What Is The Connection Between The Kite Runner And The Inheritance Of Loss
As I found myself struggling to get to the next chapter in The Inheritance of Loss, I couldn’t help but to wish that I were rereading The Kite Runner instead. Every time I flipped a page, I couldn’t help but to envision the characters switching roles because even though the two plots varied, the characters certainly didn’t. Everything from the attitude, age, and even specific structure of the members of the two families from both novels mimicked each other as the novels progressed.
The family dynamic amongst these two novels is eerily similar. While the audience is introduced to The Judge and begins to unravel his distant relationship from his unwanted granddaughter Sai, I couldn’t help but to tie it directly to Baba, from The Kite Runner, …show more content…
and the constant yet obvious disappointment he casts on his son Amir. Amir and Sai both live a life of longing to be elsewhere. Sai obsesses over National Geographic in hopes of one day escaping the mountains of India and venturing out to experience all of the places the magazine features. While Amir on the other hand, envisions himself becoming a writer and publishing all of the pieces his father neglects to appreciate or even read. Sai and Amir are both raised in very sheltered atmospheres by men who care more about their image to the public than the wellbeing of their child. “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up for anything,” Baba would constantly remind Amir. Beyond his interest in writing and his internal conflicts, came his father’s desire for him to be a strong, well-liked, respected, and ultimately powerful man. This knack for keeping up with the reputation is something the Judge also forces upon Sai. It’s become the Judge’s priority to get Sai the best tutor in the area so she can obtain good grades and follow in his footsteps, going to Cambridge University and eventually getting a career of his stature. The Judge and Baba share similar parenting styles in that they are both mainly absent, extremely tough, unloving, and overall concerned with their appearance to the public over their wellbeing.
The Judge and Baba are often times too concerned with themselves to appreciate those who they would hardly exist without.
The master-servant connection is central throughout both books, as we meet the Cook in The Inheritance of Loss and Ali in The Kite Runner. These two wife-less men worked the entirety of their lives to raise their sons, Biju and Hassan, hopeful that they amounted to more than their fathers and had a more respectable job than becoming a servant. The Judge harshly treats, speaks, and even physically abuses his servant, “the cook,” to no extent. The cruelty the cook endures is especially unnecessary because while the judge fails to create any bond with his granddaughter, the cook cares for her and acts as if she’s his own daughter. Sai grows dependent upon the cook for more than just meals, she comes to him for advice and appreciates that he genuinely cares about her, unlike her own family. In Afghanistan, Amir’s father Baba is a local celebrity. He builds orphanages, donates to sick, and even puts his life at risk for strangers, however, he’s the same man that lets his family’s life-long, loyal servant sleep in a shed the size of his bathroom and limp around town to run his errands. Social class is a prevalent issue in both novels and Baba and The judge would consider themselves to be upper class and would be ashamed to associate with the lower class, otherwise known as the people who keep their lives together and their children alive. Baba and the Judge share this sense of power and overall understanding that they are the most significant men
alive.
Family takes a whole new meaning throughout both of these novels. In life we have friends but it’s the people that are blood that we expect to always have our backs and best interest at heart. It’s our family that we are supposed to go out of our way to protect which is why it’s so hard to believe that towards the end of The Kite Runner, we discover that Baba actually had two sons all along. It was never just a coincidence that Amir and him had nothing in common while Hassan and him had everything in common. Perhaps the hardest part to understand when this shocking turn of events takes place is how Baba could go through life treating his son as though he’s just the son of his servant, letting him live in the guest house, endure harassment for being poor, and even one day get up and relocate to a different part of Afghanistan. It’s hard to believe that Baba’s reputation meant so much to him that he would rather let his son go with the risk of never seeing him again than possibly damage his reputation by impregnating the wife of his servant. Again in the book we see a lack of courage when Amir watches Hassan get raped and never once says anything to anyone about it, but rather lets it ruin both Hassan and his own life. The family aspect always takes a back seat in The Inheritance of Loss as we see the way the Judge, who is Sai’s blood grandfather, treats her. He has absolutely no intentions of raising and instead allows the cook to take on that responsibility as well. The Judge has a concern for himself and himself only, never really showing concern for those he should. Towards this end of this book the audience finds out that the Judge actually is the one who took the life of his wife again exemplifying how little the word “family” actually means to him. Throughout these novels a standard of what little it means to be family becomes present. If you enjoyed reading The Inheritance of Loss, than you would love reading The Kite Runner. While several aspects of the books as I previously mentioned are identical, the plot remains unlike anything I’ve ever read yet something totally worth reading. It was interesting to read the developing character structures and how poorly both Baba and the Judge could treat people whom would do anything in the world for them. Seeing how similar their situations were all the way from India to Afghanistan was unexpected. As a reader, I would’ve expected more cultural difference between the two when really it comes down to a few common themes: family sometimes isn’t family at all, social classes are unimportant when you let them be, and to let your child be who they wish to be.
The family dynamic amongst these two novels is eerily similar. While the audience is introduced to The Judge and begins to unravel his distant relationship from his unwanted granddaughter Sai, I couldn’t help but to tie it directly to Baba, from The Kite Runner, …show more content…
and the constant yet obvious disappointment he casts on his son Amir. Amir and Sai both live a life of longing to be elsewhere. Sai obsesses over National Geographic in hopes of one day escaping the mountains of India and venturing out to experience all of the places the magazine features. While Amir on the other hand, envisions himself becoming a writer and publishing all of the pieces his father neglects to appreciate or even read. Sai and Amir are both raised in very sheltered atmospheres by men who care more about their image to the public than the wellbeing of their child. “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up for anything,” Baba would constantly remind Amir. Beyond his interest in writing and his internal conflicts, came his father’s desire for him to be a strong, well-liked, respected, and ultimately powerful man. This knack for keeping up with the reputation is something the Judge also forces upon Sai. It’s become the Judge’s priority to get Sai the best tutor in the area so she can obtain good grades and follow in his footsteps, going to Cambridge University and eventually getting a career of his stature. The Judge and Baba share similar parenting styles in that they are both mainly absent, extremely tough, unloving, and overall concerned with their appearance to the public over their wellbeing.
The Judge and Baba are often times too concerned with themselves to appreciate those who they would hardly exist without.
The master-servant connection is central throughout both books, as we meet the Cook in The Inheritance of Loss and Ali in The Kite Runner. These two wife-less men worked the entirety of their lives to raise their sons, Biju and Hassan, hopeful that they amounted to more than their fathers and had a more respectable job than becoming a servant. The Judge harshly treats, speaks, and even physically abuses his servant, “the cook,” to no extent. The cruelty the cook endures is especially unnecessary because while the judge fails to create any bond with his granddaughter, the cook cares for her and acts as if she’s his own daughter. Sai grows dependent upon the cook for more than just meals, she comes to him for advice and appreciates that he genuinely cares about her, unlike her own family. In Afghanistan, Amir’s father Baba is a local celebrity. He builds orphanages, donates to sick, and even puts his life at risk for strangers, however, he’s the same man that lets his family’s life-long, loyal servant sleep in a shed the size of his bathroom and limp around town to run his errands. Social class is a prevalent issue in both novels and Baba and The judge would consider themselves to be upper class and would be ashamed to associate with the lower class, otherwise known as the people who keep their lives together and their children alive. Baba and the Judge share this sense of power and overall understanding that they are the most significant men
alive.
Family takes a whole new meaning throughout both of these novels. In life we have friends but it’s the people that are blood that we expect to always have our backs and best interest at heart. It’s our family that we are supposed to go out of our way to protect which is why it’s so hard to believe that towards the end of The Kite Runner, we discover that Baba actually had two sons all along. It was never just a coincidence that Amir and him had nothing in common while Hassan and him had everything in common. Perhaps the hardest part to understand when this shocking turn of events takes place is how Baba could go through life treating his son as though he’s just the son of his servant, letting him live in the guest house, endure harassment for being poor, and even one day get up and relocate to a different part of Afghanistan. It’s hard to believe that Baba’s reputation meant so much to him that he would rather let his son go with the risk of never seeing him again than possibly damage his reputation by impregnating the wife of his servant. Again in the book we see a lack of courage when Amir watches Hassan get raped and never once says anything to anyone about it, but rather lets it ruin both Hassan and his own life. The family aspect always takes a back seat in The Inheritance of Loss as we see the way the Judge, who is Sai’s blood grandfather, treats her. He has absolutely no intentions of raising and instead allows the cook to take on that responsibility as well. The Judge has a concern for himself and himself only, never really showing concern for those he should. Towards this end of this book the audience finds out that the Judge actually is the one who took the life of his wife again exemplifying how little the word “family” actually means to him. Throughout these novels a standard of what little it means to be family becomes present. If you enjoyed reading The Inheritance of Loss, than you would love reading The Kite Runner. While several aspects of the books as I previously mentioned are identical, the plot remains unlike anything I’ve ever read yet something totally worth reading. It was interesting to read the developing character structures and how poorly both Baba and the Judge could treat people whom would do anything in the world for them. Seeing how similar their situations were all the way from India to Afghanistan was unexpected. As a reader, I would’ve expected more cultural difference between the two when really it comes down to a few common themes: family sometimes isn’t family at all, social classes are unimportant when you let them be, and to let your child be who they wish to be.