The Kite Runner Essay. In the novel, Baba and General Taheri shared similar characteristics that they are both very strict and sensitive about ones reputation, both dont have healthy body, and lastly, both are well-respected and selfish men at the
As a culminating exercise on the TKR, you need to write a 5 paragraph essay comparing two characters or discussing two conflicting traits in one character.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is an inspiring book that is suitable for all readers. Hosseini specified characteristics vividly and I was literally touched to read some sections in the novel. In the novel, Baba and General Taheri shared similar characteristics that they are both very strict and sensitive about one’s reputation, both don’t have healthy body, and lastly, both are well-respected and selfish men at the same time.
Both Baba and General Taheri are extremely strict and sensitive about one’s reputation. Baba and General Taheri both have a concept that writing or jobs related to education aren’t considered as a ‘real’ job. They both have great expectations on their children. “Grunted something about medical school, law school, and ‘real work’.”(134) Said Baba, when he was asking Amir what kind of job he would want. Baba wanted Amir to grow up and be a doctor, not a creative writer. “Ah, a storyteller,” the general said. “Well, people need stories to divert them at difficult times like this.”(139) General Taheri said as if writing can only be an interest, not a desire job. On the other hand, General Taheri wishes Soraya could be a lawyer even though he knew Soraya has a great passion in being a teacher. “An intelligent girl like you could become a lawyer, a political scientist.”(181) That made Soraya upset knowing that is not what she wants to do. Both of them are also sensitive about their reputation. They do not want to be humiliated by one another. “Just don’t embarrass me, that’s all I ask.”(145), Baba said when Amir went to buy coke as an excuse to visit Soraya. As well as General Taheri, he was dishonored by what his wife and daughter did and the Afghans talked about what his daughter did humiliates him. “I didn't tell you, Soraya said, dabbing at her eyes, “but my father showed up with a gun that night. He told…him…that he had two bullets in the chamber, one for him and one for himself if I didn’t come home. (179) Even though four years already pass and she is so far away from Afghanistan, the memories still won’t fade and she could still hear her neighbors talking that made General Taheri embarrassed. In America, General Taheri never had a job since in America, “…preferring to cash government-issued checks than degrading himself with work unsuitable for a man of his stature-he saw the flea market only as a hobby, a way to socialize with his fellow Afghans.”(176) Showing that he is sensitive of the job he used to have in Afghanistan, since the position is way higher in his notion and he don’t want to embarrass him by working in the market. Although his daughter and wife are helping out in the market, he is just there to socialize. These examples show that Baba and General Taheri are both strict and sensitive of what other think of themselves.
