Discuss Hosseinis exploration of the parent/ child relationship in the Kite Runner.

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Discuss Hosseini’s exploration of the parent/ child relationship in the ‘Kite Runner’.

Hosseini portrays and contrasts many different forms of the parent/ child relationships in The Kite Runner, from the main protagonists, Amir and his tenuous relationship with his father, ‘Baba’. To Hassan’s contrasting, tender relationship with his father Ali. Through the exploration of these relationships Hosseini stresses the importance of the parent/child relationships and the consequences of lack of love and neglect, the child can become insecure and in Amir’s case, his attempts of trying to win the father’s affection lead to devastating consequences.

 

1Harvey Freedenberg remarked that a ‘source of tension in Amir’s life is his relationship with Baba, his hard-driving and demanding father. Desperate to win his father’s affection and respect...’ This is a very accurate representation of Amir and Baba’s relationship, as Baba is indeed the ‘demanding’ father, expecting more of Amir than possible, while young Amir is an insecure child vying for his father’s attention. An example of this can be seen through Baba’s indifferent response of a unenthusiastic: ‘muttered, Good’ when Amir beats all his classmates in a poetry game, an aloof reaction dampens his win but was no surprise to Amir.

The relationship between Amir and Baba is very precarious, principally arising from the disparity of the characters’ attributes. While Baba is a strong, overshadowing extrovert character described as: ‘a towering/ Pashtun specimen with a thick beard, a wayward crop of curly brown/ hair as unruly as the man himself, hands that looked capable of up-rooting a willow tree…’. That coupled with Baba’s nickname ‘’Mr. Hurricane’’ Hosseini gives the reader the image of an overpowering man that commands attention with his presence. In contrast Amir, is described as an introvert and unsociable character, more likely to be reading books or ‘‘shuffling around the house like he’s lost in some dream.’’, behaviour that Baba does not understand. Baba feels Amir lacks the active masculine qualities, which he as a child displayed, as Baba was athletic as a boy and as a result is very disappointed that Amir prefers reading poetry than playing Baba’s favourite sports, such as football. These completely opposing character traits make it difficult for Baba to bond with Amir; which is why Baba, would rather work and spend time with Rahim Khan, than spend time with Amir, resulting in the young Amir, to sometimes wonder ‘why it was always grown-ups’ time with him.’ The italicism of ‘always’ puts emphasis on the word to illustrate the minimal time Baba spends with Amir but also puts a whining tone in the sentence to capture his child-like voice. Nevertheless it is apparent that Amir is desperate for his father’s love from the beginning, as Amir’s desire for love is also rooted in Amir’s first word: ‘Baba’.

Baba’s neglect of Amir leads him becoming an insecure child, this can be seen through the imagery that Amir would sometimes sit outside his father’s office with his ‘knees drawn to [his] chest ‘for an hour, sometimes two, listening to their laughter, their chatter’. The image of Amir in the fetal position; is an image of an insecure child and shows Amir’s desperation for love and attention. His desperation is also shown in Amir’s attempts to captivate his father’s attention through any means possible, it prompts Amir to pronounce: ‘I think I have saratan.’ A declaration, that he thinks he has cancer, is a desperate cry for attention, to get some kind of caring response or reaction from a father who has been ignoring him nearly all his childhood. Baba’s response to Amir’s declaration is far removed from the caring response Amir hoped to gain, as he continues to ignore Amir. It is due to this indifferent treatment, which leaves Amir craving his father’s attention and resolves him to winning the kite flying tournament, leading him to commit the first of his ‘unatoned sins’.

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After winning the kite tournament, although Amir wins and forms a bond with his father, Amir is still unhappy because his victory is tarnished by the fact that he stood by and did nothing, while Hassan was assaulted. Amir is also aware that, although his relationship with his father has improved for the moment; if he divulges to his father, that he witnessed Hassan being assaulted and failed to act, he knows that present bond with his father could be broken. However despite Baba remaining oblivious to Amir’s cowardice, of leaving Hassan to the mercy of Assef that winter, ...

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