17 Comments
Sadiya Momaya
2/23/2014 04:48:31 am
In The Kite Runner, relationships between father and son is examined especially in the absence of women. For example, Amir and Baba does not represent an ideal relationship a father and son might share because Baba seems to have mixed feelings about Amir, both because of the loss of Sofiya and being the father of Hassan as Rahim Khan says to Amir when he returns from USA. Also, because Hassan seems to be the consequence of Baba's betrayal with his friend Ali, he seems to take the anger out on Amir which distance them both apart.
Reply
Nasra
2/27/2014 06:46:16 am
I agree with the fact that a parental figure is very important to a child. The father figure in this story being Baba, who clearly plays a large part in the growth and development of Amir's character. However,unlike the conventional father-son relationship, the power (which Baba holds) within this one allows for it to become very dysfunctional, very early on in the book. Due to the lack of communication between Amir and his father he has grown accustomed to always having to seek his fathers attention. For the most part this attention is not received and so he is also very used to seeing his father disappointed. Hassan, although a Hazara, is one of the closest people to Amir who spends the most time with him. Even with the bond that they share as they were "fed from the same breast" Amir witnesses Hassan being raped and does not act. Not only that, he stays long enough to see a "glimpse of his face". At this point we can understand that Amir has lost a sense of reality. He can't see the severity of the situation; the torture Hassan is being put through and how it will affect him in the future. All he sees is that if he manages to get ahold of the blue flag, Baba will finally be proud of. In this sense how can their relationship be joyful when Amir has to constantly live with the guilt of what he's sacrificed.
Reply
Amrita Ahluwalia
3/1/2014 06:27:26 pm
How would you link context to your response?
Amrita Ahluwalia
3/1/2014 06:22:44 pm
How could you link this to Soraya and Amir not being able to have children of their own? How could you then further link this to them taking on Sohrab as if he is their son?
Reply
Amrita Ahluwalia
3/1/2014 06:28:26 pm
Could you link this to Soraya and Amir not being able to have children of their own? How could you then further link this to them taking on Sohrab as if he is their son?
Reply
Jaspreet
2/27/2014 04:50:29 am
I didn't know what to write so this is what I managed to come up with.
Reply
Safiya
3/1/2014 05:00:13 pm
Amir goes to a great extent in order to win his father’s love even though it is not guaranteed. In Amir’s dream in Chapter 7 we learn that he dreams of kites which are ‘green, yellow, orange’ and ‘red’. Hosseini does not mention his blue kite which indicates that after his betrayal, his relationship with his father might not improve. In addition to that, the reader can associate these colours with autumn, a time where leaves fall. This comparison reveals that Amir’s disloyalty towards Hassan is the last opportunity that Amir has to build this relationship with Baba. On the contrary, this interpretation fails to take into account that their relationship does improve throughout the duration of the book. Also, although their relationship is not ideal they do show some affection to each other.
Reply
Amrita Ahluwalia
3/1/2014 06:31:34 pm
Excellent - you recognised the link between the dream and the ending of the book. Does this mean that the dream could hihglight that one day Amir would redeem himself?
Reply
Anisha
3/1/2014 10:51:47 pm
The neglect and lack of fatherly interest portrayed by Baba creates the prevalent problem which runs through the entire story. The awful event that occurs in chapter seven was sparked by the pursuit of Amir wanting to gain his fathers attention and approval. The blue kite that Hassan was running for symbolises Amir longing for his fathers approval due to the fact that he was neglected the love from his father all his life. Amir now believes the kite is the key to his father’s heart. It is however very ironic that Baba wants Amir to stand up for what is right as in this event Amir chooses to take the cowardly route. Therefore one may argue that the basis of this event that took place is because of Baba as he was the source of Amir’s guilt which has lead to the downfall between Hassan and Amir. This is shown through when Amir sees Hassan walking ‘slowly’ towards him. The adverb ‘slowly’ shows how little care Hassan has in the world now. They both meet by ‘leafless birch tree’ this is significant as birch tree symbolizes courage and determination. This juxtaposes Amir as did not have any courage at all to help his loyal friend who still after getting sexually abused brings him the blue kite. Hosseini incorporates the idea of the hardship between a father and son relationship to perhaps show how neglect and disregard of ones love can lead to a person to making the wrong decisions.
Reply
sana
3/2/2014 07:04:32 am
i disagree with the view because amirs desperation to make baba proud supersedes his morality ,leading him to disregard Hassan rape, as by intervening he would have lost the kite ,thereby babas approval. Ironically his actions ,while he thinks may make baba proud are the opposite as baba worries about exactly this. ‘i see how they push him ‘ ‘and you know, he never fights back’ .the book repeatedly shows babas conflicting emotions between two his two sons ,which whilst understandable , does not permit double standards .Babes occasionally shows fatherly affection for Hassan like removing his cleft lip, which ironically looks colossal in the eyes of Amir because of babas next –to –nothing affection for him. Amir and Hassan are both baba sons, though baba worries it is amir who cannot stand up for himself, despite Hassan being the hazara and more prone to harassment. In addition both sons are of fatherly love, to an extent that Hassan is unaware of his true father. Perhaps its for this reason baba associates with ali a ‘hazara’ as he feels its his fatherly duty, but never calls him a ‘friend’ perhaps due to his shame of betraying ali.amir and babas relationship, while constricted is quite similar and different in many ways.though having both betrayed a friend ,baba take his guilt and secret to the grave while Amir doesn’t despite his chance of redemption (Hassan) being taken away, whilst babas (Hassan) always being present.
Reply
Nasreen
3/2/2014 07:57:42 pm
However Amir and Baba's personalities are completely different from each other which causes a drift in their relationship. During the escape of Kabul, a russian soldier stopped them and ordered a women to come out for an hour but Baba defended the women although Amir was "tugging" Baba's sleeve. This portrays Baba's dependable quality suggesting how he would give up his life for justice, whereas Amir would put his safety first before others. Thus Amir needs to demolish his egocentric and cowardice behaviour in order to face reality so that he can gain Baba's true affections. Nonetheless, Amir seeks replacement in Rahim Khan but he still has the urge to gain Baba's affections yet still unaware of Baba's expectations. The dream resembles Baba's expectation is giving a hand to pull the person out of fear and into safety even though you may have to shed "blood" to prevent something that is unlawful. Therefore Hosseini agenda is the need to speak out for justice to remove what evil breeds in society. In addition Baba's never calls Ali a "friend" like Amir would never call Hassan "friend" conveying that this tradition has been going on for generations due to their cast. Therefore Hosseini wants to break that tradition in order to speak out for justice.
Reply
Hannah
3/2/2014 07:33:46 pm
Reply
Iman Hussein
3/2/2014 07:53:11 pm
I believe the relationship between Amir and Baba is not joyful as Amir is constantly trying to gain Babas love and attention yet Baba is reluctant as he feels guilty not being able to show Hassan that fatherly love.However,Amir believes his fathers negligence is due to him being the cause of his fathers love and his mothers death.I think that Baba does truly love his son but there was a boundary due to Hassans presence,when they moved to the States the bond between Amir and his father changed a lot as Baba didn’t feel that guilt .
Reply
Maninderjit
3/2/2014 07:57:16 pm
In our everyday world the relationship between fathers and sons are that of a significant one, in which the son serves as important reminder to the father as well as society, the true meaning of kinship, loyalty and inheritance. The portrayal of this relationship between fathers and sons is most prominently shown between Baba and Amir, as well as the other father son relationships in the kite runner.
Reply
Sade
5/14/2014 08:32:02 am
This statement can be counteracted through Hosseni's presentation of the relationship between Ali and Hassan. Despite Hassan not sharing the same blood as Ali, they possess a clear bond within the novel, evident by Ali's 'protective' decision to uproot from the home that he shared with Baba, in order to safeguard him from the dangers that were prevalent in Kabul, mainly Assef. Through the assertion of Ali's protective nature in regards to Hassan, despite the 'unclean' act that he fell victim to, Hosseini demonstrates how much a father can care for his son, with Ali's fatherly love shining through in a time of hardship.
Reply
Sade
5/14/2014 08:45:16 am
Alterntively, the opposite can be argued through Baba being unable to openly declare Hassan as a son due to the illigitimacy of his conception. Baba is forced to watch on as Ali raises Hassan as his own, evident through with Ali being constantly refered to by Amir ' Hassan's father'. Hosseini demonstrates the hardship a father can go through, evident through Baba's 'pleading' of Amir to stay when Ali declared that he was leaving with Hassan. The mortifying outcome of Baba's son being taken from him and the overwhelming sadness that Baba felt, demonstrates how devastating a father/son relationshipcan prove to be.
Reply
dfszaxvgfbhnj
5/1/2015 11:36:01 am
ehrjujytkrzau
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2015
Categories |