Theme Of Unhappiness In The Kite Runner

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.

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

Baba would always tell Amir how lying was a sin yet Amir eventually finds out that Baba had lied to him about Hassan being his brother. Baba said, "There is only one sin. And that is theft... When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth."(pg.237) By him lying, he completely went against what he said was right. Baba had not only lied to Amir, but to Hassan and others as well. Baba had been doing something he knew was wrong, but he had still chosen to go against his own beliefs and do it anyway. The theme addressed here is simply betrayal. Baba is consistently hypocritical throughout the novel. For example, Baba is immensely ashamed of 11 year-old Amir for crying when he saw a man murdered in the street, but later in the novel when Ali and Hassan leave for good, Baba is full of tears. This reveals the bias and corrupt personality Baba possesses. Baba is not a great father and only shows his affection for Amir when great successes occur such as the kite competition victory. Baba betrays many characters in the novel, however he does most of an injustice to Amir, his son. Baba never informing him of his sibling relationship with Hassan appears as stupidity and selfishness. Baba does not wish to provide joy for his sons at the cost of revealing that he had slept with Ali’s wife and produced Hassan. Baba is really just a coward. The lying demonstrated by Baba contributes to the main idea of forgiveness. Baba does a poor job as a father for the most part of his life and on his deathbed he receives the forgiveness from Amir for all of the pain he has caused Amir throughout his

The Kite Runner is the first novel of Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It tells the story of Amir, a boy from Kabul, Afghanistan, whose closest friend is Hassan, a young Hazara servant. Novel turns around these two characters and Baba, Amir’s father, by telling their tragic stories, guilt and redemption that are woven throughout the novel. Even in the difficult moments, characters build up to their guilt and later on to their redemption. Their sins and faults alter the lives of innocent people. First, Amir and Baba fail to take action on the path to justice for Ali and Hassan. Moreover, Amir and Baba continue to build up their guilt due to their decisions and actions. Although Amir builds up more guilt than Baba throughout the novel, he eventually succeeds in the road to redemption unlike his father. After all, Amir and Baba have many chances to fix their atonements but Baba chooses not to and Amir does. Baba uses his wealth to cover up his sins but never atone himself while Amir decides to stand up and save Sohrab and finally finds peace. Amir and Baba’s reaction to sins essentially indicate their peace of mind and how they react to guilt and injustice.

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

Trying to Impress others is one of the mistakes we make everyday of our lives. Living life to impress others it's comical, put another way, it is not a good way to live your life. If you can not make a joy out of what you are doing in a long run there is not a point. Amir was trying to impress Baba (his father) for most of his life desire for that brought him despair many times. Story of Kite Runner being around Afghanistan, where Amir's father was wealthy and well off; Amir greatly struggled to impress his father, which was more or less the main parent figure in his life. Growing up with his Baba, being around his as much as nobody else, Amir has to learn to deal with all of the high standard his father has, or so he thought.  It seems like Baba was one like father that had a rough look from the outside, but has always had love for his son. Amir not seeing it that way has always tried to impress him, which is the best shown at the kite festival which Amir won

In the novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the author takes the reader into the fictional world of Amir and Hassan, two best friends who face the untold realities of their childhood as they struggle to cope with guilt and heartbreaking losses. The story is told from the perspective of Amir, a Pashtun who grows up in a privileged society and lives with his father, Baba and his best friend and Hazara servant, Hassan. One of the major turning points in the story occurs when Amir leaves Hassan to be raped by a bully, ruining their relationship for the rest of his life. While dealing with the guilt of betraying Hassan, who he later learns is his half-brother, Amir learns shocking truths about his father that alter his perspective of Baba

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

Family is not always a blood relation. It's the people in life that want you in theirs; the ones who accepts you for who you are. Those who would do anything to make you smile and who love you no matter what. Khaled Hosseini writes the novel The Kite Runner that first takes place in the city of Kabul, Pakistan; as the recalled chain of past events portrayed through the book’s main character and narrator, Amir. Amir had once lived in Kabul with his father baba, and their two servants Ali and Hassan, and there was also the often reoccurrence of Baba's best friend, Rahim Khan who became very close with everyone in that house, especially Amir. In the novel it portrays both Baba and Rahim Khan as father figures in Amir's life. Throughout the book these two characters continue to act upon Amir and father him, in completely different ways.

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

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

True happiness is not simply handed out, it must be produced, cultivated, built from the ground up. Additionally, happiness cannot be measured, nor can it be perceived. Yet, above all else, it is what people seek most. Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini aims to explore the origins of true happiness through the trials and tribulations in the life of Amir, the novel’s protagonist. Throughout the novel, Amir suffers through perilous hardships as he strives to attain redemption for the wrongdoings of his past. Subsequently, through the process of cleansing himself of his sins, Amir obtains true happiness. The first step Amir took towards attaining happiness commences with the realization of his father’s flaws, which allows Amir to forgive his father’s shortcomings. Furthermore, Amir obtains happiness by marrying his love, Soraya, granting Amir the companionship for which he yearned most. Above all, however, Amir reached true happiness as a result of atoning for his betrayal against Hassan and sacrificing himself in order to give Sohrab the life he never had. Despite the hardships and struggles faced by Amir, kite runner beautifully displays the path to true happiness and how one is able to acquire it. In Amir’s case, he stumbled upon true happiness with the acceptance of his father's sins, the companionship he gains in soraya, the sacrifices he makes for Sohrab, and the journey to redeem himself from his past sins.

True happiness is the key to life, everyone strives to achieve it; however, hard work and dedication are needed for it to be obtained. The value of happiness plays a pivotal role in the novel “Kite Runner”, written by Khaled Hosseini. This can be examined throughout the novel as the protagonist, Amir, is on a perilous quest for true happiness. Amir faces numerous obstacles and hardships on his quest; moreover, his determination allows him to persevere and surpass these difficulties. As such, Amir achieves happiness through the accomplishments he worked ever so hard for. One of these accomplishments is the marriage between him and his love, Soraya, which gives him happiness through companionship and trust. Additionally, Amir also obtains happiness through companionship by giving his orphaned nephew, Sohrab, a father figure. Furthermore, Amir’s discovery of his father’s flaws helps him attain happiness since he forgives himself for not living up to his father’s expectations. Ultimately, however, Amir acquires the most happiness from the atonement of his betrayal against Hassan, his best friend. Despite the difficulties Amir faces throughout the novel, he transitions from a state of despair to a state of hope and happiness, due to his marriage with Soraya, the fatherhood of his orphaned nephew, the discovery of his father’s flaws and the atonement of his betrayal against Hasan.

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.