...Runner as a description of Amir and Baba’s relationship, Amir’s guilt, and Amir’s rejuvenation. The kite is one of the only things that connect Baba and Amir. Amir is not good at the things most children in Afghanistan are, like soccer, and he exceeds in school. Amir always feels as though Baba never respected or thought he is a good son. Amir feels guilty when he thinks about kite flying. It reminds him of his childhood memories with Hassan, the friend he betrayes for a kite, letting him get raped. After this, his recollections drift to betrayal and guilt. Rahim Khan, a lifelong friend, Baba and Amir are connected through the flying of kites. Kite flying is an essential aspect of Afghani culture. Amir and Baba both have extensive experience with flying kites. Amir says that...
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...Likewise, Baba endures similar feelings of guilt and inadequacy as Amir. Baba projects his guilt onto his son, resulting in Amir's character growth. Similarly, Amir's guilt impacts his relationship with his half-brother. Amir's blind rivalry with...
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...The Relationship Between Fear and Selfishness According to psychology today, fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger. Selfishness on the other hand is the act of putting your own needs and desires at the expense of others. Selfish behaviour is a direct result when facing fearful events in an individual’s life. As fear takes over and an individual is out of his or her comfort zone, one may resort to selfish behaviours in an attempt to regain control and suppress their fears. Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner exemplifies the relationship between fear and selfishness through the actions of the characters. Both Amir and Assef display the relationship between fear and selfishness through Hassan’s rape, Amir’s attempt to strengthen his relationship with Baba, and Amir’s plot to get rid of Hassan. The relationship between fear and selfishness is shown through Assef and his actions through the raping of Hassan. “His well-earned reputation for savagery preceded him on the streets. Flanked by his obeying friends, he walked the neighbourhood like a Khan strolling through his land with his eager-to-please entourage. His word was law…” (Hosseini, 41). Assef, being the typical neighbourhood bully, is used to being the subject of fear for others and is always in a position of...
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...Summary Amir, a well-to-do Pashtun boy, and Hassan, a Hazara and the son of Amir's father's servant, Ali, spend their days in a peaceful Kabul, kite fighting, roaming the streets and being boys. Amir’s father (who is generally referred to as Baba, "daddy", throughout the book) loves both the boys, but seems critical of Amir for not being manly enough. Amir also fears his father blames him for his mother’s death during childbirth. However, he has a kind father figure in the form of Rahim Khan, Baba’s friend, who understands Amir better, and is supportive of his interest in writing stories. Assef, a notoriously mean and violent older boy with sadistic tendencies, blames Amir for socializing with a Hazara, according to Assef an inferior race that should only live in Hazarajat. He prepares to attack Amir with his steel knuckles, but Hassan bravely stands up to him, threatening to shoot Assef in the eye with his slingshot. Assef and his henchmen back off, but Assef says he will take revenge. Hassan is a successful "kite runner" for Amir, knowing where the kite will land without even watching it. One triumphant day, Amir wins the local tournament, and finally Baba's praise. Hassan goes to run the last cut kite, a great trophy, for Amir saying "For you, a thousand times over." Unfortunately, Hassan runs into Assef and his two henchmen. Hassan refuses to give up Amir's kite, so Assef exacts his revenge, assaulting and raping him. Wondering why Hassan is taking so long, Amir searches...
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...Growing up, Baba would be Air’s biggest inspiration and role model. He viewed Baba as the strongest and most powerful man in the world. So when his father grew ill, Amir tried to be as hospitable as possible for the man that gave all he had for him. He took Baba to the doctor and paid for all of his bills. He obeyed his father’s word not to tell anyone about his sickness and even stayed to live with him after his marriage. Him and his wife, Soraya would attend to Baba’s every need, especially on the night of his death. “Just before midnight, Baba asked us [Amir and Soraya] to help him into bed. Soraya and I placed his arms on our shoulders and wrapped ours around his back” (Hosseini 173). Instead of taking a vacation like most newlyweds do, Amir stayed home to attend to his dying father, like a true Pashtun would do. Amir’s hospitality shows how much he loved his father, and wants to make the best of his last moments. As well as being hospitable to family, Amir is kind enough to treat strangers the same way. While traveling through Afghanistan to find Hassan’s son, Amir stayed with Farid’s family- the man that was driving Amir to Kabul. They were a very poor...
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...struggles and relationships of Amir, a wealthy young Pashtun boy in Afghanistan in the 1970’s. The story narrates the hardship of living in a socially divided, culture based environment with various sides of humanity. As the novel progresses, the relationship between Amir and his father, Baba, goes through multiple pivotal phases. These phases are the direct cause of the switch between the two main settings of Kabul, Afghanistan and Fremont, California. The change in setting helps portray the rollercoaster of Amir and Baba’s relationship over many years. It illustrates the story of Amir’s longing to be noticed and loved by Baba, Baba’s dissatisfaction with Amir, and their inability to relate to one another....
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...as guilt and redemption, negligence is seen in Baba’s relationship with others, Amir’s relationship with Hassan, and Amir’s struggle to undo the damages done by his negligence. This illustrates that, “Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.” (Rowling). Self-hatred is the damage that is caused by Baba’s actions of neglect. By neglecting Hassan’s right to know the truth, and by not showing him fatherly love – Baba betrays his own son. As a result, his actions of neglect are...
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...the main character, Amir, experiences leads to him feeling guilty for rest of his life, which breaks up the relationships that he once had in his previous years. Amir’s guilt turns brother against brother and friend against friend. In the novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled uses the character, Amir, to demonstrate how violence leads to betrayal, which creates guilt within oneself, and ultimate destroying relationships. The impact of violence on Amir leads him to betray Hassan, his only friend, brother and servant by running away from helping Hassan. Amir’s first experience of violence is when Amir wins the Kite fighting Tournament, and Hassan, runs off in pursuit of Amir’s trophy. Hassan is gone long enough to alarm Amir, who begins to search for him and once he finds him, he sees Assef, a bully, raping him. Amir at first is scared of Assef but later convinces himself by says, “Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay to win Baba (Amir’s Father) Was it a fair price?” (Hosseini 82). As Amir never helps Hassan, this shows that Amir will do anything to get Baba’s love and intention. Amir uses Hassan as a tool even though Hassan was his best friend from birth. Hassan’s friendship for Amir is not worth more than the blue kite, which ultimately shows Amir betraying and using Hassan for his own need. Furthermore, Amir’s actions toward Hassan by not helping him, turns into guilt. He starts hating Hassan of the guilt that Amir possesses...
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...In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, the author gives many examples of father and son relationships that help prepare a boy to understand right from wrong. The emotional bond be-tween a father and son demonstrate the necessity of a fatherly figure. The relationships between Baba and Amir, Hassan and Sohrab, and Amir and Sohrab in The Kite Runner are examples of the emotional bonds that demonstrate the need for a father. To begin, Amir and Baba, the protagonist and his father, are a prime example of the fa-therly figure needed in one’s life. Baba and Amir are nowhere close to the expression “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Amir is nothing like his father, and this causes Baba to not be the great fatherly figure that Amir needs because he does not understand why Amir is so different from him. Baba has little emotional attachment to his son because of their differences, and he tells Rahim Khan, his friend and business partner, “If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son.” Despite...
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...very dark, through the use of important themes the book is made strongly relatable to young people. Three of these include: degradation, the fragile relationship between a father and his son and the pursuit for redemption. The fragility of a father and his son’s relationship is shown through the strong characterisation of both males and the constant use of proleptic irony embedded throughout their relationship. The symbols of rape express the theme of degradation and class discrimination, whereas the pursuit for redemption is conveyed through the dramatic sequences of events that occur during the course of the novel. Hosseini heavily emphasises the Afghani class discrimination, with the ‘pure’ Pashtuns being the dominate race over the low class, minority group of Hazaras. This degradation makes it very difficult for anyone to marry into another class and the Hazaras are often victims of physical, emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of Pashtuns. Hosseini uses the act of rape since it carries a great deal of significance as it demonstrates a symbolic violation of the powerless by those who have power. In each instance of rape we see that the rapist is always in a position of greater power both socially and physically. For instance, Assef, a well-known bully, is rich and has a politically powerful father, while, Amir’s friend and later, found to be half-brother Hassan is a poor Hazara. Upon being denied what he desires – a prized tournament kite – Assef subjects Hassan...
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...Explore the relationship between Amir and Baba. Throughout the novel The Kite Runner, the relationship between Amir and Baba has many ups and downs, the reader sees it broaden as Amir grows older and it is clear that deep down their relationship is strong. Amir tells the reader during his dream that he ‘can never tell Baba from the bear.’ This gives the impression that Baba is strong and rugged in appearance. It is important that the reader knows that Baba is the narrator’s father; due to the unconditional love we expect between father and son, Amir’s opinion may well be biased. Indirectly, the reader can make an opinion on Baba, and his relationship with Amir, through his speech and actions as described by Amir. The reader is told that ‘Baba heaved a sigh of impatience.’ This shows that Baba, unlike most fatherly figures has very little patience with Amir and even the smallest things that Amir does seems to get on his nerves. Hosseini suggests that Amir is some what intimidated by Baba from the quotation ‘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,’ The metaphor ‘My father was a force of nature’ suggests an essence of fear; the character of Baba is not to be reckoned with. The reader is presented with imagery of a storm at sea or a hurricane as Rahim Khan Nicknames Baba. This could suggest an element of incomparable strength, recklessness and perhaps the tendency of storms...
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...This quote provides the reader with feelings of foreshadowing and adventure. The author implies that latter on in the story something from Amir’s past will come back that was originally thought of as gone. The audience receives a feeling of foreshadowing as they expect something, that was supposedly buried in Amir’s life, to “claw its way out”. The author makes present the theme that, what you have learned and have been taught may not necessarily be true.. All of the small details and facts about the past help with the development of Amir’s character. By mentioning about his past and about what happened long ago only add up to the audience's perception and image of Amir. Mentioning “crouching behind a crumbling mud wall” and “peeking into the alley” make the audience curious as to why, when, where, and what happened and what will happen due to the past....
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...'Rahim Khan's friendship is Amir's only refuge in his childhood'Do you agree? The Kite Runner is a novel written by Khaled Hosseini which takes place in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the USA from around 1975 till 2001.It's about the life's transformation before and after the Russian Invasion. Hosseini vividly provides the memorable portrait of Amir,the protagonist.Initially,this 12-year-old boy has the privileged social backdrop because his father is one of the richest man in Kabul.Nonetheless, he isn't cheerful because various reasons,such as can not get recognition form his baba,and bullied by Assef. All these factors force him to seek somewhere else for guidance and support. Rahim khan, a minor but important character comes to Amir's life and becomes the catalyst for much of his development.However,Rahim Khan isn't the only refuge in Amir's childhood.Hassan is also a crucial individual in Amir's childhood.Furthermore,writing stories and kite running are also sanctuaries that he can find when he was young. Firstly, Rahim Khan is Amir's perfect mentor and almost replaces Baba as Amir's father in his childhood.Amir loves reading and writing stories which is his Baba's discontent.While Baba doesn't endorse Amir's interest,Rahim khan is the one who acknowledges his gifted writing skills and encourages him to pursue writing.'(I)wished Rahim Khan had been my father' is Amir's psychological description delineates how grieved he is when his father knows about he wrote...
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...the main character, Amir, experiences leads to him feeling guilty for rest of his life, which breaks up the relationships that he once had in his previous years. Amir’s guilt turns brother against brother and friend against friend. In the novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled uses the character, Amir, to demonstrate how violence leads to betrayal, which creates guilt within oneself, and ultimate destroying relationships. The impact of violence on Amir leads him to betray Hassan, his only friend, brother and servant by running away from helping Hassan. Amir’s first experience of violence is when Amir wins the Kite fighting Tournament, and Hassan, runs off in pursuit of Amir’s trophy. Hassan is gone long enough to alarm Amir, who begins to search for him and once he finds him, he sees Assef, a bully, raping him. Amir at first is scared of Assef but later convinces himself by says, “Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay to win Baba (Amir’s Father) Was it a fair price?” (Hosseini 82). As Amir never helps Hassan, this shows that Amir will do anything to get Baba’s love and intention. Amir uses Hassan as a tool even though Hassan was his best friend from birth. Hassan’s friendship for Amir is not worth more than the blue kite, which ultimately shows Amir betraying and using Hassan for his own need. Furthermore, Amir’s actions toward Hassan by not helping him, turns into guilt. He starts hating Hassan of the guilt that Amir possesses...
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...The Kite Runner focuses on the relationship between two Afghan boys Amir and Hassan. Amir is a Pashtun and Sunni Muslim, while Hassan is a Hazara and a Shi’a. Despite their ethnic and religious differences, Amir and Hassan grow to be friends, although Amir is troubled by Hassan, and his relationship with his companion, one year his junior, is complex. Amir and Hassan seem to have a "best friend" type relationship. The two boys, Hassan and Amir, are main characters in the book titled, The Kite Runner. The two boys have a relationship that is significantly different compared to most. There are many different facets that distinguish the relationship the boys possess. The boys do write their names in a pomegranate tree as the "sultans of Kabul" (Kite Runner 27) but, their friendship is not strong and it is one sided. Hassan has love for Amir. He loves him like a brother. Hassan is exceedingly loyal to Amir. The relationship between the two boys is emotionally wearing and rather gloomy for the most part. The main reason for their complicated relationship is the fact that Amir is Pashtun, and Hassan is Hazara. The Afghan society places Hassan lower than Amir. Hassan is Amir's servant. The placement of Hassan in the Afghan society disenables Amir from becoming Hassan's true friend. Amir sees Hassan as lower than human. Amir ruins the chance for friendship between himself and Hassan because he is jealous of Hassan, he thinks of Hassan as a lower human, and because Amir possesses such...
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