Never Giving Up

The song Stand by Rascal Flatts reminds me a lot of Amir's father, Baba. Baba was the type of person that never gave up and went through many obstacles in his life. Many of Amir's neighbors, and Baba's friends would tell of how Baba once wrestled with a bear, and won. When Baba and Amir first moved to America, many of their neighbors had public assistance. Not Baba. Baba wanted to make his own money and fend for himself. Before anyone knew that Baba had cancer, Baba was fighting that cancer in him. He didn't have any pain medicine or anything, so we can guess he was in a lot of pain. But, Baba never gave up, until thevery end when he died.

Amir Forgiving Himself

This quote by Les Brown fits well with Amir having to forgive himself for something he did as a child. Rahim Khan wrote in the letter to Amir to forgive his father, try to forgive him, and to forgive himself. As an adult, Amir still had not forgiven himself. When he finally does forgive himself, he is free. He is finally able to be free. When Amir had this guilt weighing down on him, I feel he was never truly happy. When he was with Soraya, he was happy. When Amir is in Afghanistan he calls Soraya and tells him of the cold winter day of 1975 that has built him to what he had become. When he finishes the story, you can feel the pain it caused him, and how much it had been affecting him through the years. But, when he ran that kite, I think he was finally able to be happy without feeling guilty.

The Blue Kite

In the beginning of The Kite Runner, Hassan runs a kite for Amir, and catches it. This blue kite caused a lot of trouble for Amir and Hassan. I feel that this kite represents childhood mistakes and demons. Amir wanted so badly to please his father, and when Assef and his gang assaulted Hassan, Amir ran and waited for Hassan to get back with the kite. Amir always felt this childhood demon, and he could never forgive himself for what he did. Amir finally forgave himeself, in my eyes, at the very end of the book. When Assef beat him up, that may have lifted some of the guilt from Amir, but the demon was still there. I think that Amir finally forgave himself when he ran that kite for Sohrab. In that moment, Amir was finally free of this childhood mistake and demon.

Baba's Death

     When Baba, Kaka jan, died, it didn't really come as a shock to me. Since Amir's father had cancer, him dying wasn't all that shocking. When Baba first ended up in the hospital, he told Amir that even though Pashtun people were stubborn and proud, there was nobody he would rather have by him in a time of need. Pashtun's seemed to always help one another out, and when all those people showed up in the hospital to visit Baba, I really saw how much they all cared for one another. The night before Baba died, Soraya told him she would come back with his morphine to help with the pain. Baba told her not to because there was no pain that night. This should have been a sign that he was going to die, and he died in his sleep that night. When the funeral took place for Baba, many people came and told of what a great man he was. Amir then realized how much of his life was defined by Baba.

Brothers

The song Brothers by Dean Brody describes Hassan and Amir's relationship almost perfectly. While neither Hassan or Amir went off to war, one did leave. Hassan would have done anything for Amir, Amir did take advantage of this sometimes, but they were always really close. From when they were little kids and Hassan's first words was Amir's name, all the way from when Amir would not give up searching for Sohrab, Hassan's son. Brothers would do anything for each other, and brothers fight. Which is why this song describes the relationship perfectly.

Anything for you

A phrase that is said in The Kite Runner quite often is, "For you, a thousand times over." Throughout the book, this phrase has many different affects on Amir. When Hassan tells Amir, "For you, a thousand times over," Hassan was telling Amir that he would do anything for him. Hassan proves this to be true with his actions. Hassan never harms or treats Amir badly at any point during the story. When Amir is throwing pomegranates at Hassan, Hassan just sits there and takes it. When this phrase is said for a second time, Amir becomes upset because he feels he does not deserve to be told this because of all the mistakes he has made in his life. But in the very end of The Kite Runner, Amir tells Sohrab, Hassan's son, "For you, a thousand times over." To me, this is where Amir forgives himself. Through all of the bad he did in his life, he really forgives himself for the mistake he made so long ago, even though others had already forgiven him. The phrase, "For you, a thousand times over," may mean many different things to many different people. For me, this phrase is about showing just how much you care for someone. As it is said, actions do speak louder than words. No matter how many times you tell someone you care, it is only believable when you show it. This phrase tells that if you care for someone, or when you care for someone, you will do anything for them, as many times as it is needed.

Returning to Afghanistan

When Amir goes back to Afghanistan, he learns of who Hassan really was. Amir learns that Hassan is actually his half-brother. Amir did not want to believe this at first, but Hassan and Amir being half-brothers allowed for previous events in the story to make sense. This explained why Baba had cared so deeply for Hassan, but a question that has gone unanswered is, why did Baba seem to like Hassan better than Amir? In my opinion, Baba liked Hassan because he was a lot like him while Amir seemed to be like his mother. What really had me thinking was, how could Ali have not said anything through all of those years? Amir told of how whenever a birthday came around, they were always able to get the present out of Ali, so how did Ali not betray this through all those years? Through this scene in the book, I felt pain for everyone involved. Ali had been betrayed by his best friend, which probably hurt him deeply, but he got to raise Hassan as his. Baba could never openly show his love for his other son and we, the readers, saw how much this pained him. Hassan lived his life as a servant, and he never learned who his real father was, or that Amir was his brother. The most pain I felt was for Amir though. Amir never even got to apologize to Hassan for standing by while Assef and his gang abused him. Amir also went years without talking to Hassan, and when he learns of his half-brother, he also learns of his death. Hassan and Amir had been so close growing up, they were always told it was because they had been fed by the same person. Maybe it was, but maybe they were so close because of them being brothers, even though they hadn't known this at the time.