The Kite Runner.The Many Faces of Baba: Father, Friend, and Foe

The relationship between Baba and Amir is a complex one as Baba reveals his role as a father, friend, and foe. Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner explores this rollercoaster between Baba and his son Amir. As the novel unfolds, the lives of the characters unravel – and so too does their relationships and their sense of identity. Baba serves as an important link that connect s each of the characters and also bridges the uncertain with the certain, lie with truth, pain with pleasure, servant with master, dark with light and then ultimately death with life. Each of these connections triggers strong emotions in Amir about feelings towards his father and how he feels about himself. This mixture of negative and positive feelings towards his father causes him much pain, but it also brings him closer to discovering himself and how in many ways he is truly his father’s son.

Amir’s relationship with his father Baba starts off at a very rocky stage. Amir felt as though his father resented him since the day that he was born when his mother died while giving birth to him. Amir constantly felt as though he had to make up for killing the love of his father’s life, Sofia Akrami. However, this became a problem since there wasn’t much that Amir could do to impress Baba as they did not have much in common; the two had very different interests. Baba was more athletic, brave, and adventurous whereas Amir is the opposite. The contrast between the two was so large that Baba even said, “If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d not believe he’s my son.” (pg.23). Amir overheard this scarring quote and became more determined than ever to win his father’s love and affection. Amir began trying so hard to impress his father that Amir even starting doing sports. It was evident however, that it wasn’t one of his strengths. Baba’s lack of affection drove Amir into an imaginary competition between Hassan-his Hazara servant- and himself. Amir felt as though Baba was more affectionate to Hassan and he began to envy him. This led Amir to have a secret resentment towards Hassan, though he knew how much Hassan loved him. This bitterness played out in a terrible way on the day after the kite tournament. Amir witnessed Hassan get raped by the town bully Aseef- and he did nothing to help. He forsook him in his most desperate moment. . All Amir thought about was going home with the kite that Hassan had in his hand. The kite that Amir believed would make Baba love him even more now that he had won the kite tournament. That is why Amir said, “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba.” (Pg.77). Even though he got the kite he wanted, Amir’s abandonment of Hassan in this tragic moment was a secret torment he had to live with for many years.

Though Amir’s guilt meant living a life with a heavy weight on his shoulder, his life seemed to be looking up, since his relationship with his father Baba seemed to be improving. Ever since Amir won the kite tournament, Baba had been putting more of an effort into his relationship with Amir. Instead of ignoring Amir and not sharing any moments with him, Baba and Amir begun going out more. Baba agreed to do everything that Amir wanted to do and to Amir’s surprise, he even initiated some of their plans. The two did have their few bumps in the road however. For instance, when Amir was unable to deal with the guilt of seeing Hassan every day, he asked his father if he ever considered getting new servants. This made Baba furious. He told Amir, “I’ve never laid a hand on you Amir, but you every say that again…” (Pg.90). This is the moment, that the reader first gets sense that the connection between Baba and Hassan and his father Ali was much more than loyalty of years spent together. We learn that Baba grew up with Ali like a brother. The reader gets a deeper insight into their relationship later on in the novel. The reader finds out that Baba’s emotional response to Amir’s request is because Hassan is actually his son. From there on the relationship between Baba and Amir changed and went downhill. Amir realized that discussing that idea with Baba was a big mistake; however his desire to get rid of Hassan did not diminish. Amir took a decision to engage in a masterful act of deception and framed Hassan for stealing his watch and birthday money. This of course led to a confrontation between Baba, Amir, Hassan, and Ali. Hassan confessed to stealing the watch even though he didn’t and Baba instantly forgave him. Despite Baba’s act of forgiveness, the shame or perhaps the suspicion changed things in the household. Ali informed Baba that he and Hassan were leaving and would no longer be working for him. This was the first time that Amir saw Baba cry. Hassan was a good boy and Baba knew him well. He must have known in his heart that Hassan would not steal and that this predicament was all Amir’s doing. Of course this would put an even stronger strain on Baba and Amir’s relationship, but this wasn’t able to be expressed since Afghanistan soon underwent immense changes after Hassan and Ali’s leaving.

After Hassan and Ali left Baba’s house in Kabul, the Soviet Union invaded Russia. Baba and Amir fled Kabul and headed towards Pakistan; later on the moved to America. These traumatic events that occurred strengthened the complex relationship between Baba and Amir. When the two began life in America, their relationship was stronger than ever. Baba and Amir really started bonding and connected as father and son should. Baba began taking an interest in Amir’s studies, supported him as he pursued his dreams to become a writer. They often joked with one another and Amir began helping out Baba a lot with everything and even took care of Baba while he was ill,. When it was time for marriage, Baba got permission for Amir to marry Soraya- an Afghan he met in America- and he paid for the entire wedding. The relationship was at a very good place