, Amir hides Hassans rape and keeps it to himself and pretends it did not happen. Moreover, their best friends are their servants. In addition, both Amir and Baba show an act of kindness and generosity in the novel. Baba builds an orphanage, while Amir

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506 Words | 3 Pages

Amir was upset that his father was a liar and stole the truth from him his whole life. Amir loses some respect for his father, but it was a relief to know he was not so perfect, and they both had flaws. When finding out that Baba is Hassan’s father, many negative realizations come to mind. For example, Hassan could have had a better life since he was not fully Hazara. Baba always looked out for Hassan, even getting him surgery for his cleft lip.

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1731 Words | 7 Pages

As a result, he often has difficulty relating to his son, leading him to think that “there is something missing in [Amir]”, because he is not like himself (Hosseini 24). Amir continuously tries to impress Baba, a longing that has a lasting negative impact, as he bases his self-worth on the approval his father. As a result, Amir develops a habit of being overly jealous towards people, such as Hassan, that hold Baba’s interest. Even trivial items-such as the construction of the orphanage-have the power to provoke

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1425 Words | 6 Pages

Because of this expectation, however, Amir and Baba have a distant relationship during his childhood. On the other hand, Ali simply wants a normal and peaceful life for Hassan, one he was unable to achieve. The contrasting backgrounds and statuses of both fathers makes them develop a differing view of life and what they hope to achieve from it. The contrastive fatherly figures in both boys’ lives, therefore, directly influence their personalities and morality.

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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

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955 Words | 4 Pages

(Hosseini, page no.18) .Amir takes his Baba’s affection toward Hassan-Baba’s servants’ son-in the wrong way for Hassan always showed a lot more similar qualities to Baba than Amir ever did. In an attempt to win his Baba’s

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942 Words | 4 Pages

Baba lies, and Amir and Hassan are influenced by the deception, and Amir’s life is changed as a result. Deception leads to immense suffering and unintended consequences; Hosseini harnesses character’s internal conflicts to showcase the suffering and consequences the character’s had to cope with as a result of deception. Baba was very self-conscious about his image, and as a result he chose to lie to Amir and Hassan about their true fathers without thinking about the possible consequences. Baba thought he was justified in lying because he wanted to protect his Pashtun pride. In lying, Baba contradicted his beliefs; as he had told Amir “There is only one sin…..

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Art Nouveau depicted a more whimsical light on women. Gender roles in society were changing with the beginning of war which meant the media’s view on women was also changing. Men heading off to war caused a shift in social stereotypes and woman were forced into the working class. Although several posters still used the idea of women being mere sex objects to gain appeal, such as Howard Christy’s Gee!! I Wish I Were a Man 1917 poster, the shift in focus was on recruitment and women 's involvement in maintaining life while men were off fighting a war.

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Baba neglected Amir, which caused him to make poor decisions, while vying for his father’s love. Amir finds his true self and in the end his relationship with Baba helped to form him into the man he was at the end of the novel, one Baba is proud of. A loving and empathetic fatherly figure is necessary in a son’s

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