Assimilation In The Kite Runner

Hosseini also states that Hassan’s lip symbolizes the cultural and social differences throughout the novel, and how Amir's slingshot symbolizes the loyalty, their childhood, and explains standing up for what is right. The Kite Runner is a story of about an Afghan­American boy named Amir who has flashbacks that visually depict how his life was when he was just a young boy living in Afghanistan. It was a time of injustice as he searches for a redemption of his past guilts. Hosseini shows readers how Amir matures, and how he felt about different experiences during his life back in Afghanistan. The Kite Runner employs symbolism to show the experiences and moments in Amir’s life that have meaning to him and have left an impact on his life forever. By using symbolism, Hosseini makes readers think about how much earlier experiences and moments have shaped Amir’s life in The Kite Runner.

America was definitely different than what Amir and Baba were used to. Baba and Amir were at the top of the social status pyramid because of their abundant wealth. Their house was very large and they had servants to take care of them daily. When Baba and Amir moved to America, their eyes were opened to a see that people were even more wealthy than they were in Afghanistan. This makes it ironic that in America there are “homes that made Baba’s house in Wazir Akbar Khan look like a servant’s hut.” Baba’s home in Afghanistan was known as one of the best in Kabul, but when Baba and Amir moved to America they were no longer living like kings. The two men did not expect their once lavish home in Afghanistan to be able to be compared to what their

Baba couldn't demonstrate to me the way any longer; I'd need to discover it all alone." (pg 154) In this Amir is presently acknowledging he was not as autonomous of a man as he thought he was and how he now needs to make sense of what sort of man he needs to turn into. After soothing Soraya after she had felt harmed about not satisfying Afghanistan's social orders principles of the perfect lady, Amir understands his and soraya's disparities inside their general public. Evidence: "As I drove, I asked why I was distinctive.

When the Russian soldier asked for half an hour with the lady in the back Baba stood up and spoke against it. Baba had the courage due to his past experiences and adverse situations he has already faced. “I will take a thousand of his bullets before I let this indecency take place.” His personal values and beliefs went against Russian soldiers demands only because incidents before have had an impact on his character and they shaped his identity. Baba constantly tries to do good deeds to redeem and perhaps forgive himself. Another example of shaping identity is society pressure. Baba’s image mattered, how other people saw him and how they treated him was a part of his personal values and self worth. Wealth, status and honor were how he was portrayed in front of society. Society pressure and judgment shaped Baba’s identity and impacted his decisions. He was ashamed to tell everyone that he is Hassan’s father, a father to a Hazzara. He did not want to lose his identity of being a Pashtun or be disrespected due to his past. Just as Amir Baba was willing to deal with guilt and regret for personal desires and searched for true redemption the rest of his life.

Amir and his father’s weak relationship in Afghanistan changes when Amir finally accomplishes something Baba can be proud about, spreading light of a possible close relationship in the future. At the beginning of the novel, Baba is talking with his friend, Rahim Khan, about his worries for Amir not standing up for himself, when he is being bullied. Khan responds to Baba saying, ““Children aren’t coloring books. You don’t get to fill them in with your favorite colors””(Hosseini 21). This quote illustrates the difficult relationship Amir and his father have with each other because Baba wants to mold him into the ‘perfect’ son, but Amir does not find appreciation in the same things as Baba, causing this ‘mold’ to be ruined. Amir and Baba being polar opposites causes them to naturally separate from each other because Baba likes building luxury to fit his ego, but Amir values the smaller gestures people do in life. Once Amir finally does something that makes Baba proud and improves ‘their’ ego, Baba starts to appreciate Amir more and tries to do more things with him. This is depicted when Hosseini writes, “Baba and I were finally friends” (Hosseini 85). Although Amir thinks they are close, they are not as close as they could be because Baba usually invites friends and family to join them on their outings. Also, when they are alone it is very awkward for the two of them because they do not know each other very well. The reason Amir feels like he is gaining his father’s acceptance is because he is taking him places, rather than ignoring his existence completely, which is a significant step compared to their relationship before. This step in their relationship illustrates they have a chance at becoming even closer in the future.

Amir and Baba eventually leave Afghanistan as well, forced out by the Russian invasion of their beloved country. Everything he does at this point proves that he truly loves Amir; he sacrifices his wealth, business, and life to bring Amir to the safety of the United States. In response to this new country, filled with new people and languages, Amir and Baba’s relationship drastically transforms. Before, Baba was all powerful and knowledgeable, but now, Amir guides his father in the American way. Nowhere is this more evident than when Baba vandalizes the Nguyen’s store after they ask

So after emigrating to the United States of America, Baba constantly lives with his memories of glorious years spent in Afghanistan and with the desire to come back to his motherland one day.

While on a truck, he defended the women. Willing to take the bullet without hesitation, he put his life on the line for the stranger, for his passion had been stronger than his fear of death. Baba acted out of bravery due to his grand stature, level head, and big heart, “when all six-foot-five of him thundered into the room, attention shifted to him like sunflowers turning to the sun” (13). Baba was well respected in Afghanistan, and he knew that his voice would be heard; therefore, he used his power as a way to defend the defenseless. He was willing to sacrifice himself even though his son disagreed with the idea. Amir thought only of himself and that he would be left as an orphan if Baba was shot; whereas Baba wanted to help the woman as long as he was only risking his own life. His heart reached out for anyone needing an extra hand. He loved and cared for so many people, he wanted to help all of them. Baba put in hard work to help the people around him, and they all looked up to him due to “the marks he had left on people’s lives” (174). Baba’s willingness to sacrifice himself for strangers shaped his reputation in Afghanistan.

By not telling Amir and Hassan that he is Hassan’s father, Baba not only breaks his own moral code, but also hurts Amir’s feelings. Baba lied to both Amir and Hassan and to everyone else by not telling them that he is Hassan’s father. Baba believes that the only sin is theft and that “every other sin is a variation of theft” (17). One of these variations is lying which he says is stealing someone’s right to the truth. However, he is condemned by his own moral guidelines. When Amir learns that Baba fathered Hassan, he realizes “Baba had been a thief. And a thief of the worst kind,

Amirs father, Baba, is a strong man very set in his ways. He represents the independent culture of old Afghanistan. He instills his ideals of masculinity on Amir, and believes he should be stronger, more sports oriented, and able to stand up for himself. “Of

He is the protagonist. Readers feel compassion for him. He is conflicted in many ways. He is jealous of the relationship and bond Baba has with Hassan. Yet he realises that Hassan is of the lower class in society.”I was going to win, and I was going to run that last kite. Then I’d bring it home and show it to Baba. Show him once and for all that his son was worthy.” (Housini 53) He is very emotional and a storyteller. Baba, the father. He is considered a hero and a leader in Kabul. He is Amir’s father. They never really had a strong connection especially in afghanistan. Baba always exceeds the expectations of others, because of that he expects more out of his son. Baba also comes off as someone who lives by his own moral code. He is hiding a secret that he is afraid to tell. Hassan is amir's playmate and servant. He is also the son of Ali. Hassan felt like Amir was his friend but Amir never really thought of Hassan that way.

First, Amir’s relationship with his father, Baba, helped create Amir’s identity. Their intricate relationship often left Amir feeling worthless as if he could not live up to the standards of a Pashtun. This negatively impacted Amir growing up; his values constantly changed as he tried to form a close bond with his father. Baba raised Amir to believe that everyone in Afghanistan had a certain role to play in life, but they should all be treated with respect. Baba’s values made Amir think he had disappointed his father. The high expectations that Baba had for Amir showed that he cared about their reputation. Being the child Amir was, he translated Baba’s hardness as though his father were unhappy to have a child such as Amir. Amir recounts the emotion displayed on his father’s face after an afternoon together; he laments, “Mostly I will never forget Baba’s valiant efforts to conceal the disgusted

Through the portrayal of a society where politics are ethnic-based, masculinity being amplified is only one of the few thematic ideas that are present, others include the atonement of sins, resentment, immigration, expectations in a father-son relationship and barriers between different classes or castings. Concentrating primarily on subject of immigration, another significant parallel is present. In a biography of author Khaled Hosseini, Great Neck Publishing discusses Hosseini’s life, “The family subsisted on welfare during their first year in the country, with Hosseini 's father working at a flea market for extra income before finding a job as a driving instructor”. Relating back to the revelation of multiple themes, Hosseini depicts the struggles immigrants face while adapting to a new culture and environment of an unknown abode in The Kite Runner, similarly as he did himself, through Amir and Baba’s life abroad in America. Although Baba was a well reputed man back in his homeland, he too struggled, like Hosseini’s father, to being financially stable, which is evident through his job at the flea market, ultimately representing how they had to start over. Hosseini conveys the struggles of his characters in a fictitious text as a portrayal of his real life experiences which quite pointedly makes the novel more influential for readers to grasp onto the events that take place around the world thereby acknowledging the minorities, such as the

However, his constant burden of having to pay for his adulterous act, considered one of the ultimate sins in his conservative Sunni Islamic environment, coupled with the tragedy of his wife’s death leads Baba to also be portrayed as a less of a father and more of having an immature personality in the way he deals with his son. Hosseini’s purpose in this complex relationship with Amir was to highlight how different the circumstances were in Afghanistan given more extreme social conditions Americans are unfamiliar with. This conflict leads Hosseini to somewhat reconcile Baba’s bad parenting as being a product of the trade-offs necessary to living in context of that particular belief system. His preoccupation with relieving his guilt prevented him from being the father Amir secretly desired him to be.

Amir, representing the Pashtuns and high-society Afghanis, allows himself to degrade Hassan, the face of the mere Hazaras of the lowest class rank. Through the eyes of Amir, it seems as though Baba preoccupies himself passing time with his comrade Rahim Khan; when he sporadically attempts to involve Amir in his life, Baba always suggests that Hassan accompany them in their daily adventures leaving Amir questioning why his father tries desperately to avoid alone time and bonding moments with his son. The initial occurrences in which Amir witnesses Baba's immediate affection for Hassan drive Amir's negative mental attitude and envy towards his only companion Hassan.