Written Response | The Kite Runner

Jordan Tetzlaff | 30­1

Like Father, Unlike Son
The Contrast of Amir and Baba In The Kite Runner The general depiction of the ideal father­son relationship is one with both parties sharing mutual interests, few conflicts, and an overarching sense of sheer compatibility. However, few to none of these traits are present in the relationship of Amir and his father, Baba in Khaled
Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. Amir shows various interests and likings towards his father, and it is known from an early standpoint that he does indeed care greatly about his father, with his interests in always wanting to spend time with him and his business associates in Baba’s office. The real issue with Amir’s relationship with his father comes from his father himself. It is obvious that when it comes to the Afghan teachings of the Pashtunwali, Baba is a person who follows it almost to a tee, while Amir definitely seems to stray from the old way of doing things. Disregarding his societal standpoint on the social totempole, Baba puts himself in an earnest and humble position to others … especially people he has never met. This hospitality to strangers seems to almost come before the protection his own son, given the fact that he almost got shot to save a woman he had never met. This act almost defiles Baba’s teachings to Amir, given how he had earlier stated that theft is the most unforgivable sin (“...robbing a son of his father.”).
‘Baba’ shows little to no sincere interest in his son’s life for a fair part of the novel, making
Amir work hard to get his attention, and if he’s lucky, his love. All this repression of fatherly attention leaves Amir questioning if his dad really does care about him … and from a young age he is left with ideas that should never cloud a childs mind, such as if he is a disappointment to his father, and if he will ever be able to amount to the expectations that he has set for him, even though they may not have been verbally set. It is only when tragedy strikes that it seems Amir is able to see a lighter side to his Baba, with the winning of the kite­fighting tournament (which he was only able to claim victory for due to
Hassan’s sacrifice to save the kite for Amir), as well as Baba’s turn for the worst with cancer.
It was Baba’s fight with this disease that allowed Amir to show his father how he really cared about him … and that caring attitude that Baba had shown to strangers, Amir could show back to him. In Conclusion, the caring relationship between Amir and his Baba was always present, but was shadowed by either their small differences in character, or his father's expectations and ways of living that followed a way of presenting yourself that Amir was not fully accustomed to.