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.

Emotional Departure

During the scene where Ali and Hassan were leaving, I was slightly confused. I could not understand what Amir was doing while he was putting the watch and money under Hassan's mattress. At first I thought that Amir was running away and wanted Hassan to have these things as a goodbye present. Also, with Amir saying that, " one of them would have to go," never did I think that Amir would try and set Hassan up for theft. As this scene progresses and they are all together discussing the matter, I was shocked that Hassan lied and said that he had stolen the money and watch. This was very upsetting to me because Hassan and Amir had been really close and Hassan did so much for Amir. What was most shocking was Baba forgiving them. I really could not understand this, since the one thing Baba hated was thieves. I realized during this point in the book just how much history there was between Ali and Baba. You could see how much it pained both Ali and Baba to depart, but it hurt Baba the most. I did not comprehend  why it pained Baba so, but it all made since later on when we learned Amir and Hassen were step-brothers. Throughout this whole scene, I was surprised about how loyal and composed Hassan remained. Hassan could have betrayed Amir or addressed him about Assef and his friends, ask why he did not stop them.  Somehow though I think Amir knew  that Hassan would not betray him, because they were so close. Ali and Hassan leaving was a big event in The Kite Runner. I was disappointed to see Amir and Hassan's relationship break apart the way it did, and throughout the story, I was hoping for them to reunite and make up.

Summary

    During the start of The Kite Runner the author tells us a little bit about Hassan and Amir's childhood. We see how close Amir and Hassan were, and how Amir would read Hassan the stories that he had written. During one particular story, about a man having to cry in order to receive riches, Hassan asked Amir why the men had to be sad to cry, when he could just cut up an onion, before Amir could answer Hassan's question, Afghanistan erupted into war. Even though a war had erupted, Kabul still held the annual kite-fighting tournament. Hassan was wonderful at running kites, and this year, Amir was the last kite in the sky, and Hassan ran the last kite that had been cut. When Hassan had not returned, Amir went searching for him. What he found would change his childhood. Hassan was being cornered by Assef and his two friends. Assef and his friends assaulted Hassan, and Amir ran away before he could be seen. After this, the story goes downhill. Hassan and Ali leave Amir and Baba. Soon after they leave, Amir and Baba move to America. In America, many Pashtun's and Amir's neighbors struggled to get on their feet. Many of them would go to the flee market on Sunday's where they would sell whatever they had found at garage and yard sales, or what they had made. This is where Amir meets his future wife, Soraya. Soraya and Amir geet married, and soon after they are married, Baba passes away of cancer.
   Amir returns to Peshawar after receiving a summons from Rahim Khan. Rahim Khan tells Amir of how Hassan was his half-brother, and after telling Amir this, Rahim Khan then tells Amir of Hassan's wife, son, and both Hassan and his wife's death. Rahim Khan wanted Amir to come to Afghanistan to find Sohrab, Hassan's son. Amir searches for Sohrab, and while doing so he see's how many in his home town are suffering, and how they are starving. Amir arrives at an orphanage, where a man tells him that yes, Sohrab was there. But a man took him away. This man gives the orphanage money, and in return he takes any child from the orphanage that he wants. Amir does not give up though. He finds Sohrab, and by doing so, he also meets up with Assef. Assef tells Amir he can take Sohrab, but they have unfinished business first. When they were children, Assef said he would take Amir one-on-one someday. Well, that day had come.  Amir ends up winning this fight, with the help of Sohrab and his sling-shot. So, Amir gets to take Sohrab home. While still in his home country, Amir learns that Rahim Khan has left, and he has little time left. With much difficulty, Amir finally is able to take Sohrab back to America with him. Sohrab stays silent for many months, until Amir ask him if he wants to help him fly a kite. Sohrab and Amir fly the kite, and Amir runs a kite for Sohrab.