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Influences of religion on culture and society
Influences of religion on culture and society
The effects of religion in society
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I believe that Baba was truly a good man. The Baba’s betrayal, hurt Ali and it left Baba with a son he couldn’t love due to society; this act ate away at his conscious and filled him with such guilt. In Rahim’s letter he states, “ You are still angry and I realize it is far too early to expect you to accept this, but maybe someday you will see that when your father was hard on you, he was also being hard on himself. Your father, like you, was a tortured soul, Amir jan” (301). Baba tortured himself for what was done in the past, showing how our guilt can end hurt others in so many ways. Baba’s guilt, in a way, forced to perform many charitable acts to atone for the sins he committed. “ Sometimes, I think everything he did, feeding the poor
We see a innocent boy who is struggling to be himself. His father that goes by the name of Baba continuously makes Amir feel unworthy and shameful. In a scene Amir eavesdrop and Baba unapologetically proclaims, “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). Baba bluntly insinuates that he doesn’t understand Amir. He doesn’t understand why he spends so much time reading books and why every time there’s an opportunity to fight with the local boys he doesn’t. From the genesis, the audience can tell that the protagonist will have an issue with his identity. By not being accepted by Baba, Amir selfishly watches his dear friend Hassan get raped because he knew if he stood up for him that there will be a chance that the kite would be tarnished and as a result he wouldn’t receive the affection that he always craved from Baba. As soon as this occurred, Hassan and Amir’s relationship drastically alters. Hassan later tells Rahim Khan what happened. His unforgettable scar haunts him and this scar is later passed on to his offspring. Amir’s identity issue is what forced Hassan and Ali to depart. This could’ve been changed if Amir didn’t doubt himself from doing what is moral because at the end he ends up doing just that. If he knew that his identity truly lied in the decision that he makes the regret he suffered wouldn’t have exist.
This is perceived as pre-conventional when examining his actions. However, in a way this appears normal due to the fact that children often focus on attempting to impress others. For example, as Amir watches his father he remarks, “Because the truth of it was, I always felt like Baba hated me a little. And why not? After all, I had killed his beloved wife […] hadn’t I? The least I could have done was to have had the decency to have turned out a little more like him. But I hadn’t turned out like him” (Hosseini 19). This quote essentially explains how Amir strives to act like his father and that he feels guilt in “killing” his wife. He feels as though impressing Baba will redeem his actions and lift the onus of the death when in fact, this corroborates very juvenile and pre-conventional. When he says that he, “felt like baba hated” him a little, the word hated is utilized in a way to explain that Amir is acquiescent with his guilt due to others. Another thing that
Baba is a very high standing man in Kabul, but seems to be extremely harsh to Amir when he was a child. He is a very large, tough man who was very well known in the town and as Amir stated in the novel, “Lore has it my father once wrestled a black bear in Baluchistan with his bare hands” (Hosseini 12). This small detail of Baba makes it known to the reader that Baba is a man of great courage and strength. Some may think that an honorable man is one with no flaws, but many disagree. Every human being makes mistakes, including Baba. When Amir grows up and goes back to visit Rahim Khan in Afghanistan, he finds out that his father lied to him his entire life about Hassan being his half-brother. He also finds out from Rahim Khan that all Baba had back then “was his honor, his name” (Hosseini 223). He did not tell Amir and Hassan that they were brothers because they had a different mother and that would have made their entire family be looked down upon in the town. He did it for their own good, and wanted for them both to grow up as honorable men, like himself. There is a difference in making mistakes and trying to do what’s best to fix them, rather than making the same mistakes over and over again, which is what Amir seemed to do in the novel. Amir was the exact opposite of his father, which made it very hard for them to have a
He tells Walton that, “You hate me, but your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard myself” (275). Although no amount of regret or sorrow can bring back the people that he has killed, the creature does acknowledge the evil of his actions, which in turn allow him to come to peace.
This is what I want you to understand, that good, real good, was born out of your father’s remorse. Sometimes, I think everything he did, feeding the poor on the streets, building the orphanage, giving money to friends in need; it was all his way of redeeming himself. And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when
Baba ran from the truth, and so did Amir to protect the family name, even if that meant betraying the people closest to him. Baba was a man more worried about his image than anything, and that is what he taught his son as well. Slowly that is all Amir knew how to do: protect his family and himself, leading him into a life of guilt, and running from people when situations were challenging, instead of making the admirable decision and helping a friend. He shows his unconditional love when he suddenly packs up and leaves all he has ever known, “‘[Ali and Hassan] can’t live [there] anymore.life here is impossible for [them] now”’
He went from despising his wife and conjuring up the most cruel and severe punishment for her to being able to reconnect and actually have children with her. His actions were initially composed of pure hatred the thought of hanging a human skeleton in her closest and forcing her to drink from a goblet made of the skull from a man with whom she had a romantic relationship, to being able to forgive her and continue their lives on together is truly amazing. To be able to transition from burning hatred for as the only way to accurately describe his punishment could be through what he did to her, to be able to love her again, is truly astounding. It is extremely reminiscent of the US Marine Corps saying “no better friend, and no worse enemy”. His actions forcing her to take part in this cruel and twisted form of punishment, to transitioning to being able to make love to this woman again and being proud of her to bear the man’s children is without a doubt awesome in a very, very weird way of
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.
Betrayal has been a problem for mankind for as long as mankind has existed, but what exactly is betrayal? Many authors, psychologists, and philosophers alike have tried to answer that very question with no success. Certain types of betrayal can be beneficial, but more often than not betrayal causes an unfortunate series of events to follow it. One of the greatest examples of this comes from Greek Mythology and the story of Jason and Medea. Jason and Medea lived together as a married couple and had children together, Jason then betrayed Medea by throwing her aside and claiming they were never married. As revenge Medea then killed their children and fled. There are several different types of betrayal. There is betrayal of/by society or the exectutives of the country, betrayal of/by those close to you, and betrayal of/by yourself.
A blood relationship is not needed for a father figure. A father is someone who raises you and educates you, not always the person who made you. We see a perfect example of this when looking at Ali, and Hassan. Not only is Ali raising a boy that is not his but he sacrificing his pride knowing that the boy's biological parents are his longest friend and his wife. The boy he is raising is the result of an affair. Working as a servant Ali can not afford the finer things in life. He can not afford to pay for his son to go to the movies often, and he can not afford a brand new kite every year for his son to play. Ali sacrifices how his son sees him by allowing Baba to buy things for Hassan and take him to places he would otherwise not be able to go. Page 54 “Baba would buy us three identical kites and spools of glass string. If I changed my mind and asked for a bigger and fancier kite, baba would buy it for me - but he’d buy it for hassan too.” Amir noticed, so Hassan would have noticed too and it takes a lot of strength for Ali to allow someone else to provide for his family. As well as allowing Baba to spoil his son Ali was willing to give up his stable income and sturdy roof over his head to give Hassan a better life. A new start that he truly needed after being raped. Ali says to Baba Page 112 “Life here is impossible for us now Agha Sahib. We are leaving” this a life changing moment but
After the talk about sin, Baba becomes his giant, and Amir struggles with slinging the stone at him for fear of disappoint. He remains silent in hope that Baba will not discover the sin he has committed because silence was what won Baba’s approval in the first place. “A smile played on my father’s lips. He opened his arms. I put the kite down. . . buried my face in the warmth of his chest and . . . I forgot what I’d done. And that was good” (79). That was the first moment in his life that Amir ever felt his father’s acceptance, so he wanted to cherish and prolong that for as long as he could. The giant finally stood on the same side as him, but Amir still felt as if something were wrong. He wondered why he did not feel good about that moment. Since Amir is too cowardly,he ignores the feeling. For the remainder of Baba’s life, Amir withholds the truth about that day from Baba, not because he forgot about it, but because he finally has his father all to himself. Baba becomes proud of Amir’s accomplishments in America, and Amir decides to cherish that. Before he dies, Baba says, “ ‘There is no pain tonight’ ” (173). If Amir had told him the truth about the incident, Baba may not have been able to die peacefully. Although Amir withheld Baba’s right to the truth, he saved him some
In Both Grendel and Beowulf, there is conflict. The conflict is betwixt the themes of light and dark, Paganism vs. Christianity, and Man vs. Beast. Grendel, the main character in Grendel and the secondary character in Beowulf, faces external battles but the most important battle take place internally. John Gardener recognized the basis for Grendel’s predicament which is “his [Grendel] stubborn cling to skepticism and cold, hard reason. . .” (Grendel’s Geis). Though there are many different themes present in both stories, there is one theme that remains consistent throughout out both. This theme is the lack of acceptance. Grendel’s in-acceptance is rooted in his lack of understanding of the world and its functions. As a result of the many things that have taken place in Grendel’s life, he is perceived as evil yet, not because he wants to be. He is misunderstood and not accepted. Much of Grendel’s evil wrongdoing comes as a result of lack of acceptance, lack of communication, and his ignorance.
To begin, Baba’s life after fleeing his home of Afghanistan to America changes at its most critical aspects, one of these being his wealth. Back in Afghanistan Baba was known as very wealthy businessman in the Wazir Khan Akbar district. During Baba’s orphanage’s opening, Amir speaks about Baba’s success and his wealth: “But despite Baba’s successes, people were always doubting him. They told Baba that running a business wasn’t in his blood and he should study law like his father. So Baba proved them all wrong by not only running his own business but becoming one of the richest merchants in Kabul (Hosseini, 16). When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Baba left the country through a people smuggler along with his son to Pakistan then America. Once in America, Baba lives a poorer lifestyle working as a gas station assistant manager opposed to his business career in Afghanistan. Amir gives insight on their American living conditions saying: “ Our grimy one-bedroom apartment smelled like dirty socks and cat droppings…Six days a week, Baba pulled twelve-hour shifts pumping gas, running the register, changing oil, and washing windshields…face drawn and pale under the bright...
In my opinion, people are not born inherently evil—it is a learned behavior that is influenced by their experiences, their choices, their circumstances, and even the interests and thoughts that they choose to entertain. An “evil” person is incapable of empathizing with others—he routinely dismisses other people’s emotions and feelings and instead receives pleasure from wronging and harming others. This makes him unapologetically selfish, egotistical, and disdainful in his words, actions, and behavior. If he appreciates the needs or desires of others in any respect, it is only to further his own interests and desires, which is ultimately stripping them of their humanity and objectifying them by making them no more than a means to an end—serial murders and rapists would be prime examples of people who I would personally consider to be evil. Again, however, it is important to note that even the evilest of people can still likely have good qualities, especially to those who love them, such as their parents—it is often black and white from an outside perspective, but not so much so for those who care for the
There is an incredibly thin line between what makes a person good and what makes a person right. A person being right is something that’s controversial; you can choose what you want because it’s your opinion. A person being good is something that no one gets a say in; all people are good. It’s hard to see that because people skewer the image of other people when they think that person did something wrong. We are judged more by our actions than by our intentions. In reality, our intentions are all that matter.