We can sense from this extract of the text that Amir is upset about his father spending more time on his speech than paying attention to him. It shows that Baba prefers being a successful businessman to raising his child. Amir takes his anger out on his father by being sarcastic. We also see that Amir is trying to test Baba.
This extract includes both direct speech (‘I think I have saratan’) and indirect speech (Told me I could get the soda myself…). Direct speech eliminates any bias from the narrator however when Amir is reporting about what Baba said because it is wrote in indirect speech Amir can be biased as he is not saying exactly what Baba said. We may be able to hear the adult voice of Amir coming through, the bitter voice of the adult.
In this extract of the text Hosseini is trying to show the distance between Amir and Baba by showing that Baba does not reply to the correct question that Amir has asked. He is starting to show how even though Amir long for his dad’s affection he also realises that his father does not pay this attention to him at the moment. This relates to the whole novel as it is Amir’s longing for his father’s affection that leads to the incident in the alleyway as Hassan longs to please Amir just as Amir longs to please his Baba.
Another extract from the text that highlights the relationship between Amir and Baba is also on page 13.
“’Midway through the speech, the wind knocked off his hat and everyone laughed. He motioned to me to hold his hat for him and I was glad to, because then everyone would see that he was my father, my Baba. He turned back to the microphone and said he hoped the building was sturdier than his hat, and everyone laughed again. When Baba ended his speech, people stood up and cheered. They clapped for a long time. Afterward, people shook his hand. Some of them tousled my hair and shook my hand too. I was so proud of Baba, of us’”
We can tell that Amir still feels proud of his dad even though Baba does not fulfil the role of his ideal father. The possessive pronoun ‘my’ is repeated showing how Amir wants the relationship between him and his father to be exclusive so that no one else, especially Hassan, can call Baba their father, so that no one else gets any attention from Baba. In this extract we also understand that Amir recognises that Baba is popular in this society, he is glad to be included with that, ‘Afterward, people shook his hand. Some of them tousled my hair and shook my hand too. I was so proud of Baba, of us’.
“’ Baba heaved a sigh of impatience. That stung too, because he was not an impatient man. I remembered all the times he didn’t come home until after dark, all the times I ate dinner alone. I wished they’d all died along with their parents’”
This is wrote in first person which makes it seem like Amir is talking to the reader personally which makes us sympathise with him more as we feel the pain he is going through with his father not being there for him. We also get the feeling of how much Amir strives for his dad’s love and affection. The last sentence rocks our view of Amir as it challenges our moral perspective on the world. We also get a sense of Amir’s intense jealousy of anyone who ever receives any attention from Baba.
We see that through out the whole novel Amir is trying to get Babas attention and Baba is not interested in the relationship the Amir wants. He is more interested in his carer than in Amir.
