The kite runner: two contrasting perspectives

Kite Runner

Two Views of America in Kite Runner

In Khaled Hosseini's novel the Kite Runner, Amir and his father Baba are forced to leave the life of wealth and luxury that they enjoy in Afghanistan when the Soviet's invade the country, and they find themselves in Fremont, California where the aristocratic and even noble Baba, according to his own reckoning of his lineage, works as a gas attendant. Both of these characters have very different views of their new home in America, largely based on the differences in there own personal histories both before their arrival in the country and as they experience the very different life that America offers them Amir has always been somewhat scared of Baba, who views him as somewhat weak and cowardly; Amir also wonders if his father blames him for his mother's death, because she died while giving birth to him. Amir is also hiding from a very shameful and ultimately spiteful act that he carried out against his best friend in Afghanistan, and this also colors the way that he views America in comparison to his father.

Baba has always been resilient and steadfast, and though one might expect his arrogance and confidence to have been diminished by his fall from wealth and his new position as a gas station attendant, this is not at all what happens. He perseveres, attempting to forge a living for himself and his son. His life to this point has consisted of people listening to him, however, and he runs into trouble at times, with Amir apologizing, "My father is still adjusting to life in America" (128). Though he certainly strives to build a successful new life, Baba still sees America from a primarily Afghani perspective.

Amir, on the other hand, attends high school, and even though he is already twenty by the time he graduates he becomes largely Americanized through the process of receiving his education. He views America both as a land of new opportunity and as a means fo escaping the darker past he left behind in Afghanistan. Of course, this past continues to haunt Amir, and this also colors his perception of America. While thinking of Hassan, the friend that Amir first failed to protect and then directly betrayed, Amir reflects that, "The first time I saw the Pacific, I almost cried. It was as vast and blue as the oceans on the movie screens of my childhood" (136). This statement illustrates the bittersweet nature of Amir's perception of America and the way that it has changed his life -- and the way that his presence in the country itself indicates the major change to his life that has occurred. He cannot fully enjoy the view of the Pacific because he is troubled by thoughts of Hassan, and thoughts of his childhood must also necessarily lead to memories of his lifelong and boyhood friend; all enjoyments that Amir encounters in America become signs of what he is running from.