Amir's father claims that the worst sin is stealing. He always says that when someone lies, they steal someone's right to the truth. Knowing this, Baba has committed the worst act of sin and betrayal in the entire story. When Amir goes back to Afghanistan as a grown man to visit Rahim Khan, he learns that Hassan is his half-brother; his father had been their father all along. He went back to his home country to redeem himself and find forgiveness, but now he is faced with redeeming his father's sins as well. His whole childhood was spent believing that Hassan was only his servant, barely allowing himself to believe that he was a friend, and now he has to find out that his father lied to him and that this boy was his brother. Amir is now on a journey not only for himself but also for his dad and Hassan, determined to prove that he "can be good again" (2). Baba kept Hassan's real identity a secret because he did not want to ruin his reputation. If word had gotten out that Baba had slept with his servant, he would have been socially dead. Maybe this had even helped other people in the long run. Perhaps Baba built the orphanage, donated so much money, and threw extravagant parties for everyone because he felt guilty he had to keep Hassan a secret.
Amir and Baba both shared guilt for betraying their best friends. However, only Amir was able to relieve his guilt and redeem himself by adopting Hassan’s son, Sohrab. Baba never owned up to his secrets, which ultimately hurt many people. Amir was determined not to follow in his father's footsteps. Baba's biggest mistake was not telling Amir and Hassan that they were brothers. Amir did not want to continue with the lies and secrets, so he told Sohrab that he was his uncle and that Hassan was his brother at the first opportunity. Starting with no secrets was the beginning of a better life, free from guilt, for both Sohrab and Amir.
It is not often that Amir’s love for Baba is returned. Baba feels guilty treating Amir well when he can’t acknowledge Hassan as his son. Baba discriminates against his son Amir by constantly making him feel weak and unworthy of his father. Baba once said to Rahim Kahn, “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” (Hosseini 23). Amir doesn’t feel like a son towards Baba since he seems like such a weakling. This neglect towards Amir causes him to feel a need to be accepted by Baba to end the constant discrimination from his father and he will do anything for it. “I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (Hosseini 77). Amir did not stop the rape of his good friend for one sole purpose. Amir felt that he had to betray his own half-brother to gain th...
Because he was ashamed of what he did. This quote explains how he ruins their trust between Hassan and Amir, “I went into Hassan's living quarters. I lifted the Hassan's pillow and placed the watch under it and a handful of afghan dollar bills”(91). Amir was brought into his father's office after this event with Hassan and Ali crying in the room. Shortly after ali made Baba take them to a bus station leaving Amir with guilt because of what he did. Another example is when Amir had promised Sohrab that he would never be taken back but he lied about his promise: “Sohrab it's only for a short period of time but you have to be placed in an orphanage until we get this sorted out”(342). This event lead to Sohrab losing all trust in Amir, making them lose the little connection the had.
*Baba is somehow ashamed to have Amir as a son, he's skeptical because they are so different and Amir is like his opposite in so many ways.
Baba, is what Amir called his father. Amir always looked up to Baba. He never wanted to disappoint him. Amir always wanted to be the only boy in the eyes of his father. He was jealous and would do anything for Baba to look up to him or respect him, as his son. Hence, the kite and alley incident. Through all the lies and deception, Baba still viewed Amir as innocent in many ways. Though Baba always wanted Amir to be athletic, play soccer, and display a talent of kite running and flying like Hassan and himself, he still loved Amir and saw his talents as a
This quote, an excerpt from the letter Rahim Khan wrote to Amir, reveals the inner torment Baba faced regarding his two sons, whom he didn’t know how to love fairly, and the guilt he carried for fathering an illegitimate son, guilt that is reminiscent of Amir’s guilt for betraying Hassan. All his life, Baba had been hard on Amir, withholding the fatherly affection Amir longed for, but, as Rahim reveals, this was also hard on Baba. Baba wanted to be able to show affection to both of his sons, but didn’t know how when one of his sons was illegitimate and the other represented everything that made him feel guilty. In this quote, it is also apparent that Baba is much more like Amir than either of them thought. Baba harbored guilt for betraying Ali, just as Amir suffered guilt for betraying Hassan.
Hassan would do anything for his friends and treat everyone, even bullies, with respect because his respectful dad, Ali, taught him to always be loyal to all, and never hurt anyone. Ali was Baba’s servant and long-time friend, and stayed close to him throughout their childhood and adulthood. Amir's actions showed how much of a coward he was. Amir suffered his whole life living with the guilt of knowing that Hassan was raped, much like Baba lived his whole life in guilt knowing that he stole the truth from Ali by committing adultery.
Baba is displayed as an immoral man while at home because he is not loving to his son and he cheated with his friends’ wife and had a child. Even some of Baba’s good qualities such as his care for Hassan and Ali, his father, seem to have a selfish motive behind them because he wants to keep his son close to him. While Baba is never the fatherly figure in the first part of the book, once they leave their home, Baba seems to care a lot more about Amir. This may happen because he does not always have Hassan around to remind him of the terrible mistakes that he made in the past. However, even when Hassan is leaving, Baba still cares about him. Even though Hassan may be a symbol of past mistakes, he is still Baba’s son in the end and family always has a strong bond. Therefore, Baba’s character shows his moral side because instead of hating his illegitimate son, he cares for him as much as he can given the cultural standards of the two opposing religions. By healing his cleft lip and remembering Hassan’s birthday every year, Baba is able to show his caring side that is seldom seen with his relationship with
Baba struggles to adapt to America, while Amir flourishes. Amir stands up for Baba is when Baba is accused of stealing at the store. Baba was quite childish in the way that when he was blamed for stealing,-the only true sin in his mind- he threw a tantrum. This provides an opportunity for Amir to strengthen his fortitude. In this reversed role Amir takes care of the damage, asking the store owners for forgiveness and promising that he will pay the bill for any expenses, just as any responsible adult would do. The tables continue to turn as Amir brings Sohrab into his life. When he first stands up to Assef he fights back and doesn’t let Assef take care of his unfinished business. “ In the end he’d get us both. He’s kept that promise with Hassan. Now it was my turn (pg. 286). Instead of letting him take him down, Amir fights back, to the point of almost killing himself. By standing up for Sohrab, he makes up for not standing up for Hassan in the alleyway. He continues to stand up for Sohrab when he travels back to America. “You will never refer again to him as ‘Hazara boy’ in my presence.” (pg. 361), he tells the general. He ends up becoming not only a man, but a father in the way that he takes care of
Throughout Amir’s journey to absolve himself from the internal and distressing pain he has felt ever since witnessing the devastating altercation in the alley, trying to reach a standard his father, Baba, would approve of also took a toll on his childhood. Baba often speaks of how he cannot fathom the fact that Amir is a part of his bloodline. (quotes quotes quotes) Trying to achieve the perfect son status that Baba wanted Amir to be clouded his mind so greatly that, during the moment, Amir did not show compassion towards Hassan’s troubling moment of need. What matter most was retrieving the last fallen kite to his father to prove he was not a mistake that Baba made Amir believe he was. Even after Baba’s death, his actions brought more despair and uncertainty to Amir’s complicated life. The secrets and lies that were kept from Amir and even Hassan could have altered the fate of both men. (quote quote quote) Throughout the novel, Amir could arguably be considered as selfish, rude and mean toward his half-brother Hassan. However, since Baba never told the two about their true relationship Amir grew up disliking Hassan because he did not know that they shared blood. Knowing their true identities possibly could
For Baba, he could not openly show love for one of his sons. If he did this, he would probably harshly have been judged by society. For Amir, this lead to Baba being very hard on Amir. He saw his guilt and his grief when he saw Amir. With Amir not knowing this information, he tried with all his might to get more affection from Baba, but could not get the affection he so longed for. For Hassan, he never learned who is true father was. His whole life was partly a lie. Another key effect was Amir’s treatment of Hassan. Their relationship almost certainly would have been different if Amir had known that Hassan was his half-brother. If someone wanted to get into hypothetical situations, some may say Hassan would not have died. Older Amir definitely had those same thoughts
middle of paper ... ... Readers realize Baba was not the honorable man he was initially depicted as; instead, he was a man who lacked the courage to atone for his sins. Ultimately, through his actions to save Sohrab, Amir became the man his father had always wanted him to be. Although Baba never lived up to the persona he created for himself, Amir did, and that is why his attempts to achieve atonement were more successful than his father ’s.
Baba kept on good terms with Hassan and Ali was since he was trying to care for his son. He also felt guilty and wanted the two families to stay close. Amir’s longing for Baba’s approval is the reason why Amir asked Hassan to get the kite. If Hassan did not go to get the kite, he would not have been hurt and tortured the way he had. Lastly, the irony of it all is that when Amir finally wanted to meet up with Hassan and apologize, he learned that Hassan had passed.
Much like Amir has a friend who is as loyal as Hassan, Baba actually has a friend who is just as loyal to him and his name is Rahim Khan. Rahim Khan is Baba’s best friend and has been with Baba for as long as he can remember and one can see that he values their friendship through his loyalty to Baba through his word. One example is when Rahim Khan finally tells Amir the truth about the relationship between Hassan and Baba where we see Rahim’s Khans true loyalty. Rahim states, “Please think, Ami Jan. It was a shameful situation people would talk. All that a man had back then, all that he was, was his honour, his name, if people talked… we couldn’t tell anyone, surely you can see that” (Hosseini 233). Rahim Khan shows his loyalty to Baba by not proclaiming Baba’s misfortunate actions to the public. Rahim knew that if people were to find out about what Baba had done, all that he has worked for would be of no use anymore. The Orphanage, Baba’s name and the respect he receives from the people of Afghanistan would be worthless. A second example to present Rahim Khan’s loyalty is when Baba “sells” the house to Rahim Khan before him and Amir leave for Pakistan and eventually to America. Here Amir narrates, “Baba had ‘sold’ the house to Rahim Khan shortly before he and I fled Kabul… So he’d given the house to Rahim Khan to keep watch over until that day”
In particular, Amir explains that Baba has never missed one of Hassan’s birthdays. Whether this is because he is just a caring, kind, man or that he truly loves Hassan. Amir explains, “Baba never missed Hassan’s birthday. For a while, he used to ask Hassan what he wanted, but he gave up doing that because Hassan was always too modest to actually suggest a present,” (Hosseini 44). In this scene, there is a tension and jealousy because Amir senses Baba is treating Hassan with more respect and care. This strong relationship is generated by the fact that Hassan is Baba’s son. This is a problem because Baba is not allowed to speak up about this situation because it would be incorrect towards Ali. Hassan does not have the best circumstances in life because he works as sort of a servant for Baba and Amir, so for Baba to be able to provide happiness for him is an enormous gift that he can
Throughout the book, Amir idolises and admires his father, almost to the point of obsession. What he was not aware of was the fact that Baba is only human, and no human is perfect. When the Russians take over Afghanistan, Baba and Amir emigrate to United States. Years later, Amir receives a call from a dying old friend, Rahim Khan, who requests Amir to visit him in Pakistan. Amir fulfils the request and makes his way to Pakistan, where Rahim Khan tells him the truth of Hassan’s parentage. In actuality, Hassan is the illegitimate son of Baba, making the two half-brothers. Baba once told Amir, “When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth.” (Hosseini, 18) The greatly revered Baba committed theft–he stole Amir and Hassan’s right to the truth. To redeem himself for his crime, Baba decided to do charitable acts. He put much effort into constructing his redemption–an orphanage–even to the point of drawing the blueprints by himself. Baba faced his past and sought redemption by being a truly good-natured man to make up for the wrongdoing that defined him as a