'Theft' Quotation Examination

“Now, no matter what the Mullah teaches, there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft.” (Hosseini, 19)

In this scene, Amir and his father are in a rare circumstance, Amir sitting on his lap and a direct and unbroken conversation is had between the two. 'Baba' is explaining to Amir what he thinks of sin. This passage proves that Baba has a greater understanding of what is right and what is wrong than most of the world, and is an advancement in his character because it shows how insightful and intelligent he really is. Theft is not usually seen as one of the worse sins to commit, however when you pry apart the ten commandments Baba's statement makes much more sense. Everyone subconsciously ranks each of these sins, murder usually being one of the top. What Amir's father is telling him is that they are all equally wrong, and none shall be taken lightly or be unpunished. If you take from another person, no matter the way you have done it, you have committed a theft. Do what you want to yourself, but harm another in a negative way and you have stolen something from them, may it be an item, opportunity, or even their life.

This quotation proves how far off Amir is from following in his father's footsteps. He wants to be just like him, however he has stolen the innocence, friendship, and home of Hassan simply because he was too great a coward to stand up for him. He tells us that he is growing closer and closer to his father, but really they are becoming further and further apart. This statement by Baba is presented early in the text, giving us an understanding of where he stands on morals and belief, and contrasting to the hatred his son has cast upon their servants.

Baba shows the depth of his character in this quote, and contrasts his morals to that of Amir. Amir thought that ridding his life of Hassan would bring him closer to his father, when reality is has brought him further than ever.  

Blog #1 (First Impressions of Amir)

In the novel, Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, we early on learn much about our main character Amir. Amir starts us off with a flashback, but without giving us any full details he shows us that he is hiding something, something from his past. He has been trying to hide this from himself and everyone else for the last 26 years. He gives us no more information than this, foreshadowing that we will later find out. Jumping back even further, we begin to learn about his childhood in Afghanistan. The way Amir talks seems to be reflective of where he has grown up, showing a certain prejudice against those who are not of Pashtun descent. Amir is very selective with his relationships it seems, because he tends to neglect his best friend many times. His best friend Hassan, also his servant, is a young boy that Amir had grown up with all his life, and they have come to be very close. Hassan would do anything for Amir, yet Amir appears not to be fulfilling his half of the friendship. Although they have know each other for their entire lives, Amir somehow still sees Hassan as an “illiterate Hazara” (Hosseini, 37) and the voice inside his head tells him that he is nothing but a filthy peasant who will never become more than that. This prejudice must come from the hours listening to his father, a man who feels great distaste for most of the country. Amir describes his Baba as a towering figure with tree trunk legs, and constantly talks of the great things he has done such as building the orphanage. At the same time, he feels neglect. When he has a talk alone with his father, sitting on his lap he admits that “it wasn't often Baba talked to [him], let alone on his lap-and [he'd] been a fool to waste it” (Hosseini, 19). It's as if Amir is struggling to live in the shadow of such a great man as his father, being much smaller and apparently much less intelligent than he. Amir is somewhat lost, and needs to find a way to his own happiness rather than trying to imitate that of his Baba's. I think Amir needs to get his priorities straight, stop neglecting his friend and become his own person. If his father chooses not to talk to him or make him feel important, than he he should do the same back. If Amir doesn't do something about this soon, I feel as if something bad is going to happen to Hassan, the event implied in the flashback, and it might just be at his fault or choosing.