Father Son Relations in the Kite Runner

Fathers are needed to be a good role model for their children. A vital relationship with a father is crucial as the influence of one can positively affect a person for their lifetime. In Khaled Hosseini’s Kite Runner, one can see that good father(s) have a positive impact on a person’s life. Although Baba does not spend time much time with Amir in Afghanistan, He is still a good father because he positively impacts Hassan and Amir’s respective lives. This stance will be demonstrated through the words and actions of Baba found in the novel.

While Amir defeats his final obstacle to win Baba’s approval, he reciprocally falls down and fails to show courage in Hassan’s rape. Amir assumes that Hassan “was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” as he watches Assef sodomize Hassan, and he “actually aspired to cowardice” (77). The atonement of Amir’s sins to Baba sparks the commencement of Amir’s betrayal to Hassan. Furthermore, Amir runs away and hides from his sins in Amerca knowing that he cannot gain the courage to redeem himself and completely fulfill his quest to adulthood. Nonetheless, Rahim Khan provides Amir an opportunity to accomplish his redemption. After decades of hiding, Rahim Khan calls Amir to tell him to “come” back to Kabul since “there is a way to be good again” (192). Amir must successfully accomplish his final obligation to complete his quest to maturity. In addition, Amir must stop hiding like a boy and begin to stand up like a man. As Amir returns to Kabul to save Sohrab, and ultimately redeem himself, he must fight Assef one last time, which results in Amir’s “body being broken – just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later – but I felt healed. Healed at last” (289). Amir now receives his deserved punishment and, most importantly, he learns to stand up and finally matures into a man. Although Amir completes his quest to adulthood, readers must realize that Amir must ultimately grant Sohrab a

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.

Shortly after Baba’s death, his old friend Rahim Khan calls him to come back to Afghanistan to finally make amends. As Amir begins his journey back to Afghanistan, his character can be defined as empathic and loving.

In the book the Kite Runner by Hosseini, the main character, Amir, grows up in Afghanistan, and the strong culture affects his moral character while he lives their and after he moves away. He is unable to fit in with the cultural expectations his father puts on him, the religious racism divides him and his half brother Hassan, and the traditional family values cause tension between him and his wife, this all leads back to the theme of Amirs struggle to fulfill his ideals of masculinity.

Furthermore, Amir forgives Baba for not telling him that Amir and Hassan are half-brothers. Hassan gets treated very well by Baba, considering he is a server at Baba’s house. Hassan gets great birthday presents, and he is always welcome to father-son activities with Amir and Baba. Sometimes Amir is jealous and doesn’t understand why Hassan gets treated the same as himself. Amir wants to be treated better, because he is Baba’s son, and Hassan is Baba’s servant. What Amir doesn’t know is that Hassan is his half-brother. Years later, Rahim Kahn tells him this when Amir visits him in Pakistan. Amir learns that a long time ago, Baba had an affair with a Hazara woman, which was socially unacceptable. Out of this affair, a child was born: Hassan. Hassan is not Ali’s son; Hassan is Baba’s son. Baba never tells Amir, and this makes Amir very angry and disappointed. For Amir, his father is a hero and not a liar. However, when Rahim Kahn explains Baba’s situation and why he acted this way, Amir starts to

When Amir and his wife, Soraya, can’t seem to have a child, Amir believes that it is because of his wrongdoings in the past. Right up until Amir is in his 30’s does he confront his mistakes. It takes a call from Rahim Khan to persuade him that there is ‘a way to be good again’ (Pg. 2). Amir knows that he needs to make up to Hassan for the wrong that he did all those years ago, and so by confronting his mistake and trying to redeem himself by rescuing Sohrab, Hassan’s son. Amir’s confrontation with Assef when he is getting back Sohrab made him feel like he was confronting his mistakes and gaining redemption ‘For the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace… In some nook in a corner of my mind, I’d even been looking forward to this.’ (Pg. 265). This is the punishment and redemption that he has been waiting all these years for, because Hassan wouldn’t punish him all those years ago when they were under the pomegranate tree.

In the novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini establishes a type of relationship of a father and son in whom the son seeks his father’s love, and attention, while the father does not appreciate how his son is growing up to be. We have seen up until now that Baba dislikes the point that Amir does not resemble him in anyways, up to a point where Baba admitted, “If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife…I’d never believe he’s my son”(23). The reason Baba expresses this is since Amir does not resemble him in a way that he wants him to act. Strong, athletic, or brave, all in which Amir has faults in and what his father is picturing him to be. A powerful line that Hosseini wrote in the novel, coming from the character Rahim Khan saying, “children aren’t coloring books.

Rahim was quick to point out that Amir’s individuality was something to be grateful for. Reminding Baba that “children aren’t coloring books. You don’t get to fill them with your favorite colors.” Rahim brokers an understanding from Baba that his son is special regardless if he doesn’t mold to the social standards imposed on him by Afghan society. From early on it is made clear that Rahim has taken a special interest to Amir’s well being, protecting him from more than just Baba’s words, but Amir’s own fragile confidence in himself. When Baba ignores Amir, Rahim Khan is right there with words of encouragement. "As always, it was Rahim Khan who rescued me".

There has always been an old question that remains unanswered, sparking interest and arguments: is a person’s nature or nurture more influential on their character? This debate can be directly tied to Amir, the main character of the novel The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. Amir is a perfect example of how a persons genetics affects their personality more than their environment. Along with several studies done, The Kite Runner shows how your genetic makeup effects the choices you make and the person you become.

The value of family seems to be obvious in every culture around the world. After watching the film, Kite Runner and exploring other materials, it is rather noticeable that the value of family is very important to the Afghan culture. The sense of family roots has driven many to do things they otherwise would not have done. Families may be the primary motivators for some people, either as heroic models or as people whom they fear to disappoint. Regardless of what one’s family turns out to be, family is still family. Many people will go to extreme measures to fulfill a duty that involves family. It may be true that the bond between family members is stronger than any other bond known to man. The value of family

Here in this essay I will discuss the complex relationship between father and son to demonstrate the need for a father figure in the novel "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. The relationship between a parent and a child is a precious and haunted bond, but is not always a love relationship, but a relationship is full of pain and longing. The relationships clearly demonstrate this need for a father figure are those between Baba and Amir, and Amir and Sohrab.

Throughout the novel, Amir endeavors to be approved by his father, Baba, who is admired by people in Kabul. Unfortunately, Baba believes that Amir, unlike him, is very unmanly “and [that he] never fights back. He just... drops his head ” (Hosseini 24). Since Baba wishes for a son who would stand up for himself, he can’t help but observe that Amir’s friend Hassan, as the guy who “steps in and fends the [bullies] off” (Hosseini 24) is his idea of the ideal son. Though aware of his father’s expectations, Amir is unable to change himself and instead envies Hassan and the fact that Baba treats him like his own son by“[patting]Hassan on the back. [and even putting] his arm around his shoulder [like a fatherly figure]”(Hosseini 15). Despite the manifestation of this hatred in Amir, he continues to recognize the bond that he shares with Hassan, “ brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast” (Hosseini 11) which is because both their mothers died during birth. The confusing emotions he feels for Hassan has Amir face a situation in which he acts inappropriately and allows the guilt to manifest upon him. After winning a very important kite tournament for the first time and “seeing Baba on that roof, proud of [him] at last” (Hosseini 71) Amir begins to search for Hassan who had gone to run his kite earlier. Finally, Amir finds him in a dark alley and as he “peeks around the corner” (Hosseini 75) he witnesses a sight that eradicated not only his relationship with Hassan but also Baba’s brotherly relationship with Ali, Hassan’s father. Peeking through the corner of the alley, like a bystander, he watches his one and only friend getting raped. The guilt that came upon him was for two reason; one, his lack of courage to stand up to

At this point Rahim explains to Baba that “Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favourite colors” (Hosseini 46) demonstrating his support for Amir’s aspirations. However Rahim Khan’s most significant role in the novel occurs in the very beginning when he calls Amir and says “There is a way to be good again" (Hosseini 2) It isn’t until later in the novel that we realize that Rahim Khan had summoned Amir to Kabul to rescue Hassan's son, Sohrab, from an orphanage and to ultimately redeem himself from past wrong doings. Rahim Khan also tells Amir about the relationship Baba had with Ali's wife, Sanaubar and that Hassan was actually Baba's son and therefore Hassan and Amir were half-brothers. Overall the impact Rahim Khan has on Amir’s life is equivalent to that of the relationship between my mother and I. Rahim Khan is undeniably a role model for Amir, much the same way in which my mother is a role model for me. Like Rahim, she appreciates my interests and encourages me to peruse my goals. The most important characteristic about my mother is that if I make a mistake she doesn’t just ‘give up’ on me. Instead she requests that I make it up somehow, much in the same way that Rahim Khan tells Amir how to redeem himself. Without the guidance and support I receive from my mom I know that my life would in fact be very different today.

This quote contributes to the understanding of one of the many themes of The Kite Runner, which is the importance of a father-son relationship. Amir desperately tries to understand his father because he feels that he does not reach Baba’s high expectations, which he conveys by saying that he may “disappoint him again.” So, this drives him to want to do anything to make Baba proud. However, he even fails to understand his father’s one main principle: theft is sin. As a result of the confusion between father, Baba, and son, Amir, their relationship starts to wither away.