Seeking Approval

Approval is something every child wants from their parent–I for one can say that I do. Khaled Hosseini depicts the pining nature of a child in his novel The Kite Runner. From the very beginning of the novel, Hosseini portrays a young boy named Amir who throughout his childhood only wants to prove himself to his father. Similar to most children in today’s society the main things they desire from their parents are love, affection, and approval. 

Amir is portrayed as a weak character due to his love for writing–To demonstrate his disapproval in his son Baba says “If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son” (23) Throughout the novel Amir does everything in hopes to earn his father’s approval. This includes driving away Baba’s childhood friend and Amir’s own friend Hassan by lying and convincing Baba that Hassan committed the greatest sin–theft. 

After driving off his loved ones Amir spends the rest of his novel trying to make amends with Hassan. But this task became difficult when Amir and Baba move to America. While in America a distinct change in Baba is noticed due to him weakening from cancer.  But like most parents, Baba has a form of unconditional love for his son. His love is not shown in affection–rather nice and expensive material items. For birthdays and graduation, Baba showers his son in fine, extravagant gifts. 

Although Amir and Baba’s relationship is not perfect and oftentimes rocky, it resembles many child-parent relationships today.