The Kite Runner- Baba and Amirs relationship evolution

In America, Amir is making Baba proud of him. He is about to graduate from high school and go to college. Approximately three years after Baba and Amir moved to the States, Amir fells in love with a young woman, Soraya, who is General Taheri’s daughter. He asks Baba if he will go to General Taheri to ask Soraya’s hand in marriage for Amir. Baba goes with pleasure the next day. General Taheri accepts. This event got Baba and Amir closer.

A few months before Amir ask Baba to go ask General Taheri Soraya’s hand, Baba was diagnosed with lung cancer but refused to receive any treatment. Amir told Baba that he didn’t know what he was going to do and Baba replied that this is what he has been trying to teach him this all his life. He was teaching Amir to be a man. For Amir, it is clear for the first time that this is why Baba has always treated him the way he has. He was preparing Amir of taking care of him and to differentiate the right from the wrong. Amir who sees his father as a very complex man, now understand him a little bit better. Even if Amir is very recently married and very in love with Soraya he focuses on Baba who is very ill. They get closer and closer, till Baba dies. The positive part of it is that Baba dies proud of Amir. He knows Amir is going to be able to take care of his wife and himself.

I think that the changes in Baba can be seen negatively and also positively. Negatively because the move to America is very difficult for Baba and he suffers from this but moving to America was his last gift for Amir. He wanted to give his son the opportunity to do something good with his life. Positively because Amir and him have now the relationship he wished hey always had. They are very close and Amir he becoming responsible of himself. Before Baba dies, I think he felts that he had fulfilled his duty. His responsibility was to learn to Amir to become a man who can stand up for him and for others. We can see Baba has succeeded in making Amir a great man later in the novel when he goes to find Hassan’s son. He is doing exactly what his father would have done.