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 and hurricanes which could represent the large amount of people who he has influence over, including Amir. The noun ‘force’ emphasises the strength that is trying to be shown and how Amir is intimidated by him.
As the novel continues and the reader witnesses that their relationship is rather distant. When it comes to the Kite tournament Amir sees this as a way to win Baba’s approval and admiration. His plan to win the tournament seems to be viable due to his kite flying skills; however, it is clear that he might not get his desired outcome. The problems between Baba and Amir go deeper than Amir’s former failure as an athlete. They have never genuinely connected on an emotional level, so in a way, they don’t really know each other. Baba can’t see any of himself in Amir, and therefore doesn’t know how to connect with him. He expresses his frustration to his friend Rahim Khan in the quotation “He needs someone who… understands him, because God knows I don’t. But something about Amir troubles me in a way that I can’t express. It’s like…’ the ellipsis in the quote shows uncertainty. Baba doesn’t quite know how to say what he wants to without sound like a bad father or person, hence the pauses.
It is ironic how Amir tries so hard to impress his father the quotation ‘ I saw Baba on our roof. He was standing on the edge, pumping both of his fists. Hollering and clapping. And that right there was the single greatest moment of my twelve years of life, seeing Baba on that roof, proud of me at last.’ This shows that when he finally won the prize of his father’s attention he lost his loyal best friend and half brother Hassan only a few hours later by allowing him to sacrifice himself so Amir could exchange his winning kite for his father’s acceptance. But Baba’s love went as soon as it arrived, Amir was quickly becoming an outsider again, there were only so many people Baba could brag to, the glory was short-lived. Again Amir was left out of the hilarious conversations his father had with his friends.
Overall, Baba and Amir have a bizarre relationship that consists of love, envy and resent. The reader can see however, that deep down love overrides the other themes as shown by Amir’s severe and consequential actions.