The Kite Runner Quotes: Admiration


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  • Created by: mhannah
  • Created on: 08-05-18 18:31
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  • The Kite Runner Quotes: Admiration
  • "I'd sit by the door, knees drawn to my chest. Sometimes I sat there for an hour, sometimes two, listening to their laughter, their chatter."
    • Chapter 2. n his devotion to his father, Amir sits by the door of Baba's study for hours. It's easy to see just how central unrequited affection becomes in The Kite Runner. Amir's affection for Baba, which isn't returned, in some ways drives him to betray Hassan. Jealously, as much as cowardice, may motivate Amir to leave Hassan in the alleyway.
      • Here's another example of unrequited affection: Would Sanaubar have slept with Baba if she really loved Ali? What about Amir and Hassan – if Amir stayed as loyal to Hassan as Hassan stayed to him, would the novel change? (Sufficed to say, if Amir didn't betray Hassan, the novel wouldn't be half as interesting.)
  • "But no one ever doubted the veracity of any story about Baba. And if they did, well, Baba did have those three parallel scars coursing a jagged path down his back. I have imagined Baba's wrestling match countless times, even dreamed about it. And in those dreams, I can never tell Baba from the bear."
    • Chapter 3. Amir as a child experiences feelings of admiration and fear when it comes to Baba-- significant that these sentiments continue well into his adulthood.
  • "Mashallah, Amir agha. Bravo!" He was beaming...Some day, Inshallah, you will be a great writer," Hassan said. "And people all over the world will read your stories."
    • Chapter 4. Amir's jealousy of Hassan drives him to do some pretty terrible things. But don't forget the other story of devotion and admiration in The Kite Runner: Hassan's unflagging admiration for Amir.
  • "I was going to win, and I was going to run that last kite. Then I'd bring it home and show it to Baba. Show him once and for all that his son was worthy. Then maybe my life as a ghost in this house would finally be over."
    • Chapter 6. Difficult to hear how much Amir craves his father's attention. Amir wants the following, in no particular order: to not be a ghost in his house; to be worthy in his father's eyes.
  • "Then I saw Baba on our roof. He was standing on the edge, pumping both of his fists. Hollering and clapping. And that right there was the single greatest moment of my twelve years of life, seeing Baba on that roof, proud of me at last.")
    • Chapter 7. Amir wins the kite tournament and returns to Baba's study with the infamous blue kite. He does gain his father's affection – for a little while. Amir's newfound closeness with Baba will last only a brief time. The sacrifices Amir makes (or has Hassan makes) will haunt him for much of his life.
  • "I buried my face in the warmth of his chest and wept. Baba held me close to him, rocking me back and forth. In his arms, I forgot what I'd done. And that was good."
    • Chapter 7. Just under the surface there's a further connection between Baba and Amir. On one level, Baba celebrates Amir's athleticism and courage in the kite tournament. The boy is finally acting like a man. But on another level, Amir has just committed a hefty betrayal on the same level as Baba's infidelity with Sanaubar. The two are now bound by guilt and sin and that's not healthy.
  • "When I walked in, and Baba would look over his shoulder, wave, and smile, his eyes watering from fatigue."
    • Chapter 11. Has Amir lost the admiration he once had for his seemingly omnipotent father? As readers, we admire Baba's work ethic and determination. But we also think the magic aura surrounding Baba has disappeared. He seems normal now.
  • "I smiled for him – in a way, this was his day more than mine. He walked to me, curled his arm around my neck, and gave my brow a single kiss. "I am moftakhir, Amir," he said. Proud. His eyes gleamed when he said that and I liked being on the receiving end of that look."
    • Chapter 11. Does the immigration to America reverse Baba and Amir's roles?The last time we saw Baba proud of Amir, Amir had just won the kite tournament. Baba's admiration for Amir, in that case, lasted only a short time. However, that things change permanently at this point.
      • Even more significant is the fact that Amir "liked being on the receiving end of that look." This isn't the longing Amir once had for his father's admiration.
  • "I'm here Baba, I'm here, you'll be all right, I'm right here. As if I could soothe the convulsions out of him... I felt a wetness on my knees. Saw Baba's bladder had let go. Shhh, Baba jan, I'm here. Your son is right here. "
    • Chapter 12. Demonstrates how much Baba and Amir's familial roles have changed in the USA
  • "Baba had wrestled bears his whole life. Losing his young wife. Raising a son by himself. Leaving his beloved homeland, his watan. Poverty. Indignity. In the end, a bear had come that he couldn't best. But even then, he had lost on his own terms."
    • Chapter 13. In Afghanistan, these things never seemed like real threats to Baba. But upon further reflection, we realise that he is very human and because Baba ages and has trouble adapting to life in America, Amir is able to reconcile with his past.
      • This man who towered over Amir reveals a more human side, which might help Amir accept his own failings.
  • "Never mind that to me, the face of Afghanistan is that of a boy with a thin-boned frame, a shaved head, and low-set ears, a boy with a Chinese doll face perpetually lit by a harelipped smile."
    • Chapter 4. Evidence of Amir's love and admiration for Hassan.

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