Summary Of ' The ' Baba '

After losing his wife while she was in labor, he was burdened until the end of his life. Even his own son could not bring him joy due to the fact that he was not athletic nor could he stick up for himself. He as well as society looked down upon Amir for his lack of manliness. Baba was constantly dealing with his own self conscience yet did good deeds to cover them up and hide them from society so they also would not see how broken he was. He later on died with cancer but was happy for his son. He did not feel dishonored, he was proud of Amir. Like Rahim Khan said “ Children are not coloring books. You can’t fill them with your favorite colors.” This really spoke to Baba before his passing and made him realize that Amir was doing what he wanted to do, taking his own path. Baba found peace in himself with his son and therefore died with no regrets. Some parents passed with grief for their

Although Amir thinks his father, Baba, is angry at him for not living up to his family’s beliefs, Baba does not hate Amir. Baba just wants Amir to be a proud man, so Baba can relate to him and further extend their relationship, but Amir does not live up to his father’s specific expectations. When Baba sees that Amir is not growing up like he did he becomes disappointed in Amir. Baba does not agree with Amir’s love and passion for reading poetry and writing stories, because he believes it shows a lack of courage and this does help their relationship. Amir simply wants to make his father happy and try and live in his footsteps. In the book I believe this relationship is part of the reason why Amir didn’t help Hassan when he was being raped, because he wanted to please his father with the victory kite of the contest. If he were to help Hassan the kite would be taken by Assef, but in actual fact I believe Baba would be happier if he stood up for his friend rather than winning the tournament. Amir could have also left Hassan because he is jealous of his father and Hassan friendship.

always buried in those books or shuffling around the house like he’s lost in some dream… I wasn’t like that.” (Hosseini 23). Baba expresses his frustration that his son is not alike his father. He expects his son to enjoy and plays sports tremendously that he forgets that his son is another person with his own likes and hobbies. This shows us the disconnect between Baba and Amir. Moreover, Baba shows more examples that he is not a good father when he criticizes his son for lacking a quality that he thinks is vital. Later in the same conversation with Rahim Khan, he says: “That’s not what I mean, Rahim, and you know it… There is something missing in that boy.” (Hosseini 24). He argues that Amir is lacking a “mean” streak that he thinks is needed for the child. He continues to tell Rahim that Amir does not have the ability to stand up for himself and he sounds as if he is losing patient over the child. This is an example of a terrible father as Baba tries to put what he has in mind unto his son. Furthermore, he displays being an incompetent father

As father and son, Baba and Amir have some similarities, but they are both very different people.

Amir and Baba do not try to involve themselves with Hassan and Ali. Just like when Amir starts to understand the low social status Hassan has and accept the status quo. He says “That Hassan would grow up illiterate like Ali

Although Baba and Ali grew up together, they grow to be very distinct people. Baba is a respected Afghan businessman who constantly gives to the community. Baba also stood up for himself and others when he felt that something was unjustified. Ali on the other hand is very reserved and doesn’t do anything when people make

Amir’s mother, Sofia, dies in childbirth; Amir inherits her love of literature and probably her looks to some extent, but, her being dead, never receives any motherly love or guidance, which could have helped him out of the cowardly hole he later digs himself into. Amir’s father’s best friend and business partner, Rahim Khan, tries to give Amir the motherly love he clearly needs, fostering Amir’s love of writing and steadfastly standing up for him when Amir’s father, Baba, criticizes him, but Rahim Khan does not do enough to instill honesty, courage, and strength of conviction in young Amir. Amir’s best friend, Hassan, a servant a year younger than Amir, is everything Amir is not: athletic, brave, loyal, honest, and kind, inciting jealousy in Amir. Assef, a local bully, poses a real threat to Amir, hating Amir for the crime of befriending a Hazara (oppressed ethnic minority), but Amir is protected by Hassan, allowing young Amir to freeze and not stand up for himself in Assef’s presence. Last, but most importantly, is Amir’s father, Baba, and his views on Amir: he blames Amir for Sofia’s death,

Baba raised his son alone after Amir’s mom died in childbirth and Baba also helped raise Hassan. Early in the novel Hassan and Amir were best friends and did everything, including taking trips together. Baba was loyal to Hassan and never forgot either one of the boy’s birthdays. Baba gave Hassan the amazing gift of having Hassan’s hair lip repaired. “It’s an unusual present, I know,” Baba said. “And probably not what you had in mind, but this present will last you forever.” (Hosseini 67). Family loyalty taught us that you should always respect your family and do the right thing. It is not until late in The Kite Runner that we found out, and Amir found out, that Hassan was really Baba’s son. This was so important in the story because Amir realizes he betrayed his own brother, he was jealous of all the times Baba gave attention to Hassan, and he was the one responsible for making Hassan and Ali leave their home. Amir betrayed Hassan when they played as kids and Amir egged him on to use his slingshot. When the boys would get into trouble Hassan always took the blame even though it was Amir who initiated the trouble. The worst time Amir betrayed Hassan was when Assef assaulted Hassan. Amir did nothing to stop it, nor did he acknowledge that it happened, he ignored Hassan and tried to get him to leave their home so he would not be reminded of his betrayal. Amir betrayed Hassan by placing money and a watch under Hassan’s mattress so Baba would think Hassan and Ali were thieves. “He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time” (Hosseini 132). Hassan continued to protect Amir, and in his own way he showed his family loyalty, no matter how Amir betrayed him. Hassan was the loyal friend and brother. Amir could never get over his guilt for betraying Hassan and that is why it was so important for Amir to

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.

Baba was usually aloof and cold when he was around Amir. Since Baba was interested in sports, he felt like Amir wasn’t his son because he was into writing and was weak. In a conversation with Rahim Khan Baba said that something was missing in Amir. He said that a boy who couldn’t stand up for himself would not stand up for anything. They don’t really have a good father and son relationship because Baba expected too much of Amir. It was that winning kite tournament that somehow bonded them together but after a while, it went back to being the “cold” treatment

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

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

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

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

Baba’s influence on Amir can be described in two words, tough love. Baba desperately wants Amir to resemble him in everything he does and do things how he would, but Amir struggles to meet these standards. Baba is reminded by Rahim that he does not get to choose the man that Amir will become, “‘Children aren’t coloring books. You don’t get to fill them with favorite colors”’ (21). It hurts Amir that he does not get Baba’s compassion and love but he stays true to himself and does not change for him. Even though Amir stayed true to himself he would still do what he could to earn Baba’s love. When he won the kite flying tournament Baba shows Amir that love because he did something they can both relate to, sports. It seemed Amir would do anything to be recognized by Baba but Baba did not care about Amir’s thoughts on himself. Baba even said to Rahim “If [he] hadn’t seen the doctor pull [Amir] out of [his] wife with [his] own eyes, [he’d] never believe [Amir’s his] son” (23). This obviously would be heart wrenching to hear and hurt Amir deeply, but he did not let that make him stop trying. The two clearly had a rocky relationship.