Text Response Essay - The Kite Runner

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Hi,
It would be great if you guys could give me some constructive feedback on this essay I'm struggling a bit with text responses atm.

“I was learning that Baba had been a thief. And a thief of the worst kind, because the things he had stolen had been sacred.” Baba’s actions in The Kite Runner are more damaging than any of Amir’s. Discuss.

In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, the actions of both Baba and Amir are portrayed as destructive in nature, but ultimately, the reader is able to see Amir as a less damaging character due to his atonement and consequent redemption. By highlighting Baba’s failure to act and his betrayal of his homeland, Hosseini illustrates Baba in a cowardly and disloyal way. While it may be argued that Amir’s actions were far more damaging than any of Baba’s, Baba’s actions while raising Amir caused him to act in a negative way.

In The Kite Runner, it is often the case that a characters failure to act can prove to be more damaging than any of their actions. In the case of Amir, it is his failure to defend Hassan during the rape that proves the most damaging, but in the case of Baba it is his failure to atone for his actions. Although Baba’s actions alone are not considered as damaging as Amir’s, the mere fact that Amir tried to redeem himself after his poor decisions shows responsibility and integrity and allowed him to finally feel “healed”. While the beating he took from Assef left his body “broken”, he was able to laugh because he had finally atoned. Baba, on the other hand, failed to atone for the way he raised his son. His high expectations and lack of affection caused Amir to feel the need to “sacrifice for Baba”, which directly resulted in him considering the blue kite of higher value than Hassan. Baba never let Amir know that he was good enough, and this proved to be detrimental to his moral standings at a young age. While Baba did not directly cause the rape, his actions were more damaging in the scheme of things than Amir’s were.

The theme of loyalty and betrayal is prevalent in The Kite Runner, as it illustrates the transition of Afghanistan from a country of beauty to a country of destruction and war. It would be unreasonable to claim that Baba was the direct cause of Afghanistan’s demise, but the people who fled Afghanistan were significant symbolic contributors to the loss of their homeland. Baba fled as soon as he realised that his “way of life had ended” in Afghanistan. He was acting in a responsible way in terms of what his son needed, but in other ways he was leaving his country to fend for itself. He not only left his country, he robbed his son of his homeland. Kabul was not the same, “you couldn’t trust anyone”, but the significance and importance of “standing up” for his country in its time of need seemingly overrules leaving in terms of importance. This further proves the damaging effect that Baba’s actions have throughout the novel, especially in terms of the country of which he originates.

There are several father-son relationships illustrated in The Kite Runner which explore the various ways that you are able to raise your son. While it can be argued that Baba is a positive influence on how Amir acts by encouraging him to “stand up for himself”, his cold and distant treatment towards Amir’s choices early in life causes him to feel inadequate. This, in turn, causes Amir to sacrifice Hassan to Assef and the bullies to impress his father.  If Baba was a more loving and accepting father, Amir would never have felt the need to “win Baba” and he would not have had to symbolically “slay” Hassan in the way that one would slay a “lamb”.  This then caused Amir to feel the need to hide his deception of Hassan, which eventually led to Hassan’s death. This behaviour was indirectly destructive, but it was destructive nonetheless.

While Amir’s behaviour is destructive in its own right, Baba’s is significantly more destructive overall. By examining the way that Amir attempts to atone for his wrongs, his betrayal of his homeland and the way he raises his legitimate son all illuminate the significance of his negative actions throughout the text and how they are more damaging than Amir’s.