Relationships In The Kite Runner

In his critically acclaimed first novel, The Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini tells the story of a 12-year-old Afghan boy named Amir, who seeks his father’s love but is hindered by his own cowardice. Both Amir’s cowardice and his father’s lack of attention are compounded by the people and events surrounding Amir, until they feed into each other in a vicious, never-ending cycle.

Relationships between families may not perpetually consist of happiness and fulfilment but always have an undeniable bond of unconditional and everlasting love. The concept of relationships particularly that of a father and son is a resonant theme in both the novel ‘’The Kite Runner’’ written by Khaled Hosseini and in the play ‘’A Death of a Salesman’’ by Arthur Miller. Hosseini explores complex father and son relationships through the character Amir- the narrator and protagonist of the novel and his interactions with his father Baba, family friend Rahim Khan and adopted son Sohrab. Set during the violent rise and reign of the Taliban in Afghanistan and ending after the attack of the world trade centre in 2001 triggering the fall of the Taliban. Juxtaposed to Miller who presents father and son relationships in a more positive era of the post-war boom of 1948, where the American Dream appeared to be more realistic. Through the character of Willy- an ambitious salesman who not only strives in achieving the dream for himself but also his children Biff and Happy.

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.

The idea of self pride and doing what’s right for your family have a large impact our decisions and actions. Amir was in a situation where he could either help his best friend Hassan, or impress his father with a kite. Unfortunately, Amir believed “Hassan was the price {he} had to pay… to win Baba”(77) Amir had a hard time impressing Baba so he took this selfish chance, one that he regretted forever. Later when Rahim Khan, a well trusted family friend, asks him to take Sohrab from the orphanage to the Caldwell’s, Amir’s first decision was “I can’t go to Kabul, I have a wife in America”(226) and is sure because he wants to do what will make his wife happy, go home. However, quickly changing his mind, Amir returns to Rahim and “told him [he] was going to Kabul”(227). Once he realises that just like the day in the alley the reason he doesn’t want to go on this mission is because he is afraid, he returns and does what’s right for his half-brother and late best friend. Baba, just like his son, wants to be respected and show love for his family.

Families play a large role in our world. Sometimes families keep you together but at other times they can tear you apart. The subject of family is a major theme in Khaled Hosseini's extraordinary novel, The Kite Runner and Shakespeare’s well-known tragedy, King Lear. In both of these writings, family is a constant theme that occurs throughout both works of literature. Family relationship is often expressed through the actions of the characters and by what they say. Although Shakespeare’s well-known tragedy, King Lear, has father figures, they do not act very fatherly. Khaled Hosseini’s fiction novel, The Kite Runner has better father figures. This can be proven by examining the different

The love Baba had for Amir guided him to sacrifice everything he had known and created throughout his life. Baba moved to America so Amir would benefit and live a successful life. Afghanistan posed as a threat to Amir due to the cultural changes, and Baba wanted to

It is well known that Baba makes his family very unhappy in The Kite Runner. At one point in the novel, Amir and Baba get into a heated argument by which Amir “would stand [his] ground” since he is tired of Baba making remarks towards his aspirations (page 135). Amir had a thought at one point about whether or not “[he] was really Baba’s son” since Baba had put Amir through so much hurt. When parents are not supportive of their children, the children and parents will develop unhealthy relationships amongst each other, which in the end, will not have a happy outcome of how the family is.

Relationship is an important aspect of one’s life as one is easily influenced by their surroundings. In Hosseini's, The Kite Runner, Amir’s different relationships with Baba, Hassan, and Rahim defines him as a person which plays a key role in the plot of the novel. Amir has developed a complex characteristics meaning that the readers not only have to pay attention to Amir’s actions but also his feelings. Amir’s has shown multiple complications in the father-son relationships. The difference in the characteristics of Baba and Amir has brought shame and jealousy within Amir.

The Kite Runner, a novel written by Khaled Hosseini, highlights multiple elements of division in society through the troubled lives of Amir, a youthful Pashtun adolescent, who is raised amongst a Hazara teen, Hassan, in a racially separated setting in Afghanistan. Throughout the novel, the author shows how different divisions in society can affect the course an individual’s life takes. It also looks at how Afghanistan's long past of racial estrangement makes it challenging to one’s social position in a culture such as Afghanistans. The social divisions in social class, family types and personality which the youthful characters grow up in, are recurrently acquired from their families and surrounding life figures. Such divisions affect the courses

The div applauds his courage and Baba Ayub disagrees and fires back with, “For courage there must be something at stake. I come here with nothing to lose” (Hosseini 10). Although Baba Ayub knows that if they were to fight, he would not succeed but the void of Qais in his heart make him say he has nothing left to live for. In saying so, Baba Ayub bravely sacrifices his life to the div. It is true that Baba Ayub was married with other children, but the sacrifice he made that faithful day would lead Baba Ayub to the same fate as

To impress one’s parents in any culture much less the Afghan culture may be one of the biggest most proud moments of child’s life. Such is true when the boys win the kite running competition. Amir wants nothing more than to impress his father and keep the family name alive and strong. He feels as if this was a way to redeem himself to his father. The importance of family in this situation stands out and demonstrates how much the Afghan culture bases itself on family. It is obvious that Amir believes that nothing is more important than his family. This value of family being first, which he learned at a very young age, and making them the most important figures in one’s life carries with Amir throughout his whole life. He never forgets where his roots are and why they are there. Family was of importance to Amir at a young age and he carried that mentality with him throughout his entire life. The mentality that family comes first does not only apply to

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is a remarkable coming-of-age novel describing and revealing the thoughts and actions of Amir, a compunctious adult in the United States and his memories of his affluent childhood in the unstable political environment of Afghanistan. The novel showcases the simplistic yet powerful ability of guilt to influence decisions and cause conflict which arises between Amir’s childhood friend and half-brother, Hassan; Amir’s father, Baba; and importantly, himself. Difference in class The quest to become “good again” causes a reflection in Amir to atone for his sins and transform into the person of which he chooses to be.

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.

Environment makes people who they are. It is the result of how they grow up, and it suits their needs even whether influences people, or they influence it. Through the “The Kite Runner”, by the Afghan American author, “Khalid Hosseini”, I am going to demonstrate how characters in the novel are products of their environments. Hosseini, in his novel, tries to show us the relationship between father and son with themes of guilt and redemption, and another relationship between two friends from different social, educational, and religious contexts. Hosseini identifies many themes, especially the relationship between parents and children in Afghanistan and how we always have the

The story is based on the life and journey undertaken by Amir, the protagonist. Hosseini expresses essential ideas in his novel through the themes of redemption/atonement, the relationship between father and son and lastly, the theme of degradation/discrimination. The author expresses these themes through the setting and characterization. Hosseini presents characters from different social status in Afghanistan and how this affected their childhood. Amir despite coming from a privileged class had to work hard for his atonement by going back to Afghanistan to face his demons as well as to mend his relationship with his father who had rejected him since his birth. On the other hand, Hassan, from the minority class suffered because of his social status after he was abused and mistreated by those in power. The Kite Runner is a story about two boys who grew up in different worlds because of the presence of various social classes in