Just to Make our Fathers Proud

     In Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner Amir spent his entire childhood longing for his father's love and approval. Amir wanted to make his father proud but he was different than his father's "ideal son". Amir didn't play or even like to watch soccer, he wasn't an outdoorsman and didn't have many manly qualities. He liked to sit and read, he was a fairly quiet child; Amir was not like his father and felt that this would keep him from getting his father's approval. That is, until the day that Amir won the competition with his kite. This young boy had beat out over fifty people and finally felt that his father was proud. In this moment, Amir felt like he had finally done what he had by trying to do all his life; to a certain extent, I can understand what Amir was feeling at this time.
     My dad was the biggest and the best in high school and even college when it came to sports. He went to Hillsdale on a track scholarship, then transferred to football. Not to mention he always kept good grades. Although he's never said it, I feel like he always wanted a boy. A child he could mentor and push in sports; in the very least, he probably could have settled for having an athletic girl. Instead, he was given two slightly awkward, not coordinated girls, granted both my sister and I have always excelled in school. Dad never got the chance to coach us; he tried when my sister played basketball, but it ended badly. I always wanted to make him proud and I know I did, but never with sports and that's where I really longed for him to be astonished about just how good I was. 
     Then I became involved in trap shooting, much thanks to his encouragement. My first year I was beyond awful; I couldn't hit anything. However, I went back the next year and kept shooting. I think it's because trap was a male dominated sport that I, as an eleven year old girl, could still do. Through trap I could, in a sense, give my father a son; I could make him proud of me. That first year I saw glimmers of my father's approval, but I was too hard on myself about how awful I was and that made him angry. As I kept shooting over the years, though, I got much better, I became so proud of myself and my father became so proud of me. I basked in this approval. I've grown to love trap shooting but I know that I only really started it to make my father proud, just like Amir fighting to win that kite competition to win his father's approval. 

Childhood Guilt

     I never realized just how much a childhood experience could impact the rest of one's life until I read The Kite Runner. Amir stood by as Hassan, his friend and half brother (though he didn't know it at the time), was brutally raped by a threesome of bullies in Afghanistan. He could have tried to help Hassan, but he chose to run away and try to pretend he saw nothing. Amir paid for this for the rest of his life. The unbreakable bond between Amir and Hassan was broken, never to be repaired. The two stopped talking mainly due to Amir's inability to tackle his own guilt. Hassan moved away and, eventually, Amir ended up in America. It had been years and years since the rape, yet Amir was still an insomniac, still could not think about Hassan. 

     Amir's guilt followed him throughout his entire life until he got the chance to redeem himself by rescuing Hassan's orphaned son, Sohrab. By that time, though, he had been living with the overwhelming guilt of abandoning his friend when Hassan needed him most for nearly twenty five years. I was taken by this. The entire time I read this book I could not get over how much a decision made when one was twelve could bring someone down for so long. I can understand Amir's feeling, just not imagine being in the same situation. It made me realize just how careful one has to be when making decisions even if at the time of the decision it does not seem as if it would be that life altering. 

Afghanistan? Oh.

     The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini swept me away into a world completely different than my own; yet, it was a world that I could literally, in the flesh, travel to. In reality, it wasn't a different world at all; Hosseini opened my eyes to everyday life in Afghanistan and the surrounding countries both before and after war and hardship struck. I was amazed at how different this country was; the way Khaled Hosseini described the culture left me inspired. Afghanistan seemed an amazing place full of religion and wonder; that is until war broke out and the country was nearly destroyed. 
     The Kite Runner followed the life and guilt of Amir from his Afghani childhood to his American adulthood and, eventually, his return back to the remains of Afghanistan. This book stressed just how much one decision can impact the rest of your life. Amir did not help his friend (who was later reveled to be his half brother) when he needed Amir the most. This ended up tearing apart their friendship and leaving Amir guilt ridden for years. Luckily, Amir got the chance to redeem himself by traveling back to Afghanistan and rescuing Hassan's now orphaned boy. The journey left both Amir and Sohrab beaten up but back in America. Amir's struggles were not over yet, Sohrab was a difficult child to understand and handle, but he had repaid Hassan, finally. 
     Personally, I absolutely loved The Kite Runner. It opened my eyes to the ways of Afghanis and the impact one decision can have on your life. Khaled Hosseini described Afghanistan and Amir's struggles perfectly; from his longing for his father's love to his reactions to the ever-changing emotions of Sohrab. Amir, Hassan, and Sohrab all pulled me in and made me love them. This book was written with historical accuracy yet had a fantastic, flowing story.