Parental Figures

Amir is an Afghanistani boy from the book, Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.  Throughout his teen years he is faced with war, bullies, school and more.  But one thing that really caught my attention in the book is the relationship between him and his dad who he calls Baba.  This is because even though Amir longs for the fatherly figure his friend Hassan has, he is also extremely proud of Baba and is often jealous of the attention he gives to others.  This makes think that Amir craves his father's love and often denies the absence of it.

For example, in the book Amir thought that, "In some ways all father's want to kill their sons."  This is based off of Amir's personal experience because Baba was disappointed by him because he killed his mother during birth.  And also, when Baba realized Amir was not athletic as he was when he was a young boy, Amir overheard him saying, "If I hadn't seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I'd never believe he was my own son."  Another way Baba didn't provide a strong parental figure was after Amir had written his first novel and Baba just stared blankly at him and said, "That's good."  It was his friend Rahim that actually wanted to read the story.  Overall, it has come to my attention that Baba is not always the best parent.

Amir also becomes jealous at the attention Baba gives to others.  For example, he said that sometimes he wished Baba hadn't opened the orphanage because those kids got more of Baba's attention than him.    Also, when Baba put his arm around Amir and gave him expensive presents Amir said to himself that he didn't care, which implied that he actually did.

However, despite these things, Amir strongly admire his father and cherishes every nice action given to him.  For example, when Baba told him to hold his hat while he gave his speech at the orphanage he was opening, Amir was thrilled because everyone would know that Baba was his father.  Also, when he got to sit on Baba's lap, Amir scolded himself for annoying Baba by asking questions because he ruined the rare occasion that they were alone and talking.

In conclusion, I believe that Baba does not always offer Amir the love and care he craves.  However, despite this, Amir strongly admires his father and become jealous when others are given the attention he lacks.  This makes me think about how important parental care can be to a child.  Without it, it can lead to the kid thinking that all fathers wanted to kill their sons in some way, as Amir did.  I think the book paints an accurate picture about how many crave and cherish things that they may lack.  I think that these kinds of things occur in other scenarios such as the want of friendship, etc.  But overall, I think that Amir secretly desires Baba's approval though it is not always given.