The Influence of a Father
There are many different names for father, some include: padre, pappa, baba, abba, and dad. Having a father brings different memories to many different people, depending on their upbringing. Some may have happy memories of their father’s teaching them some basic mundane actions, such as how to eat with utensils and tying shoes, whereas others may not have the same joyous memories of their fathers, if any. In the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the main character, Amir, has both pleasant and unpleasant memories of his father, Baba. Although the memories were not all good, Baba had a large impact on Amir. Afterall, fathers can greatly influence their sons.
Throughout The Kite Runner, Baba and Amir have many differences. At the beginning, Amir is constantly trying to gain Baba’s attention, approval and affection; all of which are very important to anyone, especially a child. Baba is referred to as a highly respect merchant in Kabul, Afghanistan. In chapter three Amir tells how “Lore has it my father once wrested a black bear in Baluchistan with his bare hands,” (12) and “Baba’s famous nickname, Toophan agha, or ‘Mr. Hurricane,’”(12.) Having a father with such a large reputation of being tough and brave can be hard for a son to compare to; especially when the son is characteristically not like their father. Although Baba is strong and aggressive, Amir is not the same. He is creative and loves to read and write, unlike Baba. He also does not
Baba’s high expectation influences Amir 's fixed mindset because Baba feels that his son should be more courageous and follow the values that make up a Pashtun man. Throughout Amir 's childhood Baba always sets these high expectations for Amir that leads Amir to believe that one cannot be weak at things. Throughout the story, Amir is a shy insecure boy while Baba is a confident and proud man. Due to Amir 's introverted self, he spends most of his time reading books and poetry; while Baba tries to force his interest onto his son Amir for the purpose that Baba wants Amir to be the great example of what a Pushtun man should be. An example that shows Baba has a fixed mindset was when Amir states, "With me as the glaring exception, my father molded the world around him to his liking. The problem, of course, was that Baba saw the world in black and white. And he got to decide what was black and what was white. You can 't love a person who lives that way without fearing him too. Maybe even hating him a little" (Hossieni15). This quote shows that Baba was a man with a strong personality, and it was his way or the highway. This instills so much fear in Amir that he is afraid of committing mistakes around his
Baba always seemed to be ashamed to have Amir as a son and appeared to be a lot more proud of Hassan, who was just a servant. At a young age, Amir starts to believe his father blames him for his mother's death. Amir admires Baba, he craves Baba's attention even though Baba seems much more interested in Hassan. All these tensions come to a breaking point during the kite-fighting tournament. Amir sees the tournament as a way to finally win Baba's love.
Their relationship doesn’t flourish because Baba is still showing Hassan more attention than Amir. Amir realises this when Baba is concerned for Hassan and the way he is acting, clueless of confrontation Hassan had with Assef. Amir believed that being the winner of the Kite Running Tournament will make Baba love him more because he has used his talent, to become well known in the community.
Firstly, Baba is not a good father because he often disregards his son, Amir, due to him not being like his father. The night when Baba and Amir comes home from watching the Buzkashi tournament, Amir sees
In the book, Baba seems to be very tough and masculine. There were even rumors that he once tackled a bear. “ My father was a force of nature, a towering Pashtun specimen with a thick beard, a wayward crop of curly brown hair as unruly as the man himself, hands that looked capable of uprooting a willow tree, and a black glare that would ‘drop the devil to his knees begging for mercy,’as Rahim Khan used to say.” When Amir was young he tried really hard to be like his dad. He joined the soccer team to gain his approval, but he wasn’t interested in that. “Of course, marrying a poet was one thing, but fathering a son who preferred burying his face in poetry books to hunting...well, that wasn't how Baba had envisioned it, I suppose.” Amir couldn’t live up to his father’s expectations because he wasn’t the same person as
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
Similarly in The Kite Runner, Amir struggles to find a connection with his father, Baba. According to Amir, their bond was a fundamental basis of their lives, however when describing Baba, he claims he is “a force of nature,” using a metaphor to not only place Baba as a superior character, but leaving room for sympathy for Amir as he, like Raimond, feels a distant sense of connection to the world of his father. Another prime example of Amir feeling no connection to the world of his father is the soccer games that he, whilst full of regret, participated in, just to try and feel that sense of belonging he was hoping for. Amir would pretend to enjoy soccer even though he was “hopeless” and his “scraggy legs” couldn’t keep up with the sport. Amir’s condescending tone expresses his embarrassment and hate for the sport but the will to persevere to make his father happy, therefore demonstrating how Amir strives to belong. Amir’s personal relationship with his father was obviously dishonest which contradicts with his father’s
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
Baba never really confronted his mistakes, yet he seemed to live a fairly full and whole life. Amir and his father, Baba have a very distant relationship, they seem to be two very different people. “I always felt like Baba hated me a little. And why not? After all, I had killed his beloved wife, his beautiful princess, hadn’t I?”(Pg. 18) In this quote Amir talks about his relationship with his father and how difficult it is. Although, he doesn’t know that the distance between them was because of Hassan, not the death of
Baba and Amir both go through lying to their loved ones, Amir and Hassan’s friendship gets put on a price and poor Amir spends most of his life trying to redeem his mistakes. “The Kite Runner” shows how each main character deals with betrayal, friendship and redemption in their own ways. Baba and Amir betrayed the ones who were always loyal to them from the start through thick and thin. “Baba and I were more alike than I’d ever known.
First, Baba shows his discontent for Amir when he speaks with his friend, Rahim Khan. Baba repeats how “[he] was never like that” and how “there is something missing in [Amir]”. Amir feels the need to please Baba to get the affection he longs for. Then, after the kite tournament during the altercation between Assef and Hassan, Amir chooses not to intervene, but instead chooses to leave Hassan to fend for himself because, “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay to win Baba” (chapter 7). Amir is willing to leave his friend to get raped to gain the affection he is craving because he is being alienated by his father.
In the novel, fatherhood is defined by being dependable on one another. In the average family, a father figure is one who is dependable for their children, and tells their children their rights, and their wrongs. When the reader first gets to know Baba, Amir’s choice of words can tell the audience about him. Baba was a father that would disown his kids if they didn’t like them.Throughout the story, Amir constantly tries to get Baba to appreciate him. Baba says that Amir is nothing like him and if he hadn’t seen his birth with his own eyes, he would not have believed that he was his son. On page 4, Amir asks Baba if he can sit with
When Baba died Amir felt really heartbroken because he finally had a good relationship with his father and now his father was gone. In Afghanistan Baba was a wealthier man with much power, but in the United States Baba was poor and had very little power or understanding of American ways where as Amir was weak in Afghanistan and powerful in America because he could easily adapt and succeed in school. There identities switched and this really allowed the two to build a
Allāhu Akbar. God is great. The father of all humanity is the greatest father there could ever be, therefore, the best earthly fathers are those who emulate and revere God with their faith, love, and actions. An earthly father’s most imperative duty is to pass reverence for and loyalty towards God onto his sons. In this way, fathers may become instruments for God to work with among men. Godly fathers rear godly sons, who in turn become fathers and raise devout sons of their own. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a story of two different fathers and the different impact each had in the lives of their sons. Ali, father of Hassan, is a godly man who does all he can within his meager honor to impart to his son a desire for God. Baba, father of Amir, is a man of wealth and stature but lacks godliness, and he passes this deficiency onto his son. The ungodliness in Amir’s life stems from his father and will later force Amir to find “a way to be good again” (Hosseini 2) throughout the bildungsroman that is The Kite Runner.