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.

Some Family is Better Than No Family

     As I continue to finish the book What Happened to Goodbye, by Sarah Dessen, a few lines really stuck out to me.  The lines were, "It made me think of my mother, suddenly, and I wished she could see me here, in a real home, with a family, just like she wanted.  Maybe it wasn't ours.  But it was still good."  This lines were really prominent in my reading because they made me think about the benefits and importance of family.  They make me realize that family consists of people not only there for you, but help you to become who you are.

     In think this because it was only when the main character Mclean started to settle down and make family-equivalent friends, that she began being the real Mclean.  For example, when her mother left her father for another man, and Mclean and her dad moved to different towns, she had a broken family.  Her mother and her always fought and her dad rarely had time for her.  I think this was the reason she decided that she was going to create a new personality for herself every time she moved.  There was no one to help shape her into becoming who she really was.  She was just able to pick and choose her lifestyle, and didn't really know what she wanted in life.  This included what type of guy she was into, what friends she actually wanted to make, etc.  However, when she just recently moved and began making family-like friends, her real self came out.  She ended up being Mclean (her real name) and she began knowing exactly what she wanted.  For example, when Opal asked her what color she wanted to paint the restaurant with, Mclean knew exactly.  She pointed to the one on the right and said, "This one.  It's perfect."  In the book, Mclean also said, "These days though, I was sure of one thing: I knew what I liked."

     Overall, I believe that although many people might not see it, families (including best friends) not only support you, but allow and help you be who you really are.  I think that in small ways, they help family member realize something within themselves.  They can help a person find who they really are.  I think that the fact that a family can be something steady and reassuring, is enough to let someone open up and be themselves.  In other books I read where the main character has a broken home or is an orphan, they often say that they prefer to be alone.  But now I think maybe that's just something they deluded themselves with because they don't have reassuring figures like a family to help them realize what they really want in life.

You Decide, When They Believe

Pretties, by Scott Westerfeld is the second book in his series "Uglies."  I the first book, the main character Tally was an ugly, or to us, a normal person.  But in the second book, she was turned pretty in order to test the cure, which takes out the lesions put into her brain during the operation.  However, when Tally finally escaped the city of Pretties, to go back to the Smokies who invented the cure, she had to choose between two boys when a tracking signal went off.  The result of her choice made me realize that if you ever have to pick one or another, you should choose the person who believes in you.

I think this because Tally chose Zane, her boyfriend from New Pretty Town.  The tracker device was in his tooth and couldn't be removed.  The Smokies insisted that they would have to abandon Zane in order to escape the Specials, who would end the Smokies and turn them into dumb Pretties.  Tally had to choose between going with the Smokies and David, her boyfriend from the Smoke, or stay and be captured with Zane.  However, when she said she would stay with Zane, David accused her of doing so just because he was Pretty.  David didn't believe in Tally's real reason (that she loved Zane), which made Tally's decision easier.  She knew that Zane would support her every move, unlike David.  I would have also chosen Zane.  I believe now that you should be with the people who believe in you the most.  What kind of relationship doesn't have mutual support?  In conclusion, I think that the best people are those who believe in and support you.