The Kite Runner Research Analysis

The Kite Runner Research Analysis

Throughout the United States and the rest of the world, fathers and sons have demonstrated fragility in their relationships through various forms, and that fragility has followed the sons throughout their lives; affecting their relationships, families, and even work life. Author Khaled Hosseini sheds light upon this topic as he writes the novel The Kite Runner. The story follows a young, cowardly Afghani boy as he searches for ultimate redemption after having witnessed a horrific event. The boy, named Amir, has little to no relationship with his father, Baba, and later in the novel, Amir exhibits great weakness in many of life’s experiences. The weakness Amir displays as a grown man stems from the emotional and often even physical distance Amir and his father had when Amir was a young boy. If Amir had been treated differently or had a better relationship with his father growing up, he may have reacted and acted in different ways throughout life.

Amir and his father had been very distant for most of their lives, the distance originating after Amir’s birth and his mother’s death. In the beginning of the novel, Amir recounts having looked at a photo in which Baba was holding Amir as a baby. “Here was Baba and his best friend and business partner, Rahim Khan, standing outside our house, neither one smiling--I am a baby in that photograph and Baba is holding me, looking tired and grim. I'm in his arms, but it's Rahim Khan's pinky my fingers are curled around” (Hosseini, 3). This quote is revealing how, growing up, Amir felt closer to his father’s business partner, Rahim Khan, more than he felt towards his own father. Amir very often felt parentless, as his mother died during childbirth and his father seemed light-years away, even though Baba was frequently in the next room. As Amir gets older, the gap between Amir and Baba grows. Amir and Baba are different in every way imaginable; Baba loves sports, Amir loves to read. Baba knows...